Birth-Related Neurological Injures

Although we are now in the 21st Century and modern medicine is improving and extending the lives of millions of people, mistakes during childbirth lead to a number of birth related neurological injuries. In most cases, these injuries resulted in careless or even negligent behavior by the attending medical staff. These birth injuries affect the child and his or her family for the rest of their lives, in many cases costing the family hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical, rehabilitative, and equipment costs.

To read the entire article, follow the link in this post's title.

20 Years Since The Passage of the ADA, Employment Disparities Remain

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), providing sweeping protections for those with disabilities. Just over 20 years later, the effects of this legislation are apparent in day-to-day life. Elevators are equipped with instructions in Braille; city buses and public buildings are designed to accommodate wheelchairs.

Among the most important protections of the ADA are those relating to employment. Today, employment notices almost universally come with promises that the employers will not discriminate on the basis of disability. Employers are expected to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.

Unfortunately, current unemployment statistics indicate that these laws do not go far enough. Unemployment rates among those with disabilities remain disproportionately high; a recent study by the National Organization on Disability indicates that only 21 percent of working-age people with disabilities are employed. Many people with disabilities who are fully capable of working are simply unable to find employment.

To read the entire article, follow the link in this post's title.

Mental Health Leaves Most Costly Disability to Canadian Employers, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2010) - "Mental illness is associated with more lost work days than any other chronic condition, costing the Canadian economy $51 billion annually in lost productivity. In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have calculated the actual cost of mental health leave and found that on average it's double the cost of a leave for a physical illness.The study, published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, looked at data tracking the short-term disability leave of 33,913 full-time employees in Ontario. Results showed that the cost to a company for a single employee on a short-term disability leave due to mental health concerns totals nearly $18,000.

Dr. Carolyn Dewa, head of CAMH's Work and Well-being Research and Evaluation Program and lead investigator on the study, notes the disproportionate cost to employers when compared to other disabilities. "In an average year, a firm with 1,000 employees might expect about 145 disability cases. Of this, only a fraction are on disability due to mental illness, yet it costs employers the most." Disability leaves due to physical illness cost nearly half of that for a leave due to mental illness."
NOTE: To read the entire article click on the title above.

Free Web Accessibility Summit

Accessibility Summit: Building the Open Web for Everyone September 30, 2010 9 am to 4:30 pm EST Peeples Auditorium, DHEC, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC

We’ll have online access to this presentation at the Peeples Auditorium.
More information about the Summit is on the SCATP web page. This workshop is free to South Carolinians, sponsored by SCATP and the SC Assistive Technology Advisory Committee. If you have questions about this event, contact Janet Jendron at Janet.Jendron@uscmed.sc.edu.

If you can’t make it to the auditorium, you can purchase an individual or a meeting room ticket at the host web site and access the training at another computer.

http://www.sc.edu/scatp/trainings/accessibilitysummit.html
To register for this workshop:
Option 1: Complete the online registration form (preferred)
Option 2: Fax your registration information to (803)935-5342 or email it to Will.McCain@uscmed.sc.edu. Please include your name, organization, address, email address, and phone number.

Below is the schedule of sessions. More information about speakers is on the SCATP web page, as well as more information about the sessions.

This is a rare opportunity to hear the best speakers on the hot topics!
Plan to be there a bit early so you can register before taking a seat in the auditorium.
9:00 a.m. Christopher Schmitt, author of The CSS Cookbook, presents "Accessibility & HTML5"
10:00 a.m. Aaron Gustafson, Web Standards and JavaScript expert, presents "Progressive Enhancement with ARIA"
11:00 a.m. Jared Smith, Developer and Trainer for WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind), presents "Accessibility & Compatibility"
12:00 p.m. Marla Erwin, Interactive Art Director for Whole Foods, Inc., presents "Accessible CSS"
1:00 p.m. LUNCH
1:30 p.m. Glenda Sims, co-author of Interact with Web Standards, presents "Practical Accessibility Testing"
2:30 p.m. Daniel Hubbell, the technical evangelist for Microsoft's Accessibility Business Unit, presents "Future Trends in Accessibility"
3:30 p.m. Derek Featherstone, internationally renowned speaker, author and accessibility expert, presents "Mobile Accessibility"
4:30 p.m. Matt May, co-author of Universal Design, presents "Is Universal Design Still Possible?"
NOTE: For more information and to register online, click on the title above.

Single Gene Regulates Motor Neurons in Spinal Cord

ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2010) — In a surprising and unexpected discovery, scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have found that a single type of gene acts as a master organizer of motor neurons in the spinal cord. The finding, published in the September 9, 2010 issue of Neuron, could help scientists develop new treatments for diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease or spinal cord injury.

The "master organizer" is a member of the Hox family of genes, best known for controlling the overall pattern of body development. By orchestrating a cascade of gene expression in the early embryo, Hox genes allow for the creation of an animal's overall structure and body part orientation. Scientists first discovered the genes in fruit flies but they have since detected Hox activity in mammals. Humans harbor 39 such genes and 21 have been identified as coordinating motor neurons in the spinal cord.

"We knew that there were 21 Hox genes that determine how connections are made between motor neurons in the spinal cord and muscles in the limbs," says Jeremy S. Dasen, PhD, an associate professor in the Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist. "But what was surprising to us in this study was that a single Hox gene acts as a global organizer of motor neurons and their connections. The next step will be to see how Hoxc9 in motor neurons affect motor behaviors such as walking and breathing.

To view the entire article, follow the link in this post's title.

The Autism-Asperger's Super Conference!

Charlotte, October 21st – 22nd 2010

World-Famous Keynote Speakers

Dr. Temple Grandin
Named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the World! The HBO movie on her life gained 15 Emmy Nominations.
The Way I See It – A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s

Dr. Tony Attwood
From Australia – World-Leading Authority on Asperger’s Syndrome
The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome – Making Friends and Managing Feelings

Dr. Jed Baker
On Social Skills – Recently featured on 20/20!
No More Meltdowns! – Handling Challenging Behavior & Teaching Social Skills

Carol Kranowitz, M.A.
Best-Selling Author of The Out-of-Sync Child
Helping Kids with Sensory Issues – Sensory Processing Disorders in Children

Meeting Site:
The Blake Hotel
555 South McDowell Street
Charlotte, NC 28204
(704) 372 4100

Great Conference for:
Family Members; Psychologists; Counselors; Teachers; Social Workers; Special Education Teachers; Speech Therapists; Occupational Therapists; Paraprofessionals

NOTE: For more information, and to register online, click on the title above.

National Conference on Abuse of Adults with Disabilities

REGISTER NOW!!!
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
21st Annual NAPSA Conference

“Healing the Culture of Abuse”

WHEN: November 8-10th, 2010

WHERE: Westin Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego, CA

HOW: Go to: http://www.regonline.com/2010_napsa_annual_conference

On November 8-10, 2010, the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA), partnering with the University of California Irvine, Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect, will host their annual national conferences at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter Hotel, San Diego, California. Other conference partners include Dr. Nora Baladerian and the California District Attorneys Association.

The Archstone Foundation has provided funding for thirteen $1,000 scholarships for APS professionals from California, and the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice is also providing scholarships and other support to the conference (Note: Points of view expressed in this event are those of the organizers and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice).

To learn more about the conference and the events it will be hosting, follow the link in this post's title.

Research shows unemployment programs lacking for people with disabilities

LAWRENCE, KS, Sept. 8, 2010 — "Federal programs to assist the unemployed are failing job seekers with disabilities, according to an investigation by Jean Hall and Kathy Parker of the Center for Research on Learning at the University of Kansas.

The KU study, published recently in the Career Development Quarterly, shows two major federal programs — the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, which requires recipients to find employment within two years, and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which set up “One-Stop” centers to cluster services for the unemployed — have inadequacies in aiding people with physical or mental health impairments.

“The biggest problem is that these are one-size-fits-all programs,” said Hall, associate research professor in the Center for Research on Learning’s Division of Adult Studies. “People with disabilities, because they are a smaller subset, don’t get the kind of services they need. They are lost in the system.”

The insufficiency of the programs is striking because about 63 percent of Americans with disabilities are unemployed. Moreover, 29 percent of TANF benefit recipients nationwide have physical or mental health impairments, as opposed to 11 percent of the population not receiving TANF benefits."

NOTE: To read the entire article click on the title above.

Simon Baron-Cohen on Autism and Asperger Syndrome

In this interview, Simon Baron-Cohen, the director of the Autism Research Centre, discusses autism and Asperger syndrome, his work at the Centre, and discusses several books which he recommends to anyone attempting to learn about the disorder. He explains his choices in some detail, offering useful insight into his work and autism; to read the interview, follow the link in this post's title.

Book Review: Parallel Play

In researching Asperger's syndrome, which is the central focus of Tim Page's new memoir of childhood, Parallel Play, I found a lot of conjectural lists of famous people who may have had this condition, along with evidence to support the conjecture: it took Leonardo 12 years to paint the Mona Lisa's lips; Louis IV, king of France, bathed once a year; Bill Gates's first invention, Traff-o-Data, was a device that counted the number of cars passing a point in a road; George Washington so feared being buried alive that he ordered that his body be laid out three days prior to burial, so as to make sure he was really dead. There are also apparently confirmed cases of Asperger's among notable living people, including Dan Aykroyd, Satoshi Tajiri (creator of Pokemon), and Steven Spielberg.

Early on, in one of the very best descriptions I've come across of the way the Aspie minds works, Page writes of himself as a child:

"Caring for inanimate objects came easily. Learning to make connections with people -- much as I desperately wanted to -- was a bewildering process, for they kept changing.... Not only did I not see the forest for the trees; I was so intensely distracted that I missed the trees for the species of lichen on their bark."

He proceeds to document this social impediment in hilarious, excruciating, and sometimes moving anecdotes. The book reproduces a stick drawing he did of himself when he was 11, and you would swear the artist couldn't have been more than 5, so primitive is the rendering. Not only that, but this scarecrow is under attack from a bomb, TNT, a knife, a bullet, a grenade, and a rattlesnake, even though his word balloon says, "Everyone loves me" and he is wearing a crown. At the age of 3, he found the death of his grandfather so profoundly upsetting that he became obsessed with the idea of mortality. His first autobiography, written at age 9, he calls "a decidedly curious few pages devoted almost exclusively to the losses I had sustained."

If you read Page's piece in The New Yorker a couple of years ago, that may be all you need. Like more and more books these days, this one is pretty short and feels truncated -- you may expect a fuller picture of the author's more recent life than the one sketched here. But if you didn't read the magazine piece and you are at all curious about this increasingly recognized condition, or why your neighbor won't meet your eyes, or some people enjoy routine so much, then...well, then, you might also like to know -- as Tim Page himself might tell you, with his admirable humor and self-awareness -- that the galleys of Parallel Play measure exactly 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.

To read the full review, follow the link in this post's title.

Functional Motor Neuron Subtypes Generated from Embryonic Stem Cells

ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2010) — Scientists have devised a method for coaxing mouse embryonic stem cells into forming a highly specific motor neuron subtype. The research, published by Cell Press in the September 3rd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provides new insight into motor neuron differentiation and may prove useful for devising and testing future therapies for motor neuron diseases.
Motor neurons in the spinal cord communicate with other neurons in the central nervous system and send long projections out to muscles, transmitting signals that are essential for proper control of movement and posture. Like other neuron classes, motor neurons are known to exhibit tremendous diversity. "The existence of dozens of muscle groups in the limbs of most mammals demands an equivalent diversity of motor neuron pool subtypes," explains the senior study author, Dr. Hynek Wichterle from Columbia University in New York.

NOTE: To read the entire article click on the title above.

Accessibility Summit: Building the Open Web for Everyone

September 30, 2010
10 am to 6 pm EST
Peeples Auditorium, DHEC, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC

This is an online training that we'll be showing at the Peeples Auditorium. Come for all or part of the day.
Sponsored by the South Carolina Assistive Technology Program and the SC Assistive Technology Advisory Committee
Space is limited. Registration information is below.
Creating an open, accessible web is just best practice. With flexible content delivery and usable applications that benefit all of us, the truly Accessible Web is available to everyone all the time, regardless of ability. Spend some time with the Accessibility experts and find the inspiration and practical knowledge you need to make your Web presence truly universal.

Sessions

Is Universal Design Still Possible? by Matt May
* The web platform has changed a lot over the last few years. Barely three years ago, the iPhone was the biggest challenge for practitioners of universal design.
* In 2010, though, there are phones, tablets, new browsers and almost innumerable operating systems, each with their own capabilities and limits. Not to mention the needs and preferences of seniors and people with disabilities.
* How can you create beautiful sites that are accessible by mouse, keyboard, touch and screen reader, while using the best features of HTML5 and CSS3? We will apply the lessons of the iPhone and iPad, learn about the challenges of HTML5, and see what is necessary to create a single site for everyone.

Practical Accessibility Testing by Glenda Sims
How do you know if your web site is accessible? Can automated testing tools help?
Glenda Sims will share gems from her 10+ years of experience testing sites for accessibility. Equip yourself with free and powerful testing tools. Learn how to turn it up a notch when you need to monitor accessibility across a vast enterprise. See some of the very latest testing tools that will help you evaluate color contrast, dynamic content and WAI-ARIA compliance.

Accessible CSS by Marla Erwin
Learn CSS that's cool, sneaky, and fun ­ and best of all, that will make your designs soar without leaving accessibility behind.
* Fluid, flexible, and fixed width layouts: Learn to love them all
* Stealth backgrounds: images that expand with your layout
* Em-based values: the "zoom" feature on steroids
* Alternate stylesheets: offer great choices, then let the user decide
If you're a designer or developer frustrated by the "limitations" of designing compliant pages, you'll be out of excuses after this entertaining and eye-opening session.

Progressive Enhancement with ARIA by Aaron Gustafson
If you've been paying attention for the last few years, you're likely well-versed in progressive enhancement and it's content-out approach to web design, but you may be less familiar with the Accessible Rich Internet Applications spec and how you can leverage its enhanced semantics to provide a truly accessible experience.
In this session, we'll cover the following:
* Discuss progressive enhancement and where ARIA fits into the mix
* Examine how ARIA's landmark roles can provide additional clues as to document structure
* Look at the various roles and states ARIA defines for building accessible widgets
* Cover how to leverage tabindex in an effort to create a better overall experience when using the keyboard
* Walk through the construction of an ARIA-enabled widget, from markup to scripting, following the progressive enhancement process

Accessibility & Compatibility by Jared Smith
With a focus more on what Web developers can do to ensure accessibility and compatibility, Jared Smith overviews how people with disabilities access and use the web and how to ensure optimal compatibility of web content with assistive technology.
Assistive technologies can make disabilities mostly irrelevant on the web, so long as web pages are designed and developed to be compatible with those technologies. So, let's stop disabling our audience and focus on making our Web sites truly accessible.

Accessibility & HTML5 by Christopher Schmitt
At over 900 pages, the HTML5 specification sadly can't be distilled into a small session. So, Christopher Schmitt is focusing on the cool stuff. In addition to an overview of HTML5 layout structure, Schmitt looks at the CANVAS element and how multimedia elements like AUDIO and VIDEO can be made more accessible.

To register for this workshop:
Option 1: Complete the online registration form (preferred)
Option 2: Fax your registration information to (803)935-5342 or email it to Will.McCain@uscmed.sc.edu. Please include your name, organization, address, email address, and phone number.

NOTE: For more information on the summit click on the title above.

FREE Tobii ATI Drop In - Check out the new Tobii S32 communication device and more!

FREE Tobii ATI Drop In on Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 8:00 – 10:00 AM at the SC Assistive Technology Resource Center
Drop in and see the Tobii S32, the latest augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device, by Tobii, ATI. The Tobii S32 stores pre-recorded messages and has environmental-control capability. All the S32 features can be activated simply by touching a sheet of printed symbols, pictures, or scenes. Please join us as Wayne Jones demonstrates all the Tobii communication products in a relaxed, question-and-answer environment. Hands-on use of the communication products will be encouraged.
Join the FREE Tobii ATI Drop In on September 15, 2010 from 8:00-10:00 AM at the SC Assistive Technology Resource Center Poplar Building, Midlands Center 8301 Farrow Road, Columbia, SC 29203.
NOTE: There is no registration required for this free event. We look forward to seeing you there!
For questions, please contact Wayne Jones, Tobii ATI Regional Sales Consultant, at 1-813-326-1421.
NOTE: For more information on the TobiiS32 click on the title above