Accessibility Advocate: Reach Your Goals at SXSW EDU 2025

Creating inclusive learning environments benefits everyone. At SXSW EDU 2025, we are excited to share a variety of sessions that explore how we can design education to welcome and empower all learners. Whether you're an educator, administrator, or ED technology developer, truly understanding accessibility moves beyond compliance to expand opportunities for learning and connection.

To help you navigate the conference schedule, we have highlighted several sessions that showcase innovative approaches to accessibility and inclusive design. These sessions offer practical insights and strategies that you can implement in your educational settings. 

Insights on Accessibility:

Experience how 3D printing and design thinking can revolutionize accessibility in education in EdTech for Good: Advancing Accessibility. This solo session demonstrates how students can become innovators who create real solutions for people and pets with disabilities, combining technological skills with empathy and community service.

Get an inside look at PBS KIDS' groundbreaking series featuring Carl the Collector, their first autistic main character, in The Full Spectrum: A Raccoon & Neurodivergence in Kids’ Media. The creative team shares their journey of authentic representation, revealing how thoughtful research and collaboration shaped this important addition to children's media.

Discover how to make Esports programs truly accessible to all students at Game On for Inclusivity! This dynamic session explores practical solutions, from adaptive controllers to game selection, offering concrete strategies to create an inclusive gaming environment where every student can participate and succeed.

Join innovators and change-makers as they discuss how user feedback shapes the future of inclusive educational technology in Leading with Inclusion: EdTech for Every Learner. Learn how strategic partnerships and community-centered design are creating more effective, sustainable learning solutions that truly serve diverse student populations.

Explore the critical conversation about "masking" in autism and its impact on mental health in educational settings in Beneath the Mask: Autism in Education. This powerful panel combines lived experience with clinical insights to examine how we can create more authentically inclusive learning environments. Learn how innovative approaches, including tabletop roleplaying games, can help build on students' natural strengths while fostering genuine connection and growth.

Other Sessions to Attend:

• Bridging the Gap: Centering Students with Disabilities
• Equity-Centered AI in Holistic Student Support Functions
• XR as a Neurosolution: In Theory & in Practice
• Storytelling to Spotlight Lived Experiences of Deaf People
• Stay Spicy: Elevating the Power of Neurodiversity
• Leading with Inclusion: EdTech for Every Learner

Networking Opportunities 

The heart of SXSW EDU lies in the connections we make with fellow educators, innovators, and advocates. This year offers several intimate networking spaces dedicated to accessibility and neurodiversity in education:

The Neurodiverse Educators, Learners, & Families Meet Up provides a welcoming space to share experiences and build community with others who understand the unique perspectives of neurodiverse individuals in education. Whether you're an educator, parent, or learner, you'll find valuable connections here.

For those focused on educational technology, the Accessibility in Education Technology Meet Up brings together practitioners, developers, and advocates to discuss how we can create more inclusive digital learning experiences. Share challenges, solutions, and insights with others committed to making edtech work for every learner.

Round out your networking experience at the Supporting Neurodiversity Across the Learning Lifecycle Roundtable discussion, where you can engage in focused discussions about creating supportive environments for neurodiverse learners at every stage of their educational journey.

Take advantage of our Mentor Sessions to gain personalized guidance on accessibility and inclusive education. These conversations offer direct access to experts in the field who can help you tackle specific challenges and share practical insights. Book your sessions early through the mobile app, as these valuable one-on-one meetings fill up quickly!

Try These Tips

• Plan Your Schedule - Start saving your favorite sessions to your personal schedule. Learn more on how to do this in the SXSW EDU Schedule - which syncs to the SXSW EDU GO app.
• Come Ready to Engage - Bring specific questions and scenarios from your educational setting. Our speakers welcome real-world examples and are eager to help you develop practical solutions.
• Connect Beyond the Sessions - Don't forget to exchange contact information with others working on similar initiatives.

See You at SXSW EDU 2025

Registration is open for SXSW EDU 2025! Book your hotel early for the best rates and hotel options March 3-6, 2025 in downtown Austin.

Sign up for SXSW EDU email updates, check out the News feed, watch videos, and follow us on Bluesky, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok to get the most up-to-date information.

Photo by Melissa Bordeau Mark