ANNUAL GSAP/Georgia PINES FAMILY WORKSHOP

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Atlanta Area School for the Deaf

8:45am - 4:45pm

Keynote: Helping Siblings of Children with Disabilities

Jennifer Tumlin Garrett, Ph.D - GSAP Sibshop Coordinator /Identification & Dissemination Coordinator

Registration Fee includes box lunch: 

$10.00 per person/ $15.00 per family/$25.00 professional

Register online at: http://familyworkshop.gapines.info/Registration1.asp

Topics Include:

- Ault Sibling Panel

- SPARKLE  Supporting Parents Access to Resources, Knowledge, Linkages & Education

- Getting Ready for School

- Auditory Neurophathy

- Cortical Vision Impairment

- AND More!!!

For More Information go to:

http://education.gsu.edu/georgiadeafblindproj/
documents/Family_Workshop_Flyer2013.pdf

FamilyConnect Holiday Guide to Toys, Games, and Gadgets for Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

• AccessWorld Holiday Gift Guide 2012: Practical and Fun Gifts for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired—AccessWorld brings you some of the hottest items they've featured in their magazine, as well as other popular gift ideas for that special someone on your list.
• Calling All Gift Ideas—How is it already December...again?!? Yep, it is the holiday season, which means many of us are purchasing presents for our children with visual impairments. Emily blogs about searching high and low for the perfect gifts for her unique child and instead comes up with some options that will work, but may not be absolutely perfect. Share your ideas with other FamilyConnect parents! And also check out What Toy to Buy for My Visually Impaired Kid? from a few years back, which offers some great suggestions and helpful tips for parents who are trying to choose toys as presents for the holidays.
• Toy Guide—AFB collaborated with the Toy Industry Foundation for over a decade creating this guide, Let's Play: A Guide to Toys for Children with Special Needs. All of the toys are tested by dozens of children with vision loss, and we choose the ones that seem to be most popular. The guide indicates whether the toy is considered especially good for children who are blind (B) and children who have low vision (LV).
• Toys R Us Differently Abled Toy Guide—For nearly two decades, Toys R Us has published the annual Toys "R" Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, an easy-to-use resource featuring specially selected toys that encourage play for children with physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities.
• Choosing the Best Toys for Your Blind Baby—WonderBaby offers some of their favorite toys as well as some tips on how to choose the best toys for your child.
• Accessible Toys for Blind Children—Holiday gift giving can be a bit more challenging when trying to shop for children with blindness or low vision. Check out these ideas from Sensory Sun for accessible toys, as well as Braille Stocking Stuffers.
• Sharing the Holidays with Your Child Who Is Visually Impaired—For those of us with a child who is visually impaired we not only have to think about organizing our families' activities for the holidays, but also how to include our visually impaired children in a way that will be enjoyable to them. As a mom of one such child, Emily happens to have a few thoughts on this very topic. Important things to remember over the holidays are keeping with tradition, teaching in the moment, adaptation, and time management.
• Choosing Toys and Creating a Play Area for Your Child—this article outlines some of the features to look for in a toy for your infant or toddler, and describes how to set up a safe and stimulating play area for your child.
• Teaching Your Baby to Play With Toys—practical ideas about how to introduce new toys to your child, and help him learn how to play.

• A Self-Proclaimed Gadget Lover—parents of older kids may find gift ideas in this article about a gadget-loving college student

New iPad app created to help families develop their story

Hi friends, 

We all know the importance of families telling their stories as part of their advocacy efforts and most of us have been engaged in helping families learn how to do that. Now there's an iPad app to help.

"Telling Your Story" is a tool that persons with disabilities, family members, and other advocates can use to compose and practice the personal story they'll present to elected public officials or other policymakers at all levels of government when seeking policy changes or increasing awareness about disability issues. The app guides users through the steps, from introducing yourself to identifying the specific issue to the best methods for presenting a compelling personal story. After entering the text of their story, an audio recording feature allows the user to rehearse their story. (How cool is that?!) Users can also select and preview a photo they may wish to include.

To use all the features of this app, an iPad 2 or newer is required.

You can view the app in the iTunes Store at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/telling-your-story/id541403749

Tools for Life Webinar: Exploring Apps for Living, Learning, Working and Playing - Wednesday October 24 @ 2:00 PM EST - Credits Offered

Join Us for a Webinar Focused on:

Exploring Our Favorite Apps for Living, Learning, Working, and Playing

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

2:00pm to 3:30pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Presenters:

Carolyn Phillips, Director, and Martha Rust, AT Specialist, Tools for Life

John Rempel, AT Specialist, Center for the Visually Impaired

There seems to be an app for just about every task needed to be accomplished in our lives. With so many apps out on the market, it can be overwhelming to know which ones could assist you at home, at school, on the job or in your community. Join us for a webinar that will highlight a few of the apps that can assist with all aspects of your daily routine. There will be a special focus on apps for assisting with vision loss. We will also dive into the "Our Favorite Apps" online database created and maintained by Tools for Life. This session will explore how to use this database to search for, review, and suggest your favorite apps. We will also take a look at the latest in newly released tablets, their accessibility features, and tips on how to decide which is the best fit for your lifestyle and needs.

CEU’s will be administered through Georgia Tech Professional Education

CRC Credits have been approved through the Commission on Rehabilitation Counseling

Please send an e-mail with the type of credit you are requesting, name and date of webinar, your full name, email, organization and date of birth (DOB) to Liz Persaud at Liz@gatfl.org in order to receive your credit verification form.

ACVREP will be offering CEU’s for COMS, CVRT’s and CLVT’s
Please contact John Rempel at obelize@gmail.com for additional information about these credits.

Instructions on how to Access the Tools for Life Webinar

To join the meeting: http://atia.adobeconnect.com/tflapps1024/

-       Sign on as a Guest with your name and organization.

-       Please use the URL above as it is unique to this TFL webinar

If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before:

Test your connection: http://atia.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

Get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview

For more information about this and other webinars, please contact Liz Persaud – Liz@gatfl.org. Please forward this announcement to anyone interested in this topic or the Tools for Life webinars. This webinar is co-sponsored by AMAC

iCanConnect!

The goal of the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) is to ensure that every person with combined hearing and vision loss has access to modern telecommunication tools and the training necessary to use them, granting every individual the opportunity to interact with the world as an involved, contributing member of society. The program — promoted by iCanConnect — provides outreach, assessments, telecommunications technology and training free of charge to those who meet federal eligibility guidelines. For more information about the NDBEDP, including the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) consumer guide and eligibility rules, visit www.fcc.gov/NDBEDP.


In Georgia, contact:

Sondra Rhoades Johnson
Executive Director

Georgia Council for the Hearing Impaired 4151 Memorial Drive, Suite 103-B Decatur, GA 30032 srjohnson@gachi.org (404) 292-5312

http://www.icanconnect.org/

GADB & GVR EVENT

Georgia Assocaition of the DeafBlind

in partnership with

Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency

presents

ADVOCACY: From Home & School to Work

 October 6 & 7, 2012

 @ the Cave Spring Rehabilitation Center

 

    

 



    

         $40.00 Registration Includes: All Workshop Materials

                                                            Saturday Night Luau

                                                            Sunday Breakfast & Snacks

                                                            One Night Stay in Dorm

          

       $20.00 Working SSPs (Food Only)

 

       

        For More Information Contact:

        Rebecca Cowan-Story, MRC C.R.C

        State Coordinator of Deaf Blind Services

        Rebecca.cowan-story@gvra.ga.gov

        706-777-2342

                                                       

A Call for Nominations !!!!

The National Family Association for Deaf-Blind has open positions on its Board of Directors.  We are looking for a few people to join our Board of Directors to represent families that have children of any age that are deaf-blind.  Nominees must be a Regular member in good standing of NFADB for at least one year.  The positions of President and Treasurer are also up for re-election this year.  Only current board or past board members may run for these Executive Committee positions.  An appointed term lasts for two years and board members may run for up to 3 consecutive 2 year terms or run for an Executive Committee position.  

NFADB is the largest national network of families focusing on issues surrounding deaf-blindness. The mission of NFADB is to empower the voices of families of individuals who are deaf-blind and to advocate for their unique needs.  A board member will stay connected with professional organizations, Congressional Representatives and Senators.  Board members will sit on or chair at least one working committee and will help to expand our State Affiliates Program.  We are looking for serious candidates that believe they can help our organization make a difference in the lives of all families dealing with deaf-blindness.  Candidates may come from any state. 

For more information or to nominate yourself or someone you know for the position of Board Member, President or Treasurer, please contact Blanche Stetler at jtmommy@aol.com or at 732-721-5448.  An application will then be mailed to you and you will need to participate in a phone interview and send in 3 letters of recommendation by May 31, 2012.  The appointments will be made in June 2012.  Thank you for your interest and for your continued support of the National Family Association for Deaf-Blind.