DEADLINES APPROACH FOR RESEARCH GRANTS IN INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABLITIES

The Association of University Centers on Disabilities has announced funding for research topics including health surveillance of adults with intellectual disabilities and early identification of warning signs of developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder among underserved population groups. Deadline for submitting letters of intent is February 8. Read more.

Also, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is inviting applications for Center Core Grants designed to advance the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and amelioration of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Deadline for applications is January 24. Read more.

For more information please click on the title above.

THE LANCET NOTES MARGINAL POSITION OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN HEALTH CARE AND RESEARCH

The Lancet: In its November 28 issue, The Lancet comments that in most countries, intellectual disability receives little or no attention during medical training, and there is a large gap between the needs of affected individuals and the availability of services. Further, there is a gap between research on intellectual disability and research on other neuropsychiatric disorders. Several articles in the issue discuss these findings.

To view articles, please click on the title above.

Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders --- Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, United States, 2006

ScienceDaily (Dec. 18, 2009)/CDC: Autism and related development disorders are becoming more common, with a prevalence rate approaching 1 percent among American 8-year-olds, according to new data from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study is a partnership between UAB, the CDC and 10 other U.S. research sites. It shows that one in 110 American 8-year-olds is classified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a 57 percent increase in ASD cases compared to four years earlier.

The new findings, published Dec. 18 in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), highlight the need for social and educational services to help those affected by the condition, said Beverly Mulvihill, Ph.D., a UAB associate professor of public health and co-author on the study.

For full article, please click on the title above.

Maternal Responsivity Predicts Language Development in Young Children With FragileX Syndrome

AJIDD (January 2010): Study indicates that maternal responsivity predicts language development in young children with Fragile-X Syndrome. The relationship between early maternal responsivity and later child communication outcomes in young children with fragile X syndrome was investigated. Data were obtained from 55 mother–child dyads over a 36-month period. Performance data were obtained at each measurement point from video observations of four different contexts. These were coded for (a) child communication behaviors, (b) parent responsivity, and (c) behavior management behaviors. Results indicate that early maternal responsivity predicts the levelof four important child language outcomes at 36 months of age after controlling for child developmental level and autism symptomology.

For full article, please click on the title above.

Lead damages child kidneys, even low levels

Tiny amounts of lead are common in the blood of U.S. teenagers and may be damaging their kidneys, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

They found evidence of early kidney damage in children with lead levels far below what is normally considered dangerous and said this could lead to kidney disease in later life.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that very low levels of lead may impact kidney function in healthy children, which underscores the need to minimize sources of lead exposure," Dr. Jeffrey Fadrowski of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who led the study, said in a statement.

Even though sources of lead have been drastically cut in the United States, the metal may still be damaging the health of some people, Fadrowski's team reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

To view the entire article, please click on the link above.

South Carolina Assistive Technology Re-Use Summit

When & Where

January 20, 2010
9:30 am - 2:30 pm
2nd Floor
Main Conference Room
Family Medicine
3209 Colonial Drive,
Columbia, SC 29203
(803) 434-3189

About the Summit

Presented by the SC Assistive Technology Program and the Pass It On Center

Attendance is limited to 60 people.

An estimated 20% to 40% of assistive technology goes unused for a variety of reasons. Medical and technology needs change. Equipment is outgrown, outdated, or abandoned at the end of life. Reutilization of assistive technology can meet the needs of many people who would not otherwise be able to afford the technology they need for education, independence, employment, and to maintain community involvement.

Reutilization programs can also enable children with disabilities to take direct ownership of AT devices rather than remaining dependent on school districts for AT acquisition and use.

At this Re-Use Summit, we’ll learn about South Carolina’s Reutilization Initiatives and offer our re-use programs the opportunity to gather more support from community and state networks. We’ll connect people and organizations, so we can all work more effectively to share reutilized equipment throughout the state.

Free CSS Trainings in the Upstate - February 4 and 5

To register online, go to http://www.sc.edu/scatp/trainingschedule09.html for the link to the registration form. Or, contact
• Sally Young at 803-935-5263, Sally.Young@uscmed.sc.edu
• Will McCain at 803-935-5004, Will.McCain@uscmed.sc.edu
February 4, 2010 and February 5, 2010
Accessible and Usable Web Pages Using CSS
February 4 Time: 10 am - 1 pm
February 5 Time: 9 am - 12 pm
February 4 Location:
Greenville Technical College
S. Pleasantburg Dr.
Barton Campus
Technical Resource Center, Bldg# 102, Rm. 152
Greenville, SC 29607
Attendance is limited to 20 participants
February 5 Location:
Spartanburg Community College
800 Brisack Rd.
(I-85 Business at New Cut Rd.)
Ledbetter Building, Rm. 121 (Lower level)
Spartanburg, SC 29303
Attendance is limited to 12 participants
Description: Beginning web layout using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Basic ideas, practices, tools and resources for designing a tableless web site using CSS. How CSS affects a site's accessibility and usability. Attendees should have a basic knowledge of html and/or web design layout.
Presenter: CB Averitt, Webmaster, Florence-Darlington Technical College. CB Averitt is the Webmaster at Florence-Darlington Technical College. He is a part of a team of four that is responsible for eleven websites. His responsibilities include web server maintenance, SQL server maintenance, programming, designing and layout. He also works with media such as closed captioning for Adobe Flash Media. His passion is building tableless designs using Cascading Style Sheets. CB also owns and manages Cats Productions, Inc., located in Florence, SC where he designs, builds and maintains several website for local businesses and organizations.

South Carolina Assistive Technology Expo 2010

Thursday, March 18, 2010

9 am – 4 pm

Marriott Spartanburg at Renaissance Park

299 North Church Street

Spartanburg, SC 29306

(864) 596-1211

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

NO PRE-REGISTRATION NECESSARY

-Exhibits and workshops about the latest assistive

-Technology for people with disabilities and age-related limitations.

Check the Expo Web page regularly for updates! And pass the word along to others.

To view the expo webpage, please click on the link above.

SC Adult Sibling Leadership Network Life Planning for Individuals with Disabilities WEBINAR

***SAVE THE DATE***
SC Adult Sibling Leadership Network
Life Planning for Individuals with Disabilities
WEBINAR

Announcing the first of a
WEBINAR series

"Life Planning"

presented by
Ms. Mary Ann Perry, Coordinator of Consumer & Family Empowerment,
SC Department of Developmental Disabilities and Special Needs.

January 12, 2010
10:00-11:30 AM



You will Learn:
What is Life Planning?
What five significant life areas are critical to a person’s happiness?
How life planning can benefit a person with special needs?


To register call 1-800-759-4776 or (803) 772-5688.
Internet access and a telephone will be needed to participate via the internet.
(You may also access the audio portion only via telephone)

To learn more about the SC Adult Sibling Leadership Network or to receive a membership application, please call the numbers listed above or visit our website www.scadultsiblingnetwork.org



The SC Adult Sibling Leadership Network is a project of Parents Reaching Out to Parents, Inc. (PRO-Parents) and funded through a South Carolina Developmental Disabilities Council grant.

________________________________________
PRO-Parents of SC
652 Bush River Road Ste 203
Columbia SC 29210 803.772-5688 or
800 759 4776
803.772-5341 fax
proparents@proparents.org (email)
www.proparents.org (website)
To unsubscribe/change profile: click here.
To subscribe: click here.

PRO-Parents of South Carolina
652 Bush RIver Road Ste 203
Columbia, South Carolina 29210

Equipment reutilization activities

SCATP is committed to increasing equipment reutilization activities in our state. A summary of SC AT re-use initiatives is on our web site. Ken Whitley of Key Technologies recently provided us with the following information:

“I wanted to let you know that one great way of “Re-Using” older equipment (whether working or non-working) is to trade it in through the Words+ “TRADE-IN PROGRAM.” Customers may trade in augmentative communication devices made by any manufacturer towards the purchase of a new Words+ device. The device traded-in does not have to be a working device and it does not matter how old it is. The trade-in value of the device may range from $100’s to $1,000’s applicable to the purchase of a new Words+ device.

Trade-in’s may be applied towards the purchase of an Allora, Conversa, Dura-SAM, Freedom Toughbooks, FreedomLites, NetSAM, NetTALK, Say-It! SAM Communicator, Say-It! SAM Tablets, TuffTalker Convertibles, and more.

If you have questions about the Words+ TRADE-IN PROGRAM, contact Ken Whitley at Key Technologies, Inc. toll free at 888-433-5303, email ken@gokeytech.com or visit the Key Technologies web site.”

If other AT vendors have information about trade-in or re-use programs related to your products, please let SCATP know by emailing Janet Jendron at Janet.Jendron@uscmed.sc.edu.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

Below are upcoming trainings of interest. For more complete information, see the our State, Regional or National AT Training web page. If you have trainings you'd like added to this page, contact Janet Jendron at jjendron@usit.net.

ABA-Based Early Intensive Intervention Embedded within Family Routines and Play
January 26-27, 2010
9:30 am-4:00 pm
Workshop Fee: $25
BACB CEU fee (optional): $20

Target Audience: Everyone is welcome. This workshop is designed for parents, teachers, board certified behavior analysts, board certified associate behavior analysts, and other professionals who design or implement behavioral programs for individuals who emit socially unacceptable behavior.
Register for this workshop

Instructor: Pat McCarthy, Ed.D., BCBA-D
This workshop is Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) approved for 12 hours of Continuing Education Credit for qualified participants.

This workshop provides a structure for a family-focused approach to ABA-based intensive intervention for toddlers and preschoolers with autism. Designed to help participants become proficient in developing a quality individualized program plan for a young child with autism, the approach combines strategies/curricula supported by early childhood development research with effective, evidence-based non-aversive behavioral analytic methodology embedded within family routines and play. Participants are taken through the steps of creating a plan to be implemented in naturally occurring settings, routines, and events which will help a child develop effective communication, social, play, self-care, and emergent academic skills; thus preventing or replacing behaviors which can interfere with quality social interaction and learning from the environment.

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Universal Design, Accommodations and Differentiation: an SCCEC Preconference Event
February 25, 2010
9:00 am-4:00 pm
Lunch on your own
Workshop Fee: $50

Target Audience: Everyone is welcome. This workshop is designed for parents and professionals.
Universal design is having curriculum planning, strategy and materials in place in advance to meet the needs of all learners. Accommodations are technology, materials, sequences and procedures to help a learner be successful in the classroom. Differentiation is when all of these strategies are applied to the instruction for all learners in the classroom. In this session, planning processes and examples will be provided and applied to participants’ classroom, teaching and learning situations.

Register for this workshop

Instructor: Dr. Patrick Schwarz, Creative Culture Consulting LLC
This is an SCCEC Preconference Event. Please visit South Carolina Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for conference registration.

Myrtle Beach Convention Center
2101 North Oak Street
Myrtle Beach, SC 29578

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North Carolina Augmentative Communication Association (NCACA) 27th Annual Convention
"AAC: Across the Lifespan"
February 25 and 26th, 2010
Raleigh Marriott City Center, Raleigh, NC
February 25: Caroline Musselwhite, Keynote speaker - "Communication Circles - Super Support for People who use AAC"
February 26: Variety of presentations
See the website: www.ncaca.info
View Event

Contact Jessica Yeganian at jyeganian@yahoo.com.
Scholarships available for families and consumers
Download and applications from the above website.
Target Audience: This conference is designed for speech/language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, educators, para-professionals, families, and consumers interested in increasing their knowledge of AAC and assistive technology.

North Carolina Assistive Technology Program handouts now available

The North Carolina Assistive Technology Program has posted handouts from their recent AT Expo:

http://www.pat.org/index.php/at_expo/handouts/

Sessions listed:
Funding and Financing for Home Modifications
APH Devices
Using Visual Aids to teach Friendship Skills and Emotional Literacy in the Preschool Classroom
Together Wii Can Do It
Technology Options for the Visually Impaired Professional
AT Started Early
Today’s Cell Phones
Window-Eyes
Sync Braille
Voice Sense
Desktop Sense
Portable Sense
Book Sense
Braille Sense
Wheel Deal
Succeeding with reading and writing technology for college students with AD/HD or LD
Introduction to Eye Control
The AT Process with SETT
Steps to Good Oral Health
Selected Resources on Oral Health
GW Micro Presentation

Regained Mobility in Greenville - re-use items available

This message comes from Amanda Adams at Regained Mobility in Greenville. Her contact information is below:

Our warehouse is getting kind of full so I thought I'd spread the word about what we have! We have:

4 power wheelchairs,
1 heavy duty power chair
2 handcycles,
hospital bed,
20 walkers,
11 bedside commodes,
3 bath chairs
17 manual wheelchairs
2 raised toilet seats
1 trapeze bar with stand

Please call us 498-8570 if you have anyone in need for these items!
Amanda J. Adams
Regained Mobility
PO Box 8576 Greenville, SC 29604
(864) 498-8570
"Greenville, SC's wheelchair recycling program"