FREE Webinars on Assistive Technology

Practical UDL/Personalized Instruction Tools for ALL Students Webinar
Date: May 7, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. ET
Speaker: Tim Jones
Cost: Free
REGISTER NOW!

Helping Students Struggling with Executive Function Build Organization Skills for Transition Webinar
Date: May 12, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 am.
Speaker: Tammy Wallace
Cost: Free
REGISTER NOW!

FREE AAC Trainings from PRC-Saltillo

Trainings Offered by PRC-Saltillo

Access Methods for AAC
May 7, 2020
3:00 – 4:30 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.15
Register Now

Getting Beyond Basic Requesting
May 11, 22020
2:00 – 3:00 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Register Now

Learning to Read with AAC: Emergent Literacy
May 11, 2020
4:00 – 5:00 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Register Now

Words for Life: Features and Programming for LAMP
May 12, 2020
8:00 – 9:30 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.15
Register Now

LAMP Words for Life: Vocabulary Review and Practice
May 13, 2020
5:00 – 6:30 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.15
Register Now

Unity: Vocabulary Review and Practice – 90 minutes
May 14, 2020
6:00 – 7:30 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.15
Register Now

Updated Siri Commands to Use With Essence on Accent Devices
May 15, 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Register Now

AAC 101: Using Early Language Development to Guide AAC Intervention
May 21, 2020
4:00 – 5:00 pm EST
FREE
ASHA CEUs: 0.1
Register Now

Free AT for Executive Functioning Webinar

Helping Students Struggling with Executive Function 

Build Organization Skills for Transition Webinar

Date: May 12, 2020

Time: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 am.

Speaker: Tammy Wallace

Cost: FREE!

REGISTER NOW!

The speaker will share tools and resources to help parents, teachers and other support staff who work with students with executive function deficits.

Objectives:​

• Participants will be able to identify students struggling with executive functioning
• Participants will be able to name 3 specific technology tools that may support students with their executive function skills
• Participants will be able to name 2 strategies to help students struggling with executive functioning

Yoga and Mindfulness for All!

Share the benefits of yoga and mindfulness 

with your students or the young adults in your life!

Students who have participated in yoga and mindfulness programming have improved self-image, reduced stress, managed negative emotions better, and increased optimism. Able SC has virtual guided lessons on yoga and mindfulness where videos of direct instruction explain various yoga sequences, breathing exercises, and mindfulness tools, and a self-reflection for the student to complete on their own.

These lessons address the immediate social-emotional learning needs of students in this stressful climate and support physical education and health requirements. All lessons available TODAY!

Topics include:

• Developing self-awareness
• Identifying and navigating stress
• Meeting your needs/self-care
• Self-esteem

Register your students here!

For more information on this program and other programs

 made possible by the SC Department of Education, 

go to www.able-sc.org/virtual-youth-support-services.

FREE Webinars!

From the 

Accessible Technology Coalition​

AT Webinars - Higher Ed and All Ages

Captioning Livestreams and Remote Learning Sessions from ATIA
May 5, 2020 at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern

How to access free online learning while on furlough from AbilityNet
May 5, 2020 at 5am Pacific, 8am Eastern

Accessible Remote Working Environments Webinar Series: Inclusive Meetings and Teams Accessibility Features from PEAT
May 5, 2020 at 12pm Pacific, 3pm Eastern 

How to get the most from your smart speaker when working or studying from home from AbilityNet
May 19, 2020 at 5am Pacific, 8am Eastern

Tools for Life and WATAP will do a live AT demos on the following dates. 
Thirty minutes with Q&A following. All are at 11:30am Pacific, 2:30pm Eastern

April 29, 2020 – AT for reading
May 6 – topic tbd
May 20– topic tbd
June 3– topic tbd

AAC Talk: Communicating with the World with Karanveer Singh is a weekly social group connecting AAC users from SETC. Upcoming dates are:
April 30, May 7, and May 14, all at 3:30pm Pacific, 6:30pm Eastern

AT Webinars - K-12

Using Choice Board Creator app for learners with complex needs to make choices from CALLScotland
April 29, 2020 at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern (30 min.)

Microsoft Writing Tools for Remote Learning from ATIA
April 30, 2020 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern

Tools and Strategies for Remote Learning for Students with Disabilities from ATIA
April 30, 2020 at 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern

Tech for Teens Club : Building Websites from PACER
May 2, 2020 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern

OverDrive and Snap&Read—Millions of Free Digital Books Now Accessible from DJI
May 5 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern

Aided Language Input, Attributing Meaning, Core Vocabulary and Pre-symbolic Communicators from ISAAC
May 5, 2020 at 4pm Pacific, 7pm Eastern

Supporting Students and Each Other During School Closure from SETC
May 6, 11am Pacific, 1pm Eastern

Explore, Experiment and Enrich with Inquiry-based Science Activities for Young Learners from AbleNet
May 12, 2020 at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern

Supporting Communication in the Home Setting: Language & Literacy from ATIA
May 13, 2020 at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern

Learning using educational comics from CALLScotland
May 13, 2020 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern   (30 min.)

Innovative Approaches to Providing AT Services During COVID-19 from ATIA
May 14, 2020 at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern

Bookshare and EasyReader, The Solution That Will Keep Your Students/Children Reading During The Extended Break from ATIA
May 14 at 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern

Using technology to support Storytelling for all learners from CALLScotland
May 27, 2020 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern   (30 min.)

Switch Access Beyond Cause and Effect: Stepping Stones for Effective Learning - Part 2 from AbleNet
June 2, 2020 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern

ATIA is making additional webinars free during this period, so take a peek.

Special Education Parent Survey

Special Education Parent Survey

Dear Parents,

We would like to understand how the extended school closures have affected your family. Your input will help us continue to serve your needs!

All feedback is confidential and no identifying information will be shared. The results of this survey will be used to develop products and programs to better help families and their children during this time.

Will you take a moment to take this eight-question survey?

Thank you for your prompt response--we appreciate your time!

Sincerely,

Amy Holbert, CEO

Family Connection of South Carolina

www.familyconnectionsc.org

Free UDL/Personalized Instruction for ALL Students

Practical UDL/Personalized Instruction Tools 

for ALL Students Webinar

Date: May 7, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. ET
Speaker: Tim Jones
Cost: Free!

REGISTER NOW!

As many as two-thirds of students in classrooms today score below proficiency in reading, writing, and STEM.  This includes students who speak English as a second language, students with disabilities, and many other students who do not yet possess the skills needed to meet today’s rigorous standards.  While today’s digital environments provide great tools for presentation of materials, many lack STEM and literacy supports needed by these students.

In this session, attendees will see a demonstration of Read&Write for Google Chrome, EquatIO, and WriQ. These are powerful programs with over 25 million users.  These ELA and STEM-focused products work with BOTH Office 365 as well as G-Suite programs. Participants will learn more about common technology supports such as text-to-speech, word prediction, dictation, text and picture dictionaries, annotations… and more… that can help ALL students and especially those who struggle with reading and writing.  These tools can be used through the Chrome, Edge, Explorer browsers on PCs, Macs, IPads and Chromebooks.

Participants will:

• Learn to accommodate different learning styles using tools from the Read&Write and EquatIO Toolbars
• Create customized vocabulary lists and study guides
• Find new resources for accessing digital text
• Discover a great tool for grading writing with customizable rubrics
• Learn how to access a “Free for Teachers” account

Are you a special education teacher?

Are you a special education teacher? 

Take this quick survey!

Along with some colleagues in higher education, we are studying the perceptions of special educators on issues related to guardianship and adult decision making support for students with disabilities. To this end, we’re looking for participation in an online survey from as many special education teachers as possible from all grade levels. Participation is voluntary and confidential. All one need do to participate is follow this link to the survey:

Take the Survey!

The survey will take roughly 8 minutes to complete. Towards the end, there are two, completely optional questions. The first will provide the option to enter one’s email address if they are open to a follow-up interview, and the second will provide the option to enter one’s email address if they would like to be entered in a drawing to win one of ten, $25 Amazon gift cards for participating!

Able South Carolina

720 Gracern Road Suite 106

Columbia, South Carolina 29210

803.779.5121 | advocacy@able-sc.org

Social-Emotional Learning for your elementary students, online!

Take advantage of our pre-packaged guided lessons 

to boost social-emotional learning!

Based on the Sanford Harmony Social/Emotional Learning Model, each lesson has a variety of activities for students to complete with the assistance or facilitation of an adult, videos with direct instruction on content, and a final self-reflection or small project for the student to complete on their own. These lessons are intended for elementary students with each topic leveled by K-1, 2-3 grade, and 4-5 grade.

Topics include:

• Diversity and inclusion
• Empathy and critical thinking
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Peer connection

Register your students here!

For more information on this program 

and other programs made possible by the 

SC Department of Education, go to

  www.able-sc.org/virtual-youth-support-services.

Low Vision and Blind Resources

HIMS and Vispero are offering 

an informative and educational line up 

of free webinars on 

the Polaris, QBraille and JAWS. 

HIMS

Take advantage of some free webinars about the Braille Sense Polaris Braille Notetaker offered by HIMS.

The webinar topics offer training in: Polaris and Math; Polaris Set up; Polaris & Google Classrooms; Polaris and Zoom; and QBraille. 

Vispero

If you or anyone you know needs ACVREP CEU credits Vispero is hosting a webinar tomorrow with APH on the Jupiter and Video Mag HD. It is free and offers CEUs. 

Learn more here

Supporting Remote Learning

Visit Vispero's website to learn more about their offer. Users can access JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion software free of charge until June 30, 2020 by visiting our software portal. If you do not have a college email, simply enter your personal email.

Learn more about the offer

Visit Freedom Scientific's You Tube channel to see more training information.

AT for Families: SCATP can help!

Assistive Technology for Families: 

How SCATP Can Help

April 23, 2020

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (EDT)

Cost: FREE!

REGISTER NOW​

Learn about the assistive technology activities, services and resources the staff of the SC Assistive Technology Program have to offer. Meet three team members and hear about how they provide access to and acquisition of assistive technology devices and equipment. Participants will be able to ask questions.

Intended Audience: Parents and agency staff who serve people with disabilities, such as DSS, Family Connections, Guardian Ad Litem, and more.

Speakers: Carol Page, Alli Upchurch, and Tammy Wallace 

Get Involved: #CelebrateDifferences Together, While Apart

COVID-19 Resources, Interviews & Mask Delivery

The Autism Society of America continues to expand its COVID-19 response efforts, with updated resources, self-advocates & expert interviews on Facebook Live, and mask distribution to congregate living communities.

• The Autism Society of America received a donation from Make Waves, a non-profit that supports organizations focused on employment & community living for autistic adults, to distribute up to 50,000 masks to Direct Support Professionals (DSP) in high-risk areas.
• Our Public Policy team is continuing to advocate for funding for services and supports for people with autism in the fourth pandemic relief package.
• We have a jam packed week for our Facebook Live: Coronavirus Information Series:

4/21 @ 3pm EST: “COVID-Connections: Staying Connected During Isolation” Featuring Dr. Wendy Ross & Author, Jennifer Cook (previously known as O’Toole.)

4/23 @ 3pm EST: “A Perspective from Autistic Self-Advocate & Mother” Featuring Carly Fulgham, member of Autism Society Board of Directors, and chair of the PSA.

• 57,000 people have accessed the COVID-19 toolkit webpages. Search by topic for resources relevant to the added challenges the autism community faces during this crisis.
• Our National Helpline remains fully operational; Speak to an Information & Referral Specialist today by calling at 1(800)3-AUTISM or email at info@autism-society.org.

ACCESS COVID-19 TOOLKIT

Ten Days Left to #CelebrateDifferences for NAAM!

Visit our National Autism Awareness Month website to download autism infographics, statistics, and social media graphics. Take the pledge to spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change!

GET INVOLVED

Affiliates Demonstrate we are "Stronger Together"

Over 350 Autism Society events, programs and services were cancelled nationwide due to the Coronavirus. Our affiliate network quickly pivoted to provide virtual events and online supports during this time. Some affiliate highlights include:

• The Autism Societies of Greater Wisconsin and Minnesota are joining forces to present “Stronger Together in 2020,” a virtual autism conference accessible from the comfort and safety of home April 30-May 2.
• Autism Society of Central Virginia moves to virtual support groups for adults with autism, caregivers and teens - plus additional virtual experiences!
• Autism Society of Greater New Orleans is hosting a "Virtual Dinner Party for Adults with Autism!"

Find a local affiliate near you to access support and state specific resources.

FIND AFFILIATE

Free and Low Cost Resources

Assistive Technology Offers

Ghotit

Ghotit develops solutions for people with dyslexia and dysgraphia. Ghotit is offering users to use Ghotit for free for 6 months.
Download 64-bit for Windows - Ghotit Version 7 free for 6 months
Download 32-bit for Windows - Ghotit Version 7 free for 6 months
user: call-edu
pass: free-covid-19
Setup Instructions
Contact: ofer@ghotit.com

Glean

Glean is a note taking tool from Sonocent which allows students to take notes independently, and has dedicated tools for recording and making notes during online classes. The offer allows institutions to get free access to the tool for an unlimited number of students.  Glean is designed to be so simple that students can learn how to use it themselves in as little as five minutes.  It now includes dedicated tools for online learning, so that students can take notes independently and record lectures wherever they are.
Download Glean FREE for an unlimited number of students through August 31, 2020
Contact: charles.hague@sonocent.com

ObjectiveEd

ObjectiveEd is providing free use of their distance learning system to schools, for teachers to use with students with vision impairments through the end of the 2019/2020 school year.  This product is "gamified learning".  ObjectiveEd's mission is to provide students with disabilities, and the parents and professionals dedicated to their education, digital curriculum and integrated performance monitoring and reporting tools that will help the students achieve their best educational outcomes. 
Sign up at ObjectiveEd
Contact: marty@objectiveed.com

Streamer Solutions

Everyone can get 4 weeks of free captioning and translation of any livestream event, including Zoom, Facebook Live, Google Meet, WebEx, etc. After 4 weeks, the cost to continue using the service is $9.97/month or $99/year (which comes to $8.25/month). Register for one of the webinars presented by Robert Palmquist, CEO SpeechGear, Inc. to learn how to sign up for the service and how to use it to caption and translate your livestreams.
Educators 
Businesses 
Government Agencies
Churches 
Contact:  rpalmquist@speechgear.com

Reader Pens

Portable, pocket-sized device that reads text aloud. Has many more features.
Parent Trial
School District Trial*
*Be sure if you are District Staff working from home, that you put the School District name and address. Also note in the ‘other details’ where to ship to, so you are sure to receive the package.
Videos of Reader Pens in action: 
Parents/Students
District/School staff/Students
Free webinar can be scheduled by contacting timothys@scanningpens.com or 203-339-1709

Present Pal

Present Pal is free for the next several months. Presentation support software that works like a set of interactive flashcards and helps students with any presentation anxiety. We support many individuals with different needs, dyslexia, ADHD, autism or anyone who suffers from presentation anxiety.  Video available.
Contact: cara@presentpal.co.uk

Mountn’Mover

Remote Learning
Loan Program
COVAID-19
Eval Kits
Contact: info@blueskydesigns.us or 888-724-7002

YesAccessible! TypeAbility

TypeAbility for the blind and visually impaired teaches both typing skills, and also skills for editing and navigating in documents, menus and dialog boxes for those who uses JAWS or Fusion.
TypeAbility is now available for only $30 (usual price is $150) for those using the free Home Temporary License of JAWS/Fusion through June 30, 2020.  TypeAbility will time out June 30, 2020, as well.
More Information can be found at www.YesAccessible.com
Contact:  info@yesaccessible.com