General Information

49th Annual Meeting & Pediatric Specialty Day

  • Pediatric Specialty Day: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
  • Annual Meeting: Thursday, October 8 – Saturday, October 10, 2026
  • Location: Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI
  • Hotel: Hilton Milwaukee

The American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) is proud to present its 49th Annual Meeting. The 2026 theme – “Bridging the Gap: Collaborating and Amplifying Our Voices” – This year, we will emphasize how small daily actions collectively sustain and strengthen our field. Together, these efforts propel our profession forward honoring our tradition of shared wisdom while ensuring lasting resilience within both the broader healthcare landscape and our communities.

  • Advancing professional excellence and resilience - Under this theme, sessions will highlight strategies for maintaining high standards of care and adapting to the evolving landscape of healthcare. Topics will include cutting-edge treatment interventions, evidence-based practices and professional development opportunities that empower hand therapists to thrive.
  • Cultivating the next generation of hand therapists - This theme aims to foster mentorship and educational opportunities for emerging professionals in hand therapy.  Proposals should focus on creating inclusive pathways for career development, mentorship programs and innovative educational strategies that inspire and prepare the next generation of therapists. Sessions can highlight successful initiatives, collaboration models and best practices for supporting young professionals in their journey.
  • Advocating for our value - This theme highlights the actions we take to advance the value and visibility of our specialty. Advocacy can seem daunting, yet we all advocate for our worth through everyday efforts that build toward lasting impact. Sessions will focus on value mindset and developing advocacy skills — whether through education, public and legislative outreach, or interprofessional collaboration that broadens our reach beyond traditional boundaries of care.
  • Multidisciplinary perspectives - Under this theme, sessions will emphasize the integration of various disciplines that provide comprehensive care for our patients with upper extremity conditions. Collaboration is a key component of healthcare and sessions will focus on this dynamic and strategies to foster collaboration in our practice. This will include perspectives from physicians, psychologists, orthotists and prosthetists, engineers, artists or holistic medical professionals, just to name a few.

Who Should Attend?

The ASHT Annual Meeting brings together hand therapists, surgeons, occupational and physical therapists, athletic trainers and allied health professionals to exchange information on the latest insights, discuss new developments and network with leading experts in this specialized field. All healthcare providers with an interest in the art and science of rehabilitation of the upper limb will benefit from the information presented at our conference.  

Learner Objectives

Upon the completion of the ASHT Annual Meeting, participants will be able to:

  • Integrate hand and upper limb treatment plans based on evidence, research and instruction.
  • Construct new strategies and clinical ideas to improve patient outcomes through inter-disciplinary collaboration.
  • Employ innovative treatment ideas into clinical practice for a variety of clinical conditions.
  • Discuss and implement current legislative and regulatory policies into clinical practice.
  • Discuss and implement leading business and operational practices into clinical practice.