EASI Webinar: The Future of E--books Is Here!

Accessible E-textbooks for Students:
May 1
2 PM Eastern

Presenters:
Nicole Gaines, NIMAC Manager, American Printinghouse for the Blind Julia Myers, Director, Resource Services and NIMAC, American Printing House for the Blind, Skip Stahl, Project Director, NIMAS Development Center, Center for Applied Special Technology

President Bush signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) on December 3, 2004 which, among other things, mandated the provision of textbooks and instructional materials in accessible formats for students who are blind or print disabled. While the legislation relates to K-12 students, we believe that the more that publishers are creating accessible e-textbooks for K-12 that they will inevitably expand to a broader audience. If not, there will be an outcry from K-12 students as they transition into higher education wanting the same quality of support for their studies. This will be like dropping a pebble into the water. The wave will expand to include higher ed and the general public. Learning about this dramatic e-book revolution is important for all of us.

This presentation will focus on NIMAS, (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard), the role of APH, (American Printinghouse for the Blind) and the role of CAST, (Center for Applied Special Technology).

The National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) is a file repository for core print textbooks and related instructional materials required for use by blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. and its territories. These National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) source file sets can be used to create specialized formats, such as braille, large print, audio, or digital text. The NIMAC opened in December 2006.

CAST is the home of the NIMAS Development Center and the NIMAS Technical Assistance Center, Cooperative agreements with the Office of Special Education Programs, United States Department of Education.

While this Webinar is free, you need to register in advance to guarantee a seat in the room. (Those who register, whether or not they attend, will afterwards receive a link to the recording.) When you connect over the Internet to the Webinar room, you can listen to the presenters and watch as supporting Web pages are pushed to reinforce the presentation. The audience can also make comments or ask questions either by using a mic to talk or by writing into the room's text window.

To read more and register to reserve a seat and to get login information for this free event, go to: http://easi.cc/clinic.htm

Look for other future Webinars on that page. We have several being finalized and they should be on that page very soon. The EASI month-long, online courses on accessible Information Technology for May are:

• Barrier-free Information Technology (4-week online course starting May 7) http//easi.cc/workshop.htm
• Creating and Repurposing More Accessible Content (4-week online course starting May 7) http//easi.cc/workshop.htm
  

Norman Coombs
CEO EASI

To view their website, please click the title above.

What's Going on this Week at Family Connection of SC, April 22 - 28, 2007

Great News!!!: Melanie Slattery, owner of Gymboree in Columbia, will be starting a NEW class for children with Autism (& other special needs)!!! This STRUCTURED CLASS will start at the end of May! We will be having a parent's meeting (please, no children) on Friday, May 4, 3pm for those who would like more info or would like to add their input on how you would like the class structured. The class will be based upon levels 6 and 7 (ages 3-5) & will be held on Friday afternoons to supplement ESY & is open to children with special needs (and their siblings) of any age that would benefit from this class!

Please Contact ME @ SteffieGB@aol.com NOT MELANIE for more info! Exact prices & time to be determined at the parent's meeting!

Epworth Early Intervention Center, preschool for children with special needs for ages 1 year to 5 years, will be looking for new children to start in August (9 graduate in July)...If you are interested in touring the EEIC, please contact Kay Richardson at 212-4757! This is a fabulous program!

Monday, April 23 and Tuesday, April 24...Up on Downs and Parent's Hope will NOT meet this month!

Mom's Morning Coffee
Wednesday, April 25
9am
Atlanta Bread Company
Village of Sandhills

April 28
10am - 2pm
Family Event
Swan Lake Iris Gardens
Sumter
Meet at the playground...Bring a picnic lunch!

6th Annual Rolling for Autism Awareness
April is Autism Awareness Month and SCAS is hosting bowling fundraisers/autism awareness events on Saturday, April 28th, 2007
10:00 a.m.
Royal Z Lanes
8512 Two Notch Road
NE Columbia
3:00 p.m.
JC's Lexington Bowl
5380 Augusta Road
Lexington
These events will be fun for all ages!

_Register Online with our secured registration
_ (https://secure.webtelpro.com/~scautism/bowlreg.shtml) or mail your
registration to the address shown at the bottom of this page
Prizes include:
* Male/Female top score
* Youth high score
* Individual raising the most money
* Teacher raising the most money (per location) will receive paid SCAS conference registration and a prize
* Drawings for other great prizes!
Registration fees:
T-shirt is included with registration fees.
Registration fees include two games plus shoes
* $15 per person or
* $50 per team (4-5 members)
* Show your support:
* Put together a team to bowl
* Raise additional pledges
* Contact corporate sponsors
* Ask if your company matches your donations

Show your support by coming out to the lanes and enjoying a fun day at this
year's bowling event! All funds raised will assist the SC Autism Society in reaching their mission of enabling every individual with autism to reach their maximum potential. Ask your friends, co-workers and family members to support you and the SC Autism Society.

Family Connection Annual Benefit Gala and Silent Auction is April 29, 2007

CAF (Children, Adolescents and Family) Conference is held on May 14 and 15, 2007

For more information about any of the events please contact Family CONNECTion of SC at
1-800-578-8750 or 803-252-0914.

EdTech Conference: Call for Proposals

EdTech is coming soon and it's a 10th anniversary!!

Myrtle Beach, SC October 24 - 26, 2007

The Call to Present is now open and accepting proposals. Please consider submitting a proposal and share some of your ideas and success stories with others. To learn more about presenting, visit: http://apps.scaet.org/presentations/ then submit your idea today!

The deadline for submissions is April 30,2007.

If you are not interested or able to present or exhibit, then set mark your calendar to come enjoy and benefit from the many excellent presentations, workshops, exhibits, and other conference events.

Help us celebrate our anniversary and theme of "Technology-Past, Present, & Future," where we will take a look at where we have come from in educational technology in the past years, celebrate our achievements of the present, and prepare for the future of technology enhancing education.

Please share this email with others that may be willing to present a session at this premier technology conference.

Looking forward to seeing you in October.

To view conference website, please click the title above.

The Memory Hacker

Popular Science - by Stephen Handelman -- "Ted Berger has spent the past decade engineering a brain implant that can re-create thoughts. The chip could remedy everything from Alzheimer’s to absent-mindedness—and reduce memory loss to nothing more than a computer glitch."

To view this entire article, please click the title above.

Better Than Blood?

Popular Science - by Nicole Davis - - "A man-made, pure-white compound called Oxycyte carries oxygen 50 times as effectively as our own blood. Researchers are betting that it's the best way to treat America's leading cause of accidental death: traumatic brain injury."

To view this entire article, please click the title above.

The Family Center on Technology and Disability

The Family Center on Technology and Disability is a resource designed
to support organizations and programs that work with families of
children and youth with disabilities. They offer a range of
information and services on the subject of assistive technologies. On
their web site, you can search by category for assistive technology
resources, see their archived newsletters (on a wide variety of
topics), see their Family Guide on Assistive Technology, and
generally get a wealth of resources.

To view their website, please click the title above.

SC Statewide Brain Injury Conference

May 17 and 18, 2007

Columbia Conference Center

169 Laurelhurst AvenueColumbia, SC 29210

Available sessions will include:

*Return of the Military with Blast Injuries: Are we ready to serve them?

*Working with Families of Children with Brain Injury

*SC Systems Change

*Living Wise

*GivingBack-Fostering a Service Dog Puppy

*RecreationAfter Brain Injury

*Life is a Beach

*SC Vocational Rehabilitation & the Brain Injury Program

*Legal Issues

*Innovations in the Diagnosis and Treatment ofCentral Nervous System Disorders

*Medication Issues after Brain Injury

*Laughing Yourself to Life

*Effective Service Coordination in Primary and Secondary Educational Setting

*Post Discharge Adjustments

*Developing an Emergency Plan

For More Information Contact:

Brain InjuryAlliance of SC at (803)731-9823 or (800)290-6461or scbraininjury@bellsouth.net

To learn more, please click the title above.

Assistive Technology Conference

Step into the Future: Technology's Role in Education and Employment
April 19, 2007
8:30-4:30
Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center
1801 Nash Street
Sanford, NC

Contact Person: Julie Dutchess, ATP
919-775-3439 ext. 221 or jdutchess@lciinc.org

Keynote Speaker: Olegario "Ollie" Cantos, VII, Esq (the highest-placed person with a disability in the federal government-former Associate Director for Domestic Policy at the White House and now Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice)

Education track topics: implementing AAC into the classroom, implementing AT into the classroom-including Boardmaker Plus, Kurzweil 3000 and literacy, panel discussion

Employment track topics: ADA and supporting regulations to recruit, retain and reasonably accommodate applicants and employees with disabilities; "Know your Number"-health risk assessment; Diversity in the Workplace; Safety in the workplace and how AT can help

Registration fee:
$50.00 (teachers, therapists, employers, etc)
$35.00 (family/individuals with a disability)

If a company would like to become a vendor, please contact Julie Dutchess.

South Carolina Autism Society Earth Fare Events

During the month of April the South Carolina Autism Society will be having several events at Earth Fare, which is located at 3312-B Devine St., Columbia, SC 29205.

April 6th Gluten/Casein Free Cooking Class 5:00pm
April 7th Official Kick Off - featuring balloons, brochures, and items for sale.
April 11th Gluten/Casein Seminar
April 14th South Carolina Autism Society Information Booth
April 21st South Carolina Autism Society Information Booth
April 28th Kids Day –Autistic children have the opportunity to make arts and crafts.

For more information please contact the South Carolina Autism Society at (803)750-6988 or (800)438-4790.

The South Carolina Assistive Technology Exchange

SCATP is excited to announce a new an online recycling database, The
South Carolina Assistive Technology Exchange, to help citizens with
disabilities and older people with functional limitations find
affordable assistive technology devices and equipment.

All you need to do, is to go to http://www.scatpexchange.net/, click
"I've read and accept the terms.." and go to the next page. Click
"register" and it should be easy from there.
You can register even if you don't have items to sell or give or
find. You'll get a password and be in the system.

If you don't have email, you can call SCATP to have your account
information entered for you. Call Janet Jendron at 803 935-5273.
Those with devices they no longer need or vendors with returned or
overstocked equipment can list all available devices for use in
education, employment, and community living environments, and connect
with the consumers interested in finding these resources.

If your agency has equipment that no one is using, feel free to list
that equipment in the SC AT Exchange. You may restrict who you will
sell/donate to (e.g., only people in Greenville County or only people
with XYZ condition) when you list the device in the SC AT Exchange.

Thanks for your help as we start a program that will make a
difference to South Carolinians who need AT!

Janet Jendron
South Carolina Assistive Technology Program

To learn more, please click the title above.

SC Down Syndrome Family Conference

Saturday, May 5, 2007

This Bi-annual conference brings together parent support groups from across the state. This year's theme is "I Can Do it Myself" - RAISING A SELF-DETERMINED CHILD. This event will be from 8:00 to 4:30 at Breed Leadership Center at Columbia College in Columbia, SC. In addition to Keynote Speakers Dr. Allen Crocker and Joan Guthrie Medlen, RD, LD, a wide array of breakout workshops will be offered. Please visit www.DSALowcountry.org for more info.


To learn more, please click the title above.

The SC Autism Society Has Moved!

The new location and contact information of the SC Autism Society, which has recently changed locations, is listed below:

Main Office:
806 12th Street
West Columbia, SC 29169
Office: (803)750-6988
Toll Free: (800)438-4790
Fax: (803)750-8121

To learn more, please click the title above.

"Hands On" Sensory Workshop

When: Saturday, April 14, 2007
Time: 10:00 A.M. * 3:00 P.M.

Using Practical Ideas for Sensory Integration to Enhance the Lives of Individuals with ASD

Sponsored by, Autism Ability Advocates, Inc. (Contact - Denice Stout) & Supported by, Believe · Parent-Led Autism Support Group
www.believeinautism.org (Contact - Jaime Hansen)

Parents AND professionals are invited to attend. All who participate will leave with practical ideas and plenty of resources. Great door prizes, awarded at the end of the workshop, will allow you to interact "hands on" as soon as you return to work, school, or home!

Sign-In Time: 9:30 A.M.

A refreshment break will be provided.

Where: Chukker Creek Elementary,
1830 Chukker Creek Road, Aiken, SC
Enter the front doors and go to the cafeteria/gymnasium area.

Cost: $5.00 per person or a personal donation.

Checks payable to Autism Ability Advocates, Inc.
470 Timberchase Lane, Aiken, SC 29803

Pre-registration is required because materials are limited.
If you don't want to miss out * CALL NOW · 803-215-7593.
(Please do not use e-mail to register.)

Sensory Integration can help increase coordination, comfort level, relaxation, physical strength and fitness, attentiveness, curiosity, and a lot more. Don't miss this experience and explore "hands on" the many possibilities to better the life of an individual, challenged with ASD.

To learn more, please click the title above.