NTAC e.News — October 15, 2006

Hawaiian Words of Wisdom

‘A‘ohe loa i ka hana a ke aloha—Distance is ignored by love.
(Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/6794/olelono1.html)

Announcements: Local

NEW! Disability Mentoring Day Is Upon Us

Disability Mentoring Day, a local, national, and international event, is scheduled this year for October 18. By participating in Mentoring Day—shadowing a current employee in his or her daily work activities to learn more about an interesting career—individuals with disabilities can demonstrate their employability, and employers can see these able and capable persons in action. On the Big Island, Puna Kamali‘i Flowers volunteered to be a mentor. On O‘ahu, Red Lobster of Darden Restaurants has been generous in helping, and the U. S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard have pledged their support and offered mentoring opportunities. Numerous professionals at the UH Center on Disability Studies and teachers at the UH Manoa Lab School have volunteered to open their offices and classrooms. Goodwill Industries of Hawai‘i has also expressed interest in helping. Additionally, Goodwill Industries of Hawai‘i, Windward Community College, and Leeward Community College are providing individuals to be mentored. There is not much time, so if you or anyone you know would like to participate, either as a mentor or person who seeks mentoring, please email James D. Brightman at jamesdb@hawaii.edu or call him at (808) 956-3648. Read about last year’s Disability Mentoring Day.

Show and Tell—Share Your Success!

September 30th brings us to the end of our fiscal year 2005-2006 and the time to tally the results of our hard work. Therefore, we are asking all members and partners of our network, and all recipients of e.News, to send us data on the numbers of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) with disabilities your organization has served or employed from October 1, 2005, through September 30, 2006. In addition to the numbers, we would like to hear your success stories. We hope to share these stories with other members of the community through our NTAC-AAPI briefs and e.News, and at our PacRim Conference in Honolulu in March 2007. If you have not already done so, please send all information to David Baker at david.baker@hawaii.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!

Identify the Star!

NTAC-AAPI is planning a video to feature stories about employment success of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with disabilities. If you would like to recommend an Asian American and Pacific Islander with a disability who has “beaten the odds” and is a role model for many job seekers in diverse fields, please let us know. We would like to help them become a star in our video! Please email James D. Brightman at jamesdb@hawaii.edu or call him at (808) 956-3648.

Announcements: National and International

National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2006

U.S. President George W. Bush has proclaimed October 2006 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The proclamation declares that, “During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we pay tribute to the accomplishments of the men and women with disabilities whose work helps keep America’s economy strong, and we underscore our commitment to ensuring equal employment opportunity for all of our citizens.” Read the complete Press Release dated October 3, 2006.

A Disability System for the 21st Century September 2006

In its October 2003 report, The Social Security Definition of Disability, the Social Security Advisory Board observed that, “The original Social Security disability programs were designed to serve those who had no realistic expectation of a return to the workforce because of a combination of severity of disability and attainment of near-retirement age.” That report raised the question of whether or not the Social Security definition of disability facilitates an appropriate approach to supporting and enabling persons with disabilities. After 3 years of intensive study of this question, the Board has issued a follow-up report outlining its vision of a disability system for the 21st century that is in alignment with the Americans With Disabilities Act, which proclaimed, “the Nation’s proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals...”

The Board’s report is available now in a preliminary electronic version at: http://www.ssab.gov/documents/disability-system-21st.pdf. Printed copies will be available at a later date. This and other Board reports can be requested or downloaded from the Boards Web site http://www.ssab.gov.

Time is Running Out to Register to Vote

Between now and the deadline, carry voter registration forms with you and ask everyone you meet with a disability interest to register. If a voter has moved, the voter must register at the new address. If a voter is not sure she is registered, have her fill out the voter registration form. WHEN IN DOUBT FILL IT OUT. The elections department will process new registrations. It is better to be certain that the registration information is correct than to discover that on Election Day, you cannot vote.

Time is Running Out to Register to Vote. Huge numbers of people with disabilities are not registered to vote. Your county or city election office will give you voter registration forms.

Community-Based Public Meetings on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

To provide the public with an overview of the newly reauthorized IDEA, the U.S. Department of Education will be hosting a series of community-based public meetings. These meetings will be held in: Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 17; Seattle, WA on Oct. 24; Minneapolis, MN on Oct. 25; Dallas, TX on Nov. 2; Denver, CO on Nov. 8, 2006 and Sacramento, CA on Nov. 14, 2006. Learn more about these Community-Based Public Meetings.

EEOC Launches Web site on LEAD Initiative

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched a Web site section on its LEAD Initiative, designed to address the declining number of employees with severe disabilities in the Federal workforce.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao to Host New Freedom Initiative Awards

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao will host a New Freedom Initiative Awards ceremony October 26, 2006 in Washington, D.C., to mark National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Awards will be presented to four non-profit groups, four companies and one individual for outstanding efforts in supporting the employment of people with disabilities.

Recent Products

For a complete list of NTAC products, please visit the Products section of our Web site.

Resources

The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans

The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans will support thirty individuals for up to two years of graduate study in any subject anywhere in the United States. You must be a senior in college, hold a bachelor’s degree, or be currently enrolled in a graduate program (though not past your second year). Amount: $20,000 maintenance and half tuition. Deadline: November 1, 2006. For details and to apply, visit www.pdsoros.org.

Institutes / Conferences

For a complete list of conferences, please visit the Conferences section of our Web site.

Web Conference 4-part Series: Learning Disabilities and Adaptive Technology

Part 1: Learning Disabilities—Adolescents and Adults
Presenter: Noel Gregg, Ph.D. Director & Distinguished Research Professor University of Georgia Regents Center for Learning Disorders. This first presentation in a series of four focusing on learning disabilities will present an overview of learning disabilities and the adolescent /adult population.

Part 2: K-12 through Transition: One Size Does Not Fit All
Presenter: Pene Chambers, Director, Information Systems Department of Special Education Kennedy Krieger Institute. Technology affords flexibility and can accommodate unique and diverse individual needs and interests without compromising goals and objectives. Use what you have better.

Part 3: LD and AT in Post-secondary Education
Presenter: Carolyn Phillips, Manager, Georgia Department of Labor/VR Tools for Life Program. Vocational Rehabilitation Program, and Customized Employment gives power back to individuals, families, employers and community stakeholders.

Part 4: The Matrix: Incorporating Universal Design for Learning in a Post-secondary setting for Student with Learning Disabilities
Presenter: Christopher M.Lee, Ph.D. Director, AMAC, University System of Georgia. This presentation will explore how disability services are evolving within the post-secondary environment.

The dates for the series will be October 5, 12, 19 and 26. Registration is $150: Register at: http://easi.cc/forms/ldconf.htm.

Disability Issues Caucus of National Communication Association

November 6, 2006: San Antonio, TX
Call for Papers and Panel Proposals. Disability Issues Caucus, National Communication. Association Annual Meeting: San Antonio, TX Nov 16-19, 2006 Deadline: February 15, 2006 The Disability Issues Caucus invites research papers and program proposals exploring any aspect of issues related to disability and communication, and it especially. Contact: klebesco@mmm.edu URL: www.natcom.org.

2006 TASH Conference—Living the Vision Together: Today, Tomorrow, & Beyond

Organization: TASH: Equity, Opportunity, and Inclusion for People with Disabilities
Where: Baltimore, MD
Date: November 8-11, 2006
http://www.tash.org/2006tash/index.htm

Increasing the Success of Employees with Mental Health Disabilities in the Workplace

The Ohio State University Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator’s Office and the Division of Occupational Therapy are co-hosting a one-day seminar to address the issue of how to help employees with disabilities increase their success in the workplace. A primary focus will be accommodations for social, behavioral, and mental health issues.

When: Friday, November 17, 2006 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Deadline for registration is October 25, 2006

Where: The Ohio State University, The Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43210

The $75 Registration includes continental breakfast, lunch, and conference resources. Contact: Andrea Cooper, phone: (614) 292-1076; TDD/TTY: (614) 688-8605; cooper.437@osu.edu

Ticket to Work Advisory Panel Beneficiary Summit Announcement

The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel (the Panel) will be having a Beneficiary Summit in Atlanta, Georgia on February 6-7, 2007, for individuals who receive (or recently received) a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit and/or their health insurance from Medicare or Medicaid (beneficiaries). Beneficiaries will be invited to the Summit to give us their thoughts and ideas on the way that Social Security disability and other programs operate now and how they can be made better for people who want to go to work. Also, beneficiaries attending the Summit will propose an ongoing process for beneficiary involvement in the work of the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The Summit will be a meeting of about 50 beneficiaries to discuss the disability programs as they are now and what could be changed to make them work better for people with disabilities. Recommendations will focus on work and what SSA and its partners can do to encourage work for more beneficiaries. It costs nothing to attend the Summit. The beneficiaries who are selected to attend will have their travel, meal, lodging, transportation, and incidental costs paid by the Panel. In addition, if a beneficiary requires a personal assistant or support person in order to participate, those costs will be paid by the Panel as well.

Applications can be sent via e-mail to Jenn Rigger with the Panel to TWWIIAPanel@ssa.gov or faxed to: 202-358-6440. They can also be mailed to the: Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20024, Attn: BENEFICIARY SUMMIT.

If there are questions about the application, call Jenn Rigger at 202-358-6425. REMINDER: The deadline for applications is October 6, 2006.

Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation, Inc. (CANAR, Inc.): “Making Life Better, One Individual at a Time”

February 18 - 21, 2007: Washington, DC
Annual CANAR Conference, Hyatt-Regency on Capital Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, 202-737-1234 or 800-233-1234
The Annual 2007 National Conference on Native American Rehabilitation is scheduled for February 18 - 21, 2007 in Washington, D. C. and will be co-sponsored by the Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation, Inc. (CANAR, Inc.), Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and other rehabilitation agencies. Download the registration form in Microsoft Word format.

23rd Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities

The Call for Papers for the 23rd Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities is now open. You can access the submission page by pointing your browser to http://www3.cds.hawaii.edu/callforpapers/. The format for the 23rd Annual Pac Rim Conference relies heavily on their Call for Papers. Topical areas are chosen each year based on suggestions from previous conferences, the latest industry trends and community need. Proposals are accepted from all over the world and address best practices and innovation within the specifically chosen topical areas.

Registration is also open for the conference so be sure to take advantage of the special Early Registration Rate offered. Be Sure to Mark Your Calendar! March 12-14, 2007, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Resort Honolulu, Hawaii. Visit http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/ for more details.

Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability April 3 & 4, 2007

Call for Presentations (Proposals are due October 31, 2006)
The organizing theme for this year’s Multiple Perspectives conference “Rights, Responsibilities & Social Change” seems appropriate to a year that has seen the passage of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and looks forward to the public debate an impending presidential election encourages. Continuing the tradition of the past six years, the Seventh Annual Multiple Perspectives conference will bring together a diverse audience to explore disability as both an individual experience and social reality that cuts across typical divisions of education & employment; scholarship & service; business & government; race, gender & ethnicity. The theme is meant to encourage presenters and participants to consider topics, methods and programs from a fresh perspective.

Conference information and updates will be posted to: http://ada.osu.edu/conferences.htm. To be on the mailing list for the conference send an e-mail to ADA-OSU@osu.edu.

ADA-OHIO (The Americans with Disabilities Act); 700 Morse Road, Suite 101; Columbus, OH 43214; 800-ADA-OHIO (800-232-6446); 800-ADA-ADA1 (800-232-2321) TTY 614-844-5537 FAX; adaohio@aol.com; http://www.ada-ohio.org/.

RESNA 2007

Instructional Courses: June 15-16, 2007; Conference Workshop: June 17-19, 2007
RESNA’s Annual Conference will be held in Phoenix, June 15-19, 2007. RESNA 2007 will feature assistive technology’s leading researchers, renowned clinicians and policy experts creating a conference program with unmatched levels of knowledge and expertise. RESNA presenters and attendees will experience a surprisingly intimate conference environment. RESNA 2007 will offer an exciting Exhibit Hall featuring product demonstrations and training sessions, two days of Pre-Conference Instructional Courses, and 3 full-days of Workshops, Interactive Poster Sessions, Themed Paper Sessions and distinguished speakers.
For the latest information and details visit their Web site: http://www.resna.org/.

Research / Publications

Special Issue of RDS on Disability and Disaster Available Now for Online Viewing and Purchase

Parting the Waters: Disability and Deliverance in the Wake of Disaster is a special forum of Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal (RDS) guest-edited by Christopher Johnstone and Alex Lubet of the University of Minnesota. The forum includes articles focused on current events, theory, literature, and historical perspectives within the context of events such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, AIDS in Africa, the Southeast Asian Tsunami, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the Montreal Ice Storm. Contributors come from a variety of fields such as social work, psychology, landscape architecture, English, and music and include Mark Priestley, David Mitchell & Sharon Snyder, and Grace & Thomas Christ. Parting the Waters is a significant contribution to our global understanding of the socially-constructed problems of disability and disaster. To view the issue visit: http://www.rds.hawaii.edu/.