Abilities Week at the Georgia Aquarium

Here is a press release from the Georgia Aquarium about their Abilities Week:

Georgia Aquarium will dive in to its third annual Abilities Week celebration honoring people with disabilities and promoting diversity this Feb. 4-5 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Inspiring a sense of understanding and embracing a culture of awareness, the celebration will include a variety of festivities including keynote speakers, exciting performances, dedicated viewing opportunities, and more!

Throughout the celebration, the world’s largest aquarium will offer a variety of enhancements for guests of all abilities including:

* Sign language interpreters available at all presentations and gallery windows, as well as on Behind the Scenes Tours on specific scheduled dates
* Audio tours and touch models will be accessible for those with visual impairments
* Wheelchair accessible mats will be located at various exhibits throughout the Aquarium, reserving dedicated, easily accessible viewing areas

The Aquarium’s celebration will also offer resources and ability-focused opportunities to discover, explore and experience the myriad of activities available in the greater Atlanta area. Georgia Tech will be highlighting the future of assistive technologies and Briggs and Associates will present information on job placement for people of all abilities. Guests will be dazzled with performances by Joey Stuckey, a blind guitarist, and will also have the opportunity to explore many informational booths, performances and demonstrations.

With the largest Handicap Scuba Association (HAS) certified dive team in the world, Georgia Aquarium serves as a leader in ability awareness and accessibility. The Journey with Gentle Giants program, a swim and dive immersion experience, is available to guests with all abilities year-round.
The Abilities Week Celebration festivities will be included in Aquarium general admission.

Autism/Asperger Conference

A press release from the Autism Society of America, Greater Georgia Chapter:

7th Annual
Autism Society of America -
Greater Georgia Chapter
Autism/Asperger Conference

March 22-23, 2011
Gwinnett Convention Center
6400 Sugarloaf Parkway
Duluth, GA 30097

The Greater Georgia Chapter of The Autism Society of America will hold our seventh annual conference, March 22-23, 2011, focused on providing current resources and information on autism and related disorders. The conference will feature presentations and workshops by top autism professionals, leading researchers and experts on various subjects related to education, resources, research and intervention across the lifespan. The format will include a keynote speech, and three 75 minute breakout sessions each day. There will be eighteen breakout sessions to choose from each day focusing on:

* Educational Strategies
* Families and Children with ASD
* Treatment Options/Therapy/Medical/Biomedical
* HFA/Asperger Syndrome
* Adolescent/Adult Issues
* Research

The Attendees
Each year the conference is oriented toward families, educators and autism professionals who are looking to find new or better ways to care for the individuals with autism in their lives. Further, the conference is oriented toward individuals with autism who are looking for resources which can help them reach their maximum potential. Past conference attendees were from a diverse group, including parents, grandparents, individuals with autism, educators, autism professionals, and students interested in pursuing a career in fields related to autism.

On-site Bookstore and Exhibit Hall

CEU & PLU Information:
Certificates of Attendance will be available for a nominal fee (see registration form) for teachers and other professionals. Confirmations of prior approval and application/submission guidelines specific to each individual system are the responsibility of each attendee seeking credit.

The conference will offer 10 direct contact hours, therefore, we will be able to offer 1 PLU for school system personnel that attend all conference sessions. This is applicable only with prior approval from individual school systems and as stated above is the responsibility of the individual to confirm.

For additional information or questions regarding continuing education credits/professional learning units, please contact ASA-GGC.

Registration Includes:
•Two Full Days of Incredible Presentations and Phenomenal Presenters
•Lunch Included with Registration
•Free T-Shirt and Tote
•On-site Bookstore
•Exhibit Hall
•Raffle Drawings
2011 Keynote Presenter - John Elder Robison


John Elder Robison is a free range Aspergian male who grew up in the 1960s before the Asperger diagnosis had come into common use. After dropping out of high school, John worked in the music business where he created sound effects and electronic devices, the best known of which were the signature guitars he built for KISS. Later John worked on some of the first video games and talking toys at Milton Bradley. After a ten year career in electronics John founded Robison Service, a specialty automobile company in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Robison Service has grown to be one of the largest independent restoration and service specialists for BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, and Rolls Royce cars in the northeast.

When he’s not at Robison Service, John serves as an adjunct professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He also serves on boards for the INSAR, The Centers for Disease Control, The National Institutes of Mental Health and Autism Speaks. John is involved in TMS autism research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and serves on the advisory board for Mass General Hospital’s YouthCare program.

John is the author of Look Me in the Eye, my life with Asperger’s, published in 17 editions that are sold in over 60 countries. John’s next book, Be Different, will be on sale this March. His writing has appeared in a number of magazines and he’s a regular blogger on Psychology Today.
In addition to his autism advocacy work, John is a lifelong car enthusiast, an avid hiker, a photographer, a music lover, and a world-class champion eater. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.


2011 Keynote Presenters -
Dave Hamrick and Lindsey Nebeker

Dave Hamrick is a 31-year old man with high-functioning autism who lives in northern Virginia. He is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Washington, D.C. area, and previously held a similar position in the same agency in Jackson, Mississippi, shortly after earning his Masters Degree in meteorology from North Carolina State University. Hamrick has also been in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend, Lindsey Nebeker, who also has a diagnosis of high-functioning autism. He has also been active within the autism community in the United States and Canada by presenting at conferences and workshops about how autism has personally affected him, and also made an appearance in Glamour Magazine, ABC’s Good Morning America and the cover of Autism Spectrum Quarterly along with Lindsey Nebeker in 2009.

Lindsey Nebeker is a 29-year old woman with high-functioning autism who lives in northern Virginia. She has a brother also diagnosed with autism. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Technology from the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico. Lindsey has been in a long term relationship with her boyfriend, Dave Hamrick, who also has a diagnosis of high-functioning autism. She has been active within the autism community in the United States and Canada by presenting at conferences and workshops about how autism has personally affected her, and serves as the Washington D.C. Liaison for the Autism Women’s Network. Lindsey also made an appearance in Glamour Magazine, ABC’s Good Morning America and the cover of Autism Spectrum Quarterly along with Dave Hamrick in 2009.


Presentations and Presenters
KEYNOTE SESSIONS:

“Look Me In the Eye”
By: John Elder Robison, Amherst, Massachusetts

“Weathering Autism and Relationships: Love Conquers All”
By: Dave Hamrick, M. S. and
Lindsey Nebeker, B.A., Alexandria, VA

Breakout Sessions:

“Determining the Communicative Intent
of Challenging Behaviors”
By: Glenis Benson, Ph.D., Madison, WI

"Higher Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Unveiling Their Pragmatic Deficits"
By: Glenis Benson, Ph.D., Madison, WI

“Common MythConceptions of Guardianship”
By: Mark Biernath, Esq. –
The Law Offices of Mark Biernath, Atlanta, GA

“Using Data to Drive Educational Decisions
for Individual Learners”
By: Michael Darden, CEO – President and Founder of A Deeper View KIHd System, Alpharetta,GA and Michael Behrmann, Ed.D. – Director of the Keller Institute for Human Disabilities, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

“Navigating the Maze: First a Diagnosis, Then What?"
By: Debbie Dobbs, M.S. – Child Advocate and
Educational Consultant, Johns Creek, GA

“Video Modeling: An Engaging and Effective Means to Teach Children with Autism”
By: Susan Ellis, Co-founder and Director of Operations,
The TV Teacher, LLC, Marietta, GA

“Adult Panel Discussion”
Rebecca Gaffney (facilitator)
Panelist: TBD
“Mobile Technology, University Research, Public Schools
and the Family; A Partnership Approach to Speeding
Education Research to the Consumer Market;
One Mom’s Social Mission to do Just That and
Why so Many in the Industry are Excited About It”
By: Gailynn Gluth - Founder and CEO, Wynsum Arts, LLC,
Atlanta, GA

"OMAC System:Organization and Management of a
Classroom for Students with Autism"
By: Cindy Golden, M.Ed., Atlanta, GA

“Employment and Persons with ASD: All About the Match!”
By: Lynnette Henderson, Ph.D. – UCEDD Associate Director of Community Services - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

“Building Neurodevelopmental Profiles Throughout the Lifespan”
By: Elana Himmelfarb, M.A. – Learning Specialist and Transition Coordinator, The Community School, Atlanta, GA

"Drawing a Blank: Improving Reading Comprehension for Good Decoders with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Parts I and II)"
By: Emily Iland, M.A., Author, Educational Consultant, Parent, & President of the Autism Society of Los Angeles, CA
“Increased Independence = Improved Quality of Family Life”
By: Jackie Isbell, M.A., Jefferson, GA
and Phil and Mary Nickerson, Parents, Milton, GA

"Families and Schools: Moving Beyond Conflict to Find Collaboration And Trust"
By: Kent Logan, Ph.D., North Carolina

"Mainstreaming Revisited: What To Do In Regular Education When You Are Only There Some Of the Time"
By:Kent Logan, Ph.D., North Carolina
"Some Glimpses of Light Nearer to the End of the Tunnel: Stories, and Encouragement from the
Mom of a Young Adult on the Spectrum"
By: Jeanne Lyons, B.S.Ed., Atlanta, GA

“Developing a Sensory Strategy Plan to Treat Children and Adolescents with Sensory-Based Problem Behaviors”
By: Ileana McCaigue, OTR/L, IMC –
Handy O.T. Treatment Tools, Suwanee, GA

“Identifying Pain in a Child with ASD”
By: Ana Carolina Mieres, MS, PT, Ph.D.,
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

“A Trip to Disney World: How to, What to, and When to”
By: Robert Montgomery, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Director – Reinforcement Unlimited, Woodstock, GA

“Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT)”
By: Robert Montgomery, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Director – Reinforcement Unlimited, Woodstock, GA
“Ethnic Differences in Identification and Placement of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders”
By: Michael J. Morrier, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Assistant Director,
Emory Autism Center, Atlanta, GA

“Sexuality on the Autism Spectrum”
By: David G. Nelson, M.S., M.A., M.B.A., Executive Director, The Community School, Atlanta, GA, Beth Champ, M.S., M.B.A., The Community School, Atlanta, GA, and Ryan Hackett, B.A., The Community School, Atlanta, GA

“Dealing with Feelings:
Four Pathways to Addressing Behavior at its Source”
By: Laurie Patrice, LPC, BCPC and Susan Martin, LPC, NCC – Center for Integrative Therapy, Roswell, GA

“Being Different – Making Your Best Life in a Neurotypical World”
By: John Elder Robison, Amherst, Massachusetts
"Back to the Basics:
Using Tangible Symbols to Support Beginning Communicators"
By: Elizabeth (Libby) S. Rush, MA, CCC-SLP, CPM,
Durham, North Carolina

"Symbols Don’t Become Communication All By Themselves"
By: Elizabeth (Libby) S. Rush, MA, CCC-SLP, CPM,
Durham, North Carolina

“Just Give Him the Whale”
By: Patrick Schwarz, Ph.D., CEO-Creative Culture Consulting, LLC and Professor,
National-Louis University, Chicago, IL

“Addressing Adventuresome Behavior While Keeping
the Dignity of All Intact”
By: Patrick Schwarz, Ph.D., CEO-Creative Culture Consulting, LLC and Professor,
National-Louis University, Chicago, IL

“Autism Spectrum Disorders
as Functional Disconnection Syndrome”
By:Peter Scire, DC – Executive Director,
Brain Balance Achievement Centers, Atlanta, GA

“Let’s Everyone Get on Board: How to Develop and Advocate for an Appropriate IEP for a Child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder”
By: Torin Togut, Esq. – Professor, University of Georgia, Attorney, Georgia Legal Services Program, Atlanta, GA
Presenters and Presentation Information is Incomplete
at This Time and Subject to Change Without Notice


Registration Fees:
Early Bird Registration (postmarked by 2/4/11) - $165.00
Student Registration Early Bird (postmarked by 2/4/11) - $125.00
Registration (everyone after 2/4/11) - $185.00


Please visit the Autism Society of America - Greater Georgia website at www.asaga.com for additional conference information.

If You Like....Jan Karon

You might like books by these inspirational authors:

• Beverly Lewis
  
• Fannie Flagg
  
• Garrison Keillor
  
• Richard Paul Evans
  
• Philip Gulley
  
• Maeve Binchy
  
• Grace Livingston Hill
  
• T.Davis Bunn
  
• Robin Jones Gunn
  
• Janette Oke
  
• Emilie Loring
  
• Taylor Caldwell
  
• Gilbert Morris
  
• Karen Kingsbury
  
• Terri Blackstock
  
• Tracie Peterson
  

Useful Web Links from NFB

The National Federation of the Blind has sent out a memo with the following web links, which may be of use or interest to you:

• www.blindscience.org - An information and resource site about teaching STEM subjects to blind youth. You can also read the NFB Science blog or learn how to follow NFBScience on Twitter.
  
  
  
• www.teachblindstudents.org - This site houses the new Education Station wiki, which is designed to foster collaboration of promising practices and curriculum for educators and professionals who teach blind students.

NFB is also promoting next summer's NFB Youth Slam, a five-day academy for blind and low-vision high school students. The program focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math subjects and careers. It will be July 17-23, 2011 in Towson, Maryland. For more information, please visit www.blindscience.org.

NLS 80th Anniversary

March 2, 2011 will be the 80th anniversary of the Talking Books program. In observance, here is a press release from NLS. The press release can also be found at: www.loc.gov/nls/newsreleases/index.html

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
To Celebrate Its 80th Anniversary
For immediate release
January 12, 2011
Contact: Jane Caulton
(202) 707-0521, jcau@loc.gov

On March 3, 2011, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)—the Library of Congress’ talking-book and braille program—will celebrate 80 years of helping visually impaired and physically handicapped individuals enjoy reading their favorite books and magazines.

This free library program brings reading materials in digital audio and braille formats straight to the homes of patrons from preschoolers to centenarians. Books on digital cartridge, digital talking-book players and braille books are sent to patrons via the U.S. mail at no cost to users. People who sign up with the program also have the option of downloading books and magazines over the Internet in audio or braille format.

“Talking books offer a wonderful opportunity for anyone who cannot use regular print materials because of blindness or a physical handicap,” says NLS Director Kurt Cylke. “For 80 years this service has been a priceless gift.”

The NLS collection of more than 400,000 titles of bestsellers, classics, biographies, romance, and other genres delights even the most selective readers. Magazine-lovers enjoy free subscriptions to more than 40 periodicals in audio format, including Consumer Reports, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated for Kids, and 30 periodicals in braille, such as Ladies Home Journal, ESPN: The Magazine and the New York Times Large-Print Weekly.

The NLS program also keeps pace with the latest book titles, adding 2,500 annually. Patrons learn of new releases through two bimonthly magazines, Talking Book Topics and Braille Book Review.

Patrons are served locally through a national network of cooperating libraries. Beginning with just 19 libraries in 1931, the NLS network today includes 113 libraries throughout the United States and its territories. Congress appropriates funds annually to the Library of Congress for the NLS program, while regional and sub-regional libraries receive financial support from federal, state, and local sources.

U.S. residents and citizens living abroad whose blindness or physical handicap makes reading regular printed matter difficult may be eligible to participate in the audio and braille books program. By law, priority is given to U.S. military veterans. Those interested in learning more or signing up may call 888-NLS-READ or visit www.loc.gov/nls/.

Free Vision Screening at Athens Council on Aging

The Athens Council on Aging is providing free vision screenings next week. Here is their press release:

Now that the snow is gone, you can...

Get those peepers checked!
Jan. 26, 2011
9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Free vision screenings using the latest technology will be administered by Prevent Blindness Georgia. Known as the Georgia Retinal Imaging project, a photo is taken of the back of the patient's eye, encrypted, and then sent via Internet to an ophthalmologist for evaluation.




To make an appointment, call

Susan Bush

706-549-4850

sbush@accaging.org

NFB Announces LAW Program

Here is a press release from the National Federation of the Blind:

The National Federation of the Blind Announces the 2011 NFB Leadership and Advocacy in Washington, D.C., (LAW) Program



Engaging the Voice of America’s Blind Youth



April 8-12, 2011



This four-day experience will provide blind and low-vision students in grades six to nine, or ages twelve to sixteen, with a unique opportunity to explore the inner workings of our country’s government, its history, and its culture, while staying at the headquarters for the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to learning about grassroots legislation efforts, how resolutions are passed, and how blindness legislation is created, participants will become familiar with advocacy work for blind individuals and available resources for blind students and adults. Highlights of the program include: visits to historical sites in Washington, D.C., meetings with influential government leaders, presentations by prominent leaders from the largest blindness advocacy group in the country, a tour of the National Federation of the Blind national headquarters, and opportunities to interact with technology from the International Braille and Technology Center, the largest lab of Braille and speech products for the blind.



Twenty-four students will be accepted for the LAW program. All accepted students must be accompanied by a parent/guardian, teacher, or blind/low-vision mentor from their home state. There will be a $250 fee per student/chaperone pair. Transportation, room, and board will be provided for students and chaperones.



Apply now by going to www.nfb.org/LAWProgram. Applications are due by February 1, 2011. For more information, contact Treva Olivero, Education Program Specialist, at (410) 659-9314, extension 2295, or by e-mail at teolivero@nfb.org.

TBC Closed Monday

The Athens Library and the Talking Book Center will be closed tomorrow - Monday, January 17 - for MLK Day. We will reopen at 9am on Tuesday.

Book Donations to Help Athens Library

The Athens Regional Library System has partnered with Better World Books to raise money for the library. Better World Books provides 10 bins around Athens to accept old book donations, which are then sold online. The company will donate 20% of every sale to the Athens Library system. Clean out your attic and help raise money for the library at the same time!

Read the article about this partnership in the Athens Banner-Herald:

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/011011/new_767913512.shtml

TBC OPEN on Thursday

The Talking Book Center is open 10-6 today - Thursday, January 13. Call us to order books!

TBC Closed Wednesday

The Talking Book Center will also be closed Wednesday, January 12. Roads in Athens and the surrounding areas are still dangerous. We hope to be open on Thursday, January 13!

TBC Closed Due to Snow

The Talking Book Center is also closed today - Tuesday, January 11 - due to snow in Athens.

TBC Closed Due to Snow

The Talking Book Center is closed today - Monday, January 10 - due to snow in Athens.

Jackson Co. Senior Center Renovated

The Jackson County Senior Center has been undergoing renovations for the last nine months, forcing the center to move temporarily. The center has been housed in a former minimum-security prison building since early 2010, but is scheduled to return to General Jackson Drive next week.

To read about the senior center's move, please read today's Athens Banner-Herald article.

Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act

A press release from NFB concerning the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen@nfb.org



President Signs Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act
Washington, D.C. (January 5, 2011): The National Federation of the Blind today commended President Barrack Obama for signing into law the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841), which will protect the blind and other pedestrians from injury as a result of silent vehicle technology.

�The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that this critical legislation has been signed into law, preserving the right to safe and independent travel for the blind,� said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. �The blind, like all pedestrians, must be able to travel to work, to school, to church, and to other places in our communities, and we must be able to hear vehicles in order to do so. This law, which is the result of collaboration among blind Americans, automobile manufacturers, and legislators, will benefit all pedestrians for generations to come as new vehicle technologies become more prevalent. We look forward to working with the Department of Transportation throughout the regulatory process.�

Because blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate traffic using their vision, they must listen to traffic to discern its speed, direction, and other attributes in order to travel safely and independently. Other people, including pedestrians who are not blind, bicyclists, runners, and small children, also benefit from hearing the sound of vehicle engines. New vehicles that employ hybrid or electric engine technology can be silent, rendering them extremely dangerous in situations where vehicles and pedestrians come into proximity with each other.

NFB-Newsline

Here is a message from NFB about the Newsline service:

Subject: A message from the Director of NFB-NEWSLINE regarding the NLS DTB Downloader program.



On December 20, 2010, NFB-NEWSLINE released the National Library Service (NLS) Digital Talking Book (DTB) Downloader program, which allows subscribers to download their favorite publications to the NLS DTB cartridge or a USB drive to be played on the new NLS digital player. After the release of this new access method for NFB-NEWSLINE subscribers, we saw a lot of persons start using the downloader program, which caused significant stress on our servers. While the surge of persons wishing to use the NLS DTB Downloader program is fantastic, it has produced an overload on our computer resources that were allocated for this process, causing some users to experience a series of error messages followed by an abort of the NLS DTB Downloader program, or causing the program to stop working during the middle of a publication download. We are currently making modifications to the servers that operate this process, as well as modifications to the NLS DTB Downloader program that you installed on your computer. When the improved NLS DTB Downloader software for your computer is ready, it will be necessary for you to uninstall your current version and install the new version. Further details as they become available will be posted on the NFB-NEWSLINE phone service and our Web site, www.nfbnewslineonline.org. We will also send out status update e-mails to subscribers who have an e-mail address on file with us. If you wish to receive status update e-mails and do not have an address on file with us, please call (866) 504-7300 to have it added to your subscriber profile.



Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through these system issues.



Sincerely,

Scott White

NFB-NEWSLINE Director