This breakout workshop introduces the revised 2026 NADSP Code of Ethics, marking the first comprehensive update since the Code was originally established in 2001. Participants will explore why the revision was necessary, what has changed, and how the updated Code better reflects today’s direct support landscape, including evolving expectations around person-centered practices, professionalism, equity, and accountability. The session will highlight key updates, provide practical examples, and create space for reflection and discussion. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how the 2026 NADSP Code of Ethics strengthens ethical decision-making and supports DSPs in delivering high-quality, values-driven support in modern direct support environments.

Today’s workplace is evolving faster than ever. From constant change and uncertainty to the acceleration of technology, from hybrid workplaces to five generations working side-by-side, core values provide a powerful guide for navigating everyday challenges. In this interactive workshop, half full, llc brings core values to life through a dynamic, real-time simulation where you will apply values to realistic workplace scenarios. Discover how values strengthen decision-making, build trust, improve performance, and create workplaces where people feel connected, valued, and inspired to do their best work—driving better organization outcomes. The bottom line? Workplace challenges aren’t going away—but when people are guided by shared values, they become opportunities to build trust, strengthen teams, and achieve better results.

If a provider organization is looking to be responsive, strategic, and effective in its supports and services, it needs a solid foundation built around systems and practices. Practices are observable – the actions an agency is actually taking in their supports and services … but what about systems? In this breakout, Building Solid Systems In Rhode Island, we’re offering guidance that agencies can use to establish robust systems that lay the groundwork for organizational transformation. Attendees will first find out what we mean by a ‘system.’ Then, we’ll share specific examples of systems and describe their connection to an organization’s operations, programs, and services. From promoting respect, to facilitating natural supports, addressing instances of abuse, implementing staff development programs, and more, we’re detailing how solid systems will improve the quality of your organization, and ultimately, the quality of people’s lives.

How do we promote thriving at work? How can the community see us all for our strengths and leverage each of our many talents to support the disability community? This workshop will discuss a strength-based matrix for collaboration, mentoring, conflict resolution, and building bridges in a fractured landscape so that all of us can thrive at work. Our team will share themes of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose (AMP) and Deep Work, encouraging us all to seek understanding and growth across the professional spectrum in creating durable change.

Leaders are often celebrated for their drive, resilience, and ability to get things done. But behind that praise is a quieter reality: many leaders are doing too much, carrying too much, and ultimately limiting the very growth they’re trying to create. In this interactive workshop, The Maximizer Mindset: Climb Higher by Lifting Others, Tim Hebert invites participants to rethink what leadership actually requires. Because the next level of leadership is not about doing more—it’s about empowering more. Through powerful storytelling, real-world application, and guided reflection, Tim introduces a practical leadership shift grounded in one core idea: you don’t rise by climbing alone—you rise by lifting others. Participants will explore the hidden costs of “doing it all,” including burnout, bottlenecks, and untapped potential, and will learn how to replace control with trust, and effort with intentional investment in others. Drawing from unforgettable moments—from a near-breaking point on Mount Kilimanjaro to a lesson in trust with a horse at a leadership retreat—this session brings the Maximizer Mindset to life in a way that is both deeply human and immediately actionable. Through interactive exercises, small group discussion, and real-time application, participants will learn how to: Shift from being the primary doer to a developer of others Identify and unlock untapped potential on their team Let go of control without losing accountability Build trust as a leadership practice, not a personality trait Create momentum by investing in others’ growth and success This is not a workshop about delegation techniques alone. It is a leadership practice—designed to help you expand your impact by expanding others. Because in the end, the leaders who go the furthest are not the ones who do the most—they are the ones who bring the most people with them.

Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the backbone of human services, often serving as advocates, mentors, and trusted partners to people with disabilities. They play a critical role in supporting people to live lives of their choosing. Yet, with increasing demands, workforce shortages, and limited access to ongoing development, many DSPs receive training that prioritizes compliance and medical needs over person-centered support. This interactive 90-minute session is designed to shift that experience. Participants will be introduced to a range of person-centered practices and, most importantly, how to apply them in real, everyday situations. Moving beyond just a theory or “nice to have”, this session focuses on practical, easy-to-use skills that DSPs can implement immediately to strengthen relationships, support the decision-making process and connect to their communities. Through hands-on activities and real-world application, participants will practice shifting from a “caretaker” mindset to a more intentional role as a supporter, partner, and community connector. Same issue as before, plus one extra wrinkle: the source had words hyphenated at line breaks (like “easy-to-use” split across two lines), so I made sure those rejoined into single words rather than staying broken.

Every missing timestamp. Every incomplete note. Every field left blank at the end of a long shift. These crumbs feed auditors, preventing you from doing the work you love. Poor documentation creates more than just compliance risk. It erases your team’s work, undermines the care your clients received, and hands auditors exactly what they need to take money from the mission you’ve spent years building. This session is for Rhode Island providers who are done losing ground they’ve already earned. We’ll explore the federal research, identify the gaps, determine the actual cost to you, and outline the steps needed to stop it permanently.

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Providers who serve folks who have been impaired by developmental disabilities often struggle in balancing habilitation and autonomy. One of the reasons that balancing habilitation and autonomy can be complicated is that providers fear that providing too much independence and autonomy could lead to negative outcomes for the folks they serve. However, providers overly focused on protecting their clients from the potential harm of independence and autonomy run the risk of inadvertently creating equally concerning negative outcomes. This talk will focus on the benefits of supporting independence and autonomy while maintaining a balance of safety and habilitation. Recent research on choice and autonomy will be reviewed to highlight the importance and impact of supporting independence and autonomy in practice.

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Burnout in the I/DD workforce continues to rise despite increased attention to well-being initiatives. Why? Because burnout is not just an individual issue—it is deeply influenced by workplace conditions, leadership practices, and whether staff feel supported, valued, and safe to speak up. This engaging session introduces a new framework: Balance, Belonging & Well-Being for addressing workplace conditions that drive stress and disengagement.

This session explores how executive leaders, HR leaders, and supervisors can move beyond gut instinct and turn the information already available to them into clearer thinking and better decisions. Attendees will explore what it looks like to build a more data-informed mindset, at the strategic level and in daily people management, and leave with a renewed perspective on data as a tool for leadership rather than just a reporting requirement.

This high-energy session spotlights the often-overlooked burnout facing HR professionals. Beyond managing policies and compliance, HR leaders carry the emotional weight of workforce shortages, retention struggles, regulatory pressure, and executive expectations, frequently while operating at full capacity themselves. The session examines how cumulative burnout quietly influences culture, decision-making, and employee experience across organizations. Moving beyond surface-level wellness advice, participants will explore practical, system-level strategies to strengthen engagement and organizational effectiveness without automatically increasing payroll. Through structured peer dialogue and guided reflection, attendees will leave with actionable approaches they can implement immediately.

This workshop will introduce regulation supports developed by Autism Level UP! Participants will have opportunities to apply the tools and strategies presented with opportunities to consider the tools for autistic people they teach or with whom they work, live and/or play. Modifications for the supports will be discussed for individuals at a variety of developmental levels (e.g., students who are not yet communicating using words, those who are emerging language learners, and those who are conversational). A neurodiversity affirming approach to goal writing will be introduced.

In this engaging and interactive training session, join the NADSP staff to learn the latest best practices in direct support that go well beyond the regulations and state-level requirements for this profession. Most training and development for direct support professionals (DSPs) focuses on regulatory and mandated topics. By embracing the NADSP Code of Ethics and focusing on nationally-validated NADSP Competency Areas, direct support professionals and organizations can ensure that they are supporting personal autonomy, access to integrated settings, informed choices and person centered practices. NADSP has been advocating for a Standardized Occupational Classification for years and we are very close to the final steps to this. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has specific requirements and categories for occupations and professions in the Unites States. Direct support is NOT considered in this registry. Once we are deemed and have a labor department code, we can begin the process of data collection, rate reviews and ultimately be situated to call the profession of direct support truly a competitive occupation and profession once and for all.

This session will be structured as an interactive dialogue, beginning with a brief overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and key considerations for ensuring effective communication and accessibility when working with members of the Deaf community. The session is designed to engage participants in identifying their current knowledge, areas for growth, and practical applications of best practices when requesting and working with American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. Emphasis will be placed on fostering informed decision-making and enhancing service delivery within human services settings. Key topics will include determining the most appropriate interpreter for a given interaction, identifying when multiple interpreters are necessary, and understanding the rationale behind these decisions. The session will also address the range of interpreter referral resources available within and beyond Rhode Island, including both on-site and virtual services. Additionally, participants will gain clarity on the distinctions between Video Relay Service (VRS) and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), including appropriate use cases for each within human services environments. Practical guidance and real-world considerations will be shared.

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Person-centered leadership is not about a role or title, it’s about how we show up with and for others. At the same time, psychological safety is the foundation of strong, resilient teams, yet it is often misunderstood or reduced to a buzzword rather than practiced in meaningful ways. In today’s workforce landscape, this matters more than ever—organizations that foster psychological safety are better positioned to recruit, retain, and engage their workforce, while those that don’t often struggle with turnover, burnout, and disengagement. This interactive breakout session brings these two ideas together in a practical, human-centered way. Designed for leaders, human resources, and organizational development professionals, the session begins with a clear and accessible overview of five foundations of psychological safety: Mattering, Clarity, Voice, Connection, and Learning. Participants will explore what each foundation looks like in real, everyday interactions—and why they are essential to both team effectiveness and the human experience at work. From there, the session will take an experiential dive into Mattering—the first foundation that answers the question: Do I feel seen, valued, and like I make a difference here? Through guided reflection, real-world scenarios, and small-group practice, participants will examine how mattering is communicated (or unintentionally undermined) in day-to-day moments. They will practice simple, powerful ways to strengthen a sense of value, recognition, and belonging across roles and relationships. Participants will leave with practical tools they can immediately use to create environments where people feel safe to contribute, speak up, learn, and build meaningful connections—even within complex and demanding systems.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating how work gets done—faster decisions, faster outputs, faster change. But while organizations are gaining speed, many leaders are discovering something unexpected: Acceleration is not the same as clarity. In this interactive workshop, Rethinking AI: A Leadership Practice for the Age of Acceleration, Tim Hebert moves beyond tools, trends, and tactics to focus on what AI is really changing—the way leaders think, decide, and create direction. Because while AI can generate ideas, analyze data, and expand capacity, it cannot determine what matters, what should be done, or what it means for people. As a result, the constraint in leadership is shifting—from access to information to the ability to apply judgment, set priorities, and communicate with clarity in increasingly compressed environments. Let me know if you’d rather have that line folded back into the paragraph instead — happy to flatten it fully if you want strict “one paragraph, no breaks” consistency with the other two.

Most managers have been there — there is an employee conversation that keeps getting postponed. Maybe it is about declining performance, a behavior disrupting the team, or an honest discussion about career readiness. The longer it waits, the costlier it becomes. Courageous Conversations is a high-energy, immediately actionable 60-minute workshop designed to break that cycle. Participants leave with the language, frameworks, and confidence to have the honest conversations that drive real results — not someday, but on Monday morning.

One third of autistic individuals will not develop the abilities to use spoken language to communicate. These individuals still have much to say. It is imperative that people who care about and for non-speakers explore a wide range of methods of communication support for them, as access to reliable and authentic means of communication is critically linked to higher quality of life. One means of communication support that remains largely misunderstood are motor-based communication methods associated with spelling. These methods most often involve the support of a trusted and responsive communication regulation partner (CRP). For years, questions have existed as to whether the nonspeaking individual or the CRP is the author of the messages conveyed during use of motor based spelling communication. Recent research exploring motor differences/apraxia and visual gaze timing support that the non-speaking individuals are authoring their messages. This session will explore controversy of motor-based spelling to communicate methods, introduce the research supporting the validity of these techniques, as well as discuss the importance of exploring a range of communication supports for non-speakers. This session will incorporate the perspectives of individuals who use motor-based spelling to communicate as adults, after years of having their access to supportive communication restricted.