Written by: Emily Flynn, Ability Tools Information and Advocacy Specialist

This last week I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference (ATIA) 2017 in Orlando Florida.

This conference is a very large conference where special education staff, assistive technology specialist, medical professionals, rehabilitation counselors, and technology vendors all come together to share knowledge and learn. Being an assistive technology generalist I was invited to attend any educational sessions and workshops I was interested in. The session and workshops covered a wide variety of topics including Accessibility, Adult Living and Workplace, Assistive Technology for Improved Function (ATIF), Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Core Standards: K-12, Education/Learning, Everyday Technology, Leadership, Research, and Sensory Impairment. With my limited time there I tried my best to make sure I took at least one educational session in each topic.

On top of the educational sessions they also offered a very large exhibit area where they had more than 100 vendors. These vendors were available to provide information and demonstration about their devices and services. I was able to speak with vendors about the products available and check out the new and exciting devices. The other benefit of having all these vendors under one roof is I was able to make connections and relationships with vendors that Ability Tools can feature in upcoming training’s. For more information on ATIA and their annual conference check out their website at https://www.atia.org/