DURHAM, N.H. – On Friday, June 2, 2017, Michael McSheehan, a Project Director at the Institute on Disability gave the closing keynote presentation at the Region 5 Parent Technical Assistance Center Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, NM.

His keynote speech “Star Wars and Stars In Alignment: Four Decades of Education Policy, Practice and Research on Including Students with Significant Disabilities” ended a three day conference for parent-leaders from ten states, which looked at exploring and honoring culture in all expressions. The keynote reflected on the history, struggles and successes of educating students with significant disabilities, as well as highlighted recent findings from the SWIFT Education Center, a national technical assistance center implementing equity-based inclusive education in seven states.

 “It was an honor to be invited to close out this conference with the message of hope for what is now possible in education for students with significant disabilities and for all students,” shares Mr. McSheehan.

Michael McSheehan currently serves as the Coordinator of Technical Assistance for the School-wide Integrated Framework for Transformation (SWIFT) Center. Previously, McSheehan was the developer, researcher, and author of The Beyond Access Model, which has been used successfully by schools across the United States to promote membership in general education classrooms, participation in general education instruction, and learning of general education curriculum by students with significant disabilities. He consults with various state education agencies and is nationally recognized for his presentations at conferences and exceptional skills in working with teams to solve challenging problems within school-wide improvement and reform efforts.

The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Its mission is to promote full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons by strengthening communities and advancing policy and systems change, promising practices, education, and research.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.