Monday, April 14, 2014

Free AT webinars from UATP, AbleNet, Georgia Tech & MITS.


Free AT webinars from UATPAbleNetGeorgia Tech & MITS.

Professional Development and Training in AT
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
9:30 AM Pacific, 12:30 PM Eastern from AbleNet

Eligibility requirements for getting assistive technology
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
2 PM Pacific, 5 PM Eastern from the Utah Assistive Technology Program (UATP)

Data Review – Will This AT Be Appropriate Next Year?
April 17, 2014
3:30 PM Pacific, 6:30 PM Eastern from MITS

What Administrators Need to Know about Assistive Technology
Tuesday, April 22 2014
11 AM Pacific, 2 PM Eastern from AbleNet

Exploring Apps for the Classroom and Transition
Tuesday, April 22 2014
12 PM Pacific, 3 PM Eastern from Georgia Tech's Tools for Life

Using Low Tech to Support Literacy Learning
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
11 AM Pacific, 2 PM Eastern from AbleNet

How to Control a Speech Generating Device Through the Power Wheelchair Drive Method
Tuesday, April 29 2014
8 AM Pacific, 11 AM Eastern from AbleNet

Assistive Technology Implementation: The Basics
Thursday, May 1, 2014
11 AM Pacific, 2 PM Eastern from AbleNet

Access to the Core Standards for Students with Significant Intellectual Disabilities
Thursday, May 8th, 2014
12 PM Pacific, 3 PM Eastern from Georgia Tech's Tools for Life


To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

Friday, April 11, 2014

Able South Carolina

Join us on April 16th from 2pm-4pm as we discover how to use computers to create Microsoft documents, design creative flyers, use Accessibility Features of Google, and use the computer to express your ideas effectively.

This FREE training for individuals with disabilities will help you:
  • Learn how to use the computer to complete everyday communication tasks.
  • Explore the Accessibility Features of MS Word and Google.
  • Communicate your creativity through flyers, invitations, and Clip Art selection.
  • Use social media safely to connect with employment and personal opportunities.
Where:
Able South Carolina
136 Stonemark Lane, Suite 100
 
To register please contact Dori Tempio at 800-681-6805, TTY: 803-779-0949 or by email: dtempio@able-sc.org
 
Please make reasonable accommodation requests for the training a week in advance of the event date.
To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

Learning and Growing: Exploring Apps for the Classroom and Transition
When: Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Time: 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST
Cost: Free!
Presenters: Pat Satterfield, Center for AT Excellence, a Tools for Life Network Partner, and
Martha Rust and Liz Persaud, Tools for Life - Georgia's Assistive Technology of Georgia
How to Access this Webinar: Click this link to join the meeting: https://amacusg.adobeconnect.com/tflclass042214/
To sign on, choose the option "Guest" and add your name and organization. Please use the URL above as it is unique to this TFL webinar.
With the introduction of apps, we are experiencing a drastic technology evolution that is revolutionizing the field of Assistive Technology and producing positive life changing results for individuals with disabilities. Apps are assisting students by promoting more independence, increasing opportunities for inclusion, promoting depth of learning, providing equal access in educational settings and supporting smoother transitions. This session will provide participants with opportunities to explore specific app solutions that promote success in the school setting and that can ultimately assist with successful transitions into the workplace and community.
If you need additional accessibility services, including captioning, please contact liz.persaud@gatfl.gatech.edu two (2) weeks prior to the date of the live webinar.

To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

Kids Biking 4 Kids Bike Race



You are invited to our Kids Biking 4 Kids Bike Race for Special Needs and Families on the Village Green in Lake Carolina on May 4, 2014. This event is to support our non-profit organization (Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library). When you bike in the Lake Carolina’s Fun 1 mile loop – we can help even more children overcome their physical obstacles to thrive and live abundant lives.
Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library is helping children  in Columbia area to receive equipment to recover from devastating illnesses and accidents. Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library was developed because there was such a large need. Columbia did not have adurable medical equipment library, a library that lends wheelchairs, standers, walkers, positioning equipment, nerve and muscle stimulators, weights, books and a variety of tools to assist the residents of Columbia in achieving a full, abundant life. This need was met when the non-profit organization, Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library was established in October 2010.
This is a financially responsible program. Thousands of dollars can be saved when equipment tools can be borrowed. Progress can be made steadily when the appropriate equipment is available. Durable equipment should be reused and repurposed.
Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library was also deliberated for the following reasons:
  1. To operate a lending library program of physical therapy equipment to assist individuals with rehabilitation.
  2. To encourage members of the community to become involved in activities which support the physical, mental, and emotional development of individuals requiring rehabilitation.
  3. To educate the general public about issues related to physical, mental, and emotional rehabilitation.
  4. To raise funds for additional physical therapy equipment. This includes but it is not limited to manual and power wheelchairs, standers, seating systems, chairs, walkers, canes and bathing equipment.
  5. To lessen the burden of government through the fundraising and purchasing of physical therapy equipment to provide for those individuals who require such equipment for development rehabilitation purposes.
We would like to invite you to this event and encourage others to participate. If you have any questions, please call (803) 720-5240 or email us at abundantlifetherapy@gmail.com.
Click on link to Preview Event Flier - 2014 Bike Race

To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

SC Youth Leadership Forum




The deadline for applications for the SC Youth Leadership Forum has been extended to April 30, 2014.  



The South Carolina Youth Leadership Forum
“Where Fear and Uncertainty Meet Courage and Confidence”

When: July 9-11, 2014
Where: Newberry College
Application: http://scvrd.net/individuals/ylf.php#application
Cost: Free

This leadership forum is designed to help youth with disabilities to further develop leadership skills that can help them face challenges to being participating members of their communities. Students who will be a junior or senior during the 2014-2015 school years or will graduate in June 2014 are eligible to apply. While there is no cost to attend, students must provide their own transportation to and from Newberry College.

Please contact:
Laura Spears
Transition Services Coordinator
South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department
(803) 896-6574
Lspears@scvrd.state.sc.us


To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

COCA's ADA Paratransit Blog and Report




If you are ADA eligible for paratransit services (curb-to-curb/door-to-door) and travel outside of your service area as a visitor in another county, region, or state, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities Council on Community Advocacy would like to hear from you. Please visit: http://www.aucd.org/template/news.cfm?news_id=7676&parent=16&parent_title=Home&url=/template/index.cfm?


For more information, contact Karen Irick at Karen.Irick@uscmed.sc.edu  
  
To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

Friday, April 04, 2014

Celebrate That April is Parkinson's Awareness Month


Join us on Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 3:00 pm for our 3rd Annual "Q & A Open Forum Panel of PD Specialists"



You have some questions and we have some answers.

**Does your support group have a website?  Yes, please visit our website at the following link 
www.columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org

**Where can I find more information about this meeting?  Please visit the Columbia Parkinson's Support Group website events and calendar web page at this address
www.columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org/meet_calendar_2014.htm#April

** Why was the regular meeting date changed from April 20, 2014 to April 6, 2014?  Our monthly meeting date was changed because Easter Sunday falls on the 3rd Sunday in April this year (on April 20, 2014); thus, our regular monthly meeting has been moved to April 6, 2014. 

This change is "only" for the month of April.  There will be "no" regular meeting on April 20, 2014.  On May 18, 2014, we will resume our normal meeting schedule of meeting on the 3rd Sunday.

** Can I submit my questions before the meeting?  I do not want anyone to know what I am asking.  Yes, you can email us your questions for the doctor's panel "before" the meeting.  The panel members will not be provided with any of the emailed questions prior to the meeting.  All questions emailed to us will be presented anonymously to the panel - no names or email address will be given.  We always respect your privacy.  Send your questions to this email address contact@columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org  

**When will my emailed questions be asked at the meeting?  All questions emailed to us by Friday, April 4, 2014 will be asked "first", at the beginning of the open forum meeting.

** What is the deadline for emailing my questions?  This Friday, April 4, 2014 is the deadline date.

** Where do I email my questions?  Send your questions to this email address contact@columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org  

** Will I be able to ask questions during the meeting?  Yes, you will be able to ask your questions during the meeting.  We will have slips of paper for you to write questions on and give to our volunteers who will be collecting them.  The panel members will answer as many questions as they can during the time allotted for our meeting. 

** Who is going to be on the panel?  On our panel, we will have doctors and specialists, who treat Parkinson patients.  You will have an opportunity to meet our panel members, and to ask your questions during the meeting in an open forum about Parkinson's disease and/or living with Parkinson's disease.  More information about our panel members can be found on this webpage
www.columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org/meet_calendar_2014.htm#April

** Are the panel members the same people as last year?  This year we are pleased to have on our panel: John Floyd (Pharmacist) - Dr. Gregory Wych, DDS (Dentist) - Dr. Travis Turner (Neuropsychologist) - Dr. Danielle Englert, MD (Movement Disorder/DBS Specialist) - and Dr. Tom Faber, MD (Neurologist).

More information about our panel members can be found on this webpage
www.columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org/meet_calendar_2014.htm#April

** What is the meeting time?  3:00 pm - 5:00 pm <<< Note this meeting time is longer than our regular meetings.  The April 6, 2014 meeting will last "a little longer" than our regular meetings, due to the special "Q & A Open Forum Panel" program.  We are allowing a longer meeting time for the questions and answers. 

** Last year I was able to talk with the panel members and some of the meeting attendees after the meeting, will I be able to do that this year?  We are allowing time after the meeting for meeting attendees to have one-on-one time, with each other and with those doctors who can stay a little longer.  We must be out of the auditorium at 6:00 pm.

** Is the meeting at the same place?  Yes, it is at the Lexington Medical Center - Park 1 Building - Auditorium - 2720 Sunset Boulevard, West Columbia, SC 29169
Directions and maps of our meeting place location can be found at this website link www.columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org/meeting_info.htm#Map

**How much does the meeting cost?  Our meetings are FREE - Donations to our support group are always appreciated.

**Can I bring guests?  Yes, we look forward to having you and your guests join us for this special meeting, and for any of our regular meetings of Columbia Parkinson's Support Group.  Our regular meetings are on the 3rd Sunday of each month (except June) at 3:00 - 4:30 pm. 

Anyone interested in Parkinson's disease, and their guests are always welcome to attend our meetings!  We believe that the more family, friends, neighbors, business associates, or anyone who has an interest in Parkinson's disease can learn about Parkinson's disease, the more support they can provide to the patient and caregiver/care partner. 

**Can students from local schools attend this April 6, 2014 Open Forum meeting?  We "always welcome" having students from our universities, colleges, and the members from our medical community attend our meetings! 

You have questions, and the doctor's will have answers.

Please send us your questions for the "Q & A OPEN FORUM PANEL of PD SPECIALISTS" by Friday, April 4, 2014.  Send your questions to this email address contact@columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org  

Help Us Celebrate That April Is Parkinson's Awareness Month!

Please feel free to share this information with anyone else who has an interest in Parkinson's disease.  Please visit our website at  www.columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org

We are proud to announce that SC Governor Nikki Haley has issued a Governor's Proclamation declaring that April 2014 is Parkinson's Awareness Month throughout the State of South Carolina.  Please see photo of Proclamation below.  Please visit this webpage for more information about April 2014 Parkinson's Awareness Month.    www.columbiaparkinsonsupportgroup.org/proclaim_2014.htm




To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link



Autism Live!


Autism Live is a popular web show for the autism community that provides information and resources to families living with autism and gives viewers the opportunity to ask questions live on the show. http://www.autism-live.com/

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Join the Conversation about Social Media Accessibility for People with Disabilities


National Online Conversation for Change on Social Media Accessibility Open through April 4




Through April 4, members of the public are invited to participate in a national online dialogue, "Advancing Accessibility and Inclusion in Social Media The User Experience," to examine the accessibility barriers of social media tools faced by individuals with disabilities, including job seekers and workers. Co-hosted by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the National Council on Disability (NCD), this event aims to explore the value of social media in the lives of people with disabilities, particularly around work, and to identify accessibility issues and creative approaches to making social media tools more accessible and usable for everyone. The information gathered from this dialogue will then help NCD and ODEP further collaborate with the social media industry to implement solutions and improve the accessibility of these online tools. The dialogue is the first in a series of three social media accessibility online events to take place over the next three months.


To read the news release in full please visit: www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/ODEP20140428.htm


To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

The 20th Annual Southeastern Regional Games!

http://www.sewsagames.com
The 20th Annual Southeastern Regional Games!
What: Watch the athletes compete in Track & Field events, Swimming, Archery, Air Riffle, Power Lifting, Bench Press and a Bocce Ball Exhibition
When: Events will begin Friday night, April 11th
Where: The North Myrtle Beach Aquatic & Fitness Centre
Registration: For more information about the games, participant registration or volunteer information, go to http://www.sewsagames.com or contact Melinda Chappell at (843)-997-7688.


To learn more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link

Celebrate World Autism Awareness Day!

Wednesday, April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day!
 Join the celebration by posting your Light it up Blue photos on:
Signing Time FB Page
World Autism Awareness Day FB Page

To read the SPECIAL EDITION: Autism Awareness Day Newsletter please visit http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=5605ddfb75204ef00d2ec88ec&id=7dc8dc895c&e=0ab6c86314

To learn more, please click on the above title.

To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link