2026 Inclusion Alberta Family Conference: Full Schedule

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

8:30am MDT

Friday April 17, 2026 8:30am - 4:30pm MDT

Fully inclusive Child Care and Teen Club have been a part of the Family Conference since its inception. Each day will be a new adventure filled with fun, inclusive play, and hands-on experiences. The staff are quality caregivers/play consultants who will add a touch of magic to the day, while parents participate in sessions. A limited number of child care spaces are available for...
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Friday April 17, 2026 8:30am - 4:30pm MDT

Child care/Teen Club, Friday child care/Teen Club

9:00am MDT

Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disabilities - Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Friday April 17, 2026 9:00am - 4:30pm MDT

Ballroom

Despite the clear benefits of inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities, many receive special education services in separate classrooms due to challenging behaviors. In this workshop, attendees will learn about the foundation and features of positive behavioural interventions and supports (PBIS) and practical strategies for implementing PBIS to promote greater...
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Speakers

Virginia Walker

Professor, UNC Charlotte

Virginia L. Walker, PhD, BCBA-D, is a Professor in the Department of Special Education and Child Development at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Walker began her career as a special education teacher of students with extensive support needs in Atlanta, Georgia before... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 9:00am - 4:30pm MDT
Ballroom

Friday workshop, Virginia Walker workshop

9:00am MDT

The Life You Can Create – Roles, Relationships and Belonging

Friday April 17, 2026 9:00am - 4:30pm MDT

Room 6

This is a practical hands-on day where families will have the opportunity to learn to think in surprisingly ordinary ways to imagine and plan for an inclusive, good life in community for, and with, their family member with an intellectual disability. Janet will be joined by a family who is on this journey themselves, and together they will use relatable stories from childhood to...
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Speakers

Janet Klees

Executive Director, Durham Association for Family Resources and Support

Tracy MacGillivary

Tracy MacGillivray is a mother and advocate who has walked closely alongside her son, TJ, as he has grown into a young man with a strong sense of identity and belonging. By following TJ’s lead, Tracy has helped ensure he has a home of his own and is an active, valued member of... Read More →

Carron Jensen

Carron Jensen is a retired high school visual arts teacher with a deep connection to DFR. With their help, Carron and her son Caleb have been working to plan and implement a typical life for him to enjoy, including his own home, community connections and meaningful employment. Carron... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 9:00am - 4:30pm MDT
Room 6

Friday workshop, Janet Klees workshop

7:00pm MDT

President's Reception

Friday April 17, 2026 7:00pm - 10:00pm MDT

Ballroom

Friday night, from 7pm – 10pm, Inclusion Alberta hosts its annual President’s Reception. Join us as we honour individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the lives of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Many find the President’s Reception to be an inspiring celebration of community inclusion. Hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar available. Child care...
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Friday April 17, 2026 7:00pm - 10:00pm MDT
Ballroom

Evening event

8:30am MDT

Child care/Teen Club SATURDAY

Saturday April 18, 2026 8:30am - 4:30pm MDT

Child care/Teen Club, Saturday childcare

9:00am MDT

Opening Plenary: Places of Belonging and Relationships: From the Classroom to the Community

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT

Ballroom

Belonging and relationships are essential to the well-being of every one of us, irrespective of whether someone has a disability or not. We all thrive and grow when we know we belong, are welcomed, and embraced by our teachers, friends, family, and community. In this plenary, our two keynote speakers, Dr. Virginia Walker and Janet Klees will open our day by sharing how both the classroom and...
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Speakers

Virginia Walker

Professor, UNC Charlotte

Janet Klees

Executive Director, Durham Association for Family Resources and Support

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am MDT
Ballroom

Plenary

9:00am MDT

Youth Forum

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 4:30pm MDT

Youth for Inclusion is an initiative that brings youth—with and without intellectual disabilities—together to speak up, take action, and lead real change in their communities. It’s designed for young people who want to challenge ableism, amplify diverse voices, and help create communities where everyone truly belongs. The Youth Forum provides inspired youth...
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Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 4:30pm MDT

Youth for Inclusion

10:30am MDT

From Crisis to Collective Action: Ordinary People Acting with Relentless Hope

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT

Ballroom C

Families and individuals with intellectual disabilities face growing barriers—longer waits for FSCD and PDD, increasing system bureaucracy and complexity, threats to inclusive education, and changes to AISH that reduce support for one group and apply a degrading label to the rest. These challenges echo past struggles, when families refused to accept exclusion and fought for the rights we now...
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Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT
Ballroom C

Saturday morning

10:30am MDT

From Relationship to Leadership: The Enduring Role of Siblings

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT

Room 7

Siblings, whether they're biological siblings, cousins, or chosen family, are often our first friends. Siblings know each other deeply, making them uniquely situated to innately understand their loved ones and their vision for a good, meaningful life in community. This distinctive bond can often provide a perspective...
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Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT
Room 7

Saturday morning

10:30am MDT

Supporting the Behavioral Needs of Students with Intellectual Disability: The Power of Communication

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT

Ballroom D

Some students with intellectual disabilities may have elevated behavioural support needs that necessitate individualized behaviour support plans. In this session, information about building and implementing individualized, communication-based supports to address these behavioural support needs will be shared with a particular focus on function-based thinking.

Speakers

Virginia Walker

Professor, UNC Charlotte

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT
Ballroom D

Saturday morning, Inclusive Education

10:30am MDT

The Power of Real Work: Why Employment Matters

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT

Room 6

Employment is a vital part of the normative life pathway and one of the most powerful drivers of belonging, identity, and well-being for people with intellectual disabilities. Employment is more than a paycheque—it is a place to contribute one’s gifts, build relationships, take on valued social roles, and shape a meaningful identity as a youth and adult. Yet too many youth and adults with...
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Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm MDT
Room 6

Saturday morning, Inclusive employment

1:30pm MDT

Human Rights, Disability, and Self-Determination: Blackfoot Nation-Led Responses to Systemic Discrimination in Disability Supports

Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT

Room 6

This session examines the human rights advocacy by Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations concerning systemic discrimination experienced by Blackfoot adults with developmental disabilities within federally and provincially administered systems.Drawing on the lived realities of Blackfoot citizens and Nations, we will explore how colonial policy frameworks, chronic underfunding, and jurisdictional...
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Speakers

Shane Sweet Grass

AFA/AFC Manager, Blood Tribe

Tracy McHugh

Councillor, Siksika Nation

Carly Fox

Partner, Fox LLP

Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT
Room 6

Saturday afternoon

1:30pm MDT

Recognizing Capacity: There is Nothing More Natural than Seeking Support in Decision Making

Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT

Ballroom D

This session is an opportunity to hear and learn from the experiences of a families who took some time to deeply reflect on the capacity of their loves one with an intellectual disability, including those with significant disabilities, to participate in the decision-making that guides their lives. In somewhat surprising but deeply practical ways, this...
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Speakers

Janet Klees

Executive Director, Durham Association for Family Resources and Support

Carron Jensen

Tracy MacGillivary

Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT
Ballroom D

Saturday afternoon

1:30pm MDT

Stories of Hope: Reclaiming Possibility

Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT

Room 7

This session is an invitation to rediscover that spark of possibility for a good life for our family member with an intellectual disability. We’ll explore why the normative pathway matters—the familiar route toward inclusion, belonging, and opportunities that others often take for granted. Following this pathway is a relentless commitment to opening...
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Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT
Room 7

Saturday afternoon

1:30pm MDT

The Advocacy Landscape: The Time to Act is Now

Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT

Ballroom C

This annual session will explore the advocacy issues and trends currently impacting individuals and families, discuss needed responses, and provide practical ways to take immediate action, the need for which has never been more clear. In just a few years, many of Alberta’s supports and services to children and adults with intellectual...
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Speakers

Bruce Uditsky

CEO Emeritus, Inclusion Alberta

Bruce Uditsky, M.Ed., is the CEO Emeritus of Inclusion Alberta. He is internationally recognized for his leadership and advocacy in social justice and inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. Currently, Bruce also serves as a Senior Advisor to Inclusion... Read More →

Trish Bowman

Chief Executive Officer, Inclusion Alberta

Trish is the Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Alberta. She has worked for over 30 years supporting individuals and families to live inclusive lives. Trish has been a contributor to numerous articles and publications on how to achieve a meaningful and inclusive life... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT
Ballroom C

Saturday afternoon

3:15pm MDT

Closing Plenary: Celebrating 25 Years of the Rotary Employment Partnership

Saturday April 18, 2026 3:15pm - 4:30pm MDT

Ballroom

Inclusive employment is one of the most powerful ways to a meaningful life filled with purpose, contribution, relationships, and greater financial security. Yet for so many adults with intellectual disabilities, it has long remained out of reach. Thanks to Alberta Rotarians, Rotary Clubs and Districts, this is changing.  Over the past 25 years, Inclusion...
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Speakers

Trish Bowman

Chief Executive Officer, Inclusion Alberta

Saturday April 18, 2026 3:15pm - 4:30pm MDT
Ballroom

Plenary, Inclusive employment

4:45pm MDT

Local Association

Saturday April 18, 2026 4:45pm - 5:15pm MDT

Room 6

Inclusion Alberta is linked with local family advocacy associations across the province. The following associations are extending an invitation to you to come meet them today: Inclusion Calgary, Inclusion Edmonton Region, Inclusion Foothills, Inclusion Grande Prairie, Inclusion Lethbridge, Inclusion Lloydminster, Inclusion Medicine Hat, Inclusion St. Paul, and Inclusion...
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Saturday April 18, 2026 4:45pm - 5:15pm MDT
Room 6

Evening event

7:00pm MDT

Family Dance Celebration

Saturday April 18, 2026 7:00pm - 11:00pm MDT

Ballroom

Join us on Saturday evening from 7pm - 11pm in the Fantasyland Hotel Ballroom for a fun and casual celebration for family members of all ages! A DJ will be playing party favourites and even if you don’t like to dance, it’s an opportunity for Conference-goers to connect, celebrate and enjoy some snacks. There will be entertainment for children (including face painting and the famous...
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Saturday April 18, 2026 7:00pm - 11:00pm MDT
Ballroom

Evening event

8:30am MDT

9:00am MDT

9:00am MDT

7:00pm MDT

8:30am MDT

9:00am MDT

9:00am MDT

10:30am MDT

10:30am MDT

10:30am MDT

10:30am MDT

1:30pm MDT

1:30pm MDT

1:30pm MDT

1:30pm MDT

3:15pm MDT

4:45pm MDT

7:00pm MDT

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