Tag: spirituality

Joohi Tahir Named Recipient of the 2026 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award

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The AAIDD Religion and Spirituality Interest Network is pleased to announce that Joohi Tahir has been named the recipient of the 2026 Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award.

Joohi Tahir: Co-Founder & Executive Director of @muhsenorg, championing inclusion for Muslims with disabilities! Boston University grad with 20+ years in corporate & global marketing, but her greatest inspiration? Her daughter on the autism spectrum.For 18 years, she’s led initiatives advancing accessibility & acceptance across North America. MWA 2015 Inspiring Women’s Award winner, recognized as Top 7 Muslim American Women to Celebrate in 2017, and TRT World Citizen Award 2026.

This award recognizes leaders whose work has significantly shaped the spiritual lives, inclusion, and belonging of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It honours those who expand access to faith communities, deepen understanding of spiritual gifts and needs, and foster meaningful participation in religious life.

Joohi Tahir serves as Executive Director of MUHSEN (Muslims Understanding & Helping Special Education Needs), a pioneering organization dedicated to advancing inclusion within Muslim communities. Under her leadership, MUHSEN has developed innovative programs that support accessibility, awareness, and full participation for individuals with disabilities and their families across North America and internationally.

Central to Joohi’s work is a commitment to reimagining what inclusion looks like in faith communities. Through initiatives such as the MUHSEN Masjid Certification Program, accessible religious education, and supported participation in pilgrimage, her leadership has helped reshape both practice and understanding. Her work reflects a sustained integration of faith and action, ensuring that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not simply accommodated, but welcomed as full participants in community life.

Joohi’s influence extends beyond any single organization. She has contributed to broader interfaith and collaborative efforts, helping to build bridges across communities and deepen shared commitments to dignity, belonging, and mutual learning.

The award will be presented in connection with the AAIDD Annual Conference, June 22–24, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, during the Religion and Spirituality Interest Network forum.

Please join us in celebrating Joohi Tahir and her ongoing leadership in advancing spiritual inclusion and belonging.

AAIDD Annual Conference Scholarship for a Self-Advocate

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The AAIDD Religion and Spirituality Interest Network is committed to including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the AAIDD annual national conference. We have funds to provide a $500 scholarship for one adult with intellectual or developmental disability who is involved in self-advocacy and is interested in attending the AAIDD Annual Meeting.

You can learn more about the annual meeting here: https://www.aaidd.org/education/annual-conference 

We are particularly interested in self-advocates who have an interest in religion and/or spirituality, including how people with disabilities experience belonging, meaning, or participation in faith or spiritual life. Being part of a faith community is not required.

You may fill this out on paper, type your answers, or record audio or video responses. You may also get help from a family member, friend, or support person.

Apply Here
Accessible Application

AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network Contributes to CQL Resources on Non-Traditional Spirituality

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The AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network recently contributed to a Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL) webinar and companion article on non-traditional spirituality, expanding how organizations understand and support spiritual expression among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Tammy Besser and Sharon Coutryer, both members of the Interest Network, along with Michelle Johnson and representatives from Camphill Communities Ontario, presented on CQL’s webinar Non-Traditional Spirituality: Putting It Into Practice.

Their discussion centered on the lived reality that spiritual life often unfolds outside institutional religion. People express spirituality through nature, creativity, meditation, music, service activities, or community rituals. These practices support meaning, purpose, and connection even when they don’t look like formal worship.

Tammy Besser’s CQL article, Supporting Non-Traditional Spirituality, outlines the core themes that shape spirituality: connection to something greater than oneself, the search for meaning and purpose, and  connection to or experience of the divine.  Essential to understanding spirituality is that the individual defines what is sacred or holy for them. These themes helped frame both the article and the webinar. The article and webinar describe how activities such as gratitude jars, community gardens, drumming circles, open mic nights, or neighborhood clean-ups function as spiritual practices when they help someone orient toward meaning or transcendence.

The Interest Network’s contribution highlighted practical examples from diverse service contexts. Michelle Johnson shared her personal spiritual journey, and Camphill Communities Ontario described how ritual and meaning are woven into daily life. Presenters also demonstrated how staff education, discovery conversations, and creative problem-solving can reduce barriers to spiritual expression, especially for people who do not find resonance in traditional religious settings.

This work aligns closely with the mission of the AAIDD Religion & Spirituality Interest Network and with broader quality-of-life principles. Spirituality remains essential to personal well-being, yet organizations often limit support to formal, traditional, religious activity. Recognizing non-traditional pathways creates space for people to explore the practices that genuinely sustain them, whether through art, community, nature, service, or reflective disciplines.

Both the webinar and the article offer concrete guidance for organizations seeking to broaden their approach. They also demonstrate the influence of AAIDD R&S IN members in shaping national conversations about inclusive spiritual life.