NTAC e.News — April 15, 2007

Asian/Pacific Islander Words of Wisdom

Lak bom ua chad era Ngerchemai el miltom ra uel el metom ra mlai.
Don’t be like the man from Ngerchemai who lost both the turtle and the canoe.
Source: http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Palms/6757/proverbs.html

Announcements: Local

NEW! New NTAC-AAPI Product

James David Brightman, NTAC-AAPI Vocational Rehabilitation Coordinator, has written another “Promising Practices Brief.” This fifth issue in a series of five illustrates networking as a promising practice for rehabilitation counselors who serve Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with disabilities. To read all five issues in the series—“Bilingual Support,” “Coordination of Services,” “Hiring Diverse Providers,” “Cultural Brokering,” and “Networking”—please go to the following Web site: http://www.ntac.hawaii.edu/products/briefs/. Scroll down to “Promising Practice Briefs, Volume 7.” You can reach James Brightman by email at jamesdb@hawaii.edu.

Announcements: National and International

Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy—Speeches Update

Read Assistant Secretary Grizzard’s speech to the Hawaii Department of Health Adult Mental Health Division’s 4th Annual Best Practices Conference. https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=SPEECHES&p_id=1062

Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s Olympic Legacy

National Public Radio, April 5, 2007. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was featured on National Public Radio’s newsmagazine Morning Edition. The piece, by Correspondent Joseph Shapiro, notes her significant role in changing negative attitudes about people with intellectual disabilities and that it’s a cause she continues to fight for, every day. Listen and read a short excerpt at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9136962 .

Renaming of Mental Retardation: Understanding the Change to the Term Intellectual Disability

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD-formerly AAMR) has offered a definition for the term “intellectual disability.” The group of AAIDD experts responsible for defining the condition of intellectual disability to the world now explains the move away from the word “mental retardation” to the term intellectual disability in an article published in the April issue of the journal, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The article cites the new definition for intellectual disability and the assumptions on which it is based, although the official 11th edition of the AAIDD definition Manual is expected to be published in the year 2009. http://www.aaidd.org/Reading_Room/pdf/renamingMRIDDApril2007.pdf

Secretary Spellings Announces New Regulations to More Accurately Assess Students with Disabilities

US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced new regulations under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) allowing states to test certain students with disabilities using an alternate assessment that more appropriately aligns with students’ needs and yields more meaningful results for schools and parents. The new regulations provide states and schools with greater flexibility by allowing them to more accurately evaluate these students’ academic progress and tailor instruction based on individual needs. The Press Release, Regulations, Guidance, and Fact Sheet are available at www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/secletter/051214.html

Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes—The Barron Prize

Nomination Deadline: April 30, 2007
Each year, 10 national winners each receive $2,000 to support their service work or higher education. The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes seeks nominations for its 2007 awards. The Barron Prize honors young people between the ages of 8 and 18 who “have shown leadership and courage in public service to people and our planet.” In the past, half the winners have focused on helping their communities and fellow beings, and half have focused on protecting the health and sustainability of the environment. http://www.barronprize.org/

Recent Products

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

Resources

Adolescent Literacy Resources: An Annotated Bibliography

This array of research summaries and policy documents on reading and reading comprehension for students in grades 4-12, while not exhaustive, includes discussions of all the current important research issues in adolescent literacy and the development of state- and district-level policies to support improvements in adolescent literacy outcomes. This is a companion piece to the recently released Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents: A Guidance Document from the Center on Instruction. For more information, and to get more details and access these resource materials go to the Center on Instruction Web site: http://www.centeroninstruction.org/resources.cfm?category=reading&subcategory=materials&grade_start=4&grade_end=12#99.

National Family Caregiving Awards Program—MetLife Foundation

Deadline for Submissions: May 15, 2007; Up to 6 awards of $25,000.
The National Alliance for Caregiving and MetLife Foundation are now accepting applications for the 2007 National Family Caregiving Awards Program. The awards recognize community agencies and other organizations that support family caregivers as a significant part of their mission. Two awards are given in each of three categories: caregiver education, technology, and caregiver support. http://www.caregiving.org/news/

Domestic Grantmaking Program—Mattel

Application Deadline: June 15, 2007; Award Ceiling: $20,000.
Mattel and the Mattel Children’s Foundation have announced the third year of the company's Domestic Grantmaking Program. Through the program, U.S. charitable organizations that can demonstrate they directly serve children in need. Funds may be applied to programs or general operating costs.

National Group Respite Program Awards—Brookdale Foundation

Up to 15 awards of $10,500. The Brookdale Foundation Group has issued a Request for Proposals for starting social model group respite programs for people with Alzheimer’s disease and their family caregivers. The Foundation will award up to 15 seed grants for the development of dementia-specific group respite programs. http://www.brookdalefoundation.org/respiteprogram.htm

Institutes / Conferences

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

National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education (NAAPAE)

The National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education (NAAPAE) is holding its 29th Annual Conference in Hawaii on April 20-21, 2007. With a conference theme entitled, “Pacific Pathways: Engage, Educate, Enlighten”, presenters may focus on social, cultural, and educational issues; leadership development; and outreach.

Please consider submitting a proposal to this noteworthy conference. Proposals submitted electronically or via CD by January 10, 2007 will receive priority for selection. Submit proposals to nakaoka@hawaii.edu.

(PSY 0621m) Advocacy Skills and Documenting Disability: A Workshop for Parents and Professionals

April 21, 2006: San Francisco, CA
This workshop is designed to teach parents and professionals involved in the lives of children and adults with disabilities to advocate in multiple ways to break through the systems that impact the individual with an emphasis on students receiving special education services. As a result of participating in the training, participants will have an increased understanding of educational and civil rights laws and learn covert and overt advocacy skills. Participants will learn how to apply these skills to their professional and personal roles as advocates with the primary goal of increasing self-advocacy for children and adults with disabilities. Special attention will be paid to providing documentation that drives accommodations by meeting the needs of disability laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities and Education Improvement Act and the Rehabilitation Act, Section 504. Learn more about about the Advocacy Skills and Documenting Disability workshop.

Collaborative Grants in Media and Communications—Social Science Research Council

Application Deadline: April 22, 2007 (LOI); Award Ceiling: $30,000.
The Social Science Research Council is accepting applications for large grants through its Collaborative Grants program for academic-advocacy partnerships in media and communications. The program provides one-year grants for support of academic-advocacy research collaborations designed to change media/telecommunications infrastructure, practices, or policies. Projects must involve substantive collaboration between a researcher based at a university, college, or other academically oriented research institution, and a U.S.-based nonprofit advocacy, organizing, or community group working on media and/or telecommunications issues.

Charting the Future In Developmental and Learning Disabilities

YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network will hold its 28th Annual International Conference: “Charting the Future In Developmental and Learning Disabilities” on April 30 - May 4, 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Manhattan Hotel, 1605 Broadway, in New York City. For more information, contact Tina Sobel, Senior Manager of YAI/NIPD’s Professional Information Department, at tsobel@yai.org, 212-273-6457 or visit http://www.yai.org/.

Imagine...Everybody Works!

The Autism Society of America and APSE: The Network on Employment Conference & Training Event, May 10 and 11, 2007, Columbus, OH, Hyatt on Capital Square. APSE and the Autism Society of America invite sponsors and exhibitors to participate. For more information, contact: Teresa Grossi (tgrossi@indiana.edu) or Cathy Pratt (prattc@indiana.edu) or call 812.855.6508.

World Health Organization's North American Collaborating Center for the ICF (the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health)

The Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange (CIRRIE) will be hosting the conference of the World Health Organization's North American Collaborating Center for the ICF (the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health) in Niagara Falls, June 5-7, 2007.

The conference theme, Sharing Knowledge Through the ICF, points to the role of the ICF in making it possible for us to communicate about disability across countries, cultures, languages, and professions. The conference will be useful to persons who are new to the ICF as well as those who have long been involved in its development and application.

Complete information and the Call for Papers are at http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/icf/conference/index.html

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/.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of Health: Summer Institute in Applied Research in Child and Adolescent Development

June 24-29, 2007: Bolger Center, Potomac, Maryland
A goal of the Institute is to support investigators who are beginning careers as applied researchers by providing training that will build upon their existing content knowledge and research skills. To be eligible for this Institute, individuals must have completed a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent terminal degree within their field. Individuals must also:

• Have at least 1 year of post-doctoral experience in academe, private industry, non-profit, or government
• Have not more than 5 years of subsequent research experience at the time of the Institute

Direct all inquiries to: summerinst@mail.nih.gov. Application Due Date: February 15, 2007. Notification of Acceptance: April 1, 2007

18th Annual National APSE Conference

The 18th Annual National APSE Conference will take place from July 16-18, 2007 in Kansas City, Missouri. This year’s conference challenges you to join in shaping the future of supported employment! Register Online for the APSE Conference

National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam 2007 A STEM Leadership Academy

July 30 - August 4, 2007: Baltimore, MD
Who:Two hundred blind high school students will be selected to participate in this program. Students who would like to be considered must complete the attached application and return it to the Jernigan Institute by April 1, 2007. Students will be selected based on their ability to participate actively in the activities.

What: This four-day academy will engage and inspire the next generation of blind youth to consider careers falsely believed to be impossible for the blind. While staying at Johns Hopkins University, students will be mentored by blind role models during fun and challenging activities meant to build confidence and increase science literacy.

Cost: There is no cost to apply for the program. Students who apply and are accepted to the Youth Slam will be expected to pay a $200 registration fee by May 31, 2007.

To send questions or comments via email, please write to youthslam@nfb.org

Research / Publications

New ADA Accessibility Guidelines Side-by-Side Comparison

This document provides a comparison between the updated ADA Accessibility Guidelines, the original ADA Standards, and the International Building Code (2003 edition). The comparison is ordered according to the format and sequence of the new ADA Accessibility Guidelines. The full report is also available in PDF and can be downloaded as a zipped Word file visit this page for links to each.

International Center for Disability Information: Disability Statistics

Disability data tables containing statistics on a variety of topics, including employment and education can be found here: http://www.icdi.wvu.edu/disability/pages/US_Contents.htm.