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FYI Newsletter

The Indiana Institute's FYI Newsletter is published regularly and includes news, upcoming events, and additional resources valuable to individuals with disabilities, family members, and industry professionals.

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FYI Newsletter May 24, 2010

Quick Scan:

• 2010 ADA Poll
• INF2F Newsletter
• Support the Self-Advocates of Indiana
• Autism Society of America (ASA) National Contact Center
• Library Corner

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SPEAK YOUR MIND!

Rate your community’s implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act!

People with disabilities, their family members, and their advocates are invited to complete the 2010 ADA POLL, a survey about how Indiana communities are doing with implementation of the ADA. It’s important that your voices are heard when accessibility and discrimination issues are being addressed in your community! So don’t delay – let us know what you have to say!


The ADA has been in effect since 1990 - nearly 20 years have passed for communities to remove physical, programmatic, and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with disabilities from becoming active participating citizens. Progress has been made, but there is still need for further compliance. The 2010 ADA POLL asks Indiana citizens to identify how they view current implementation of the ADA in their own communities. Here is your opportunity to provide opinions and ideas about where to improve accessibility!

The results of the 2010 ADA POLL will be used to "grade" your community on its response to the ADA and will become a tool to educate policy makers, administrators, and the general public about the ADA. We hope that you will join us in this effort to learn more about community responses to the ADA.

To request the survey form in an alternative format, or for additional information, contact Dr. Vicki Pappas by phone at 1-800-825-4733 or via e-mail at beheard@indiana.edu. The 2010 ADA POLL is being conducted by the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, in conjunction with the Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities, Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services, and the Great Lakes ADA Center.

FAMILY TO FAMILY NEWSLETTER



INF2F Newsletter: The Indiana Family to Family (INF2F) website is devoted to linking families to people, information, and resources within their own communities. INF2F brings together parents of young children with disabilities, developmental delays or special health care needs so they can share their knowledge, concerns, and experiences with each other. INF2F provides a variety of initiatives to accommodate the diverse needs of families!

First Words is a bimonthly online newsletter written for parents. Topics and resources are all relevant to families raising children with disabilities including upcoming workshops, new support groups, articles, family stories from various Clusters, and state and local resources. Read the May/June edition of First Words: It’s Almost Summer!

If you would like to have First Words emailed to you, send your request to Cathy Beard at beardc@indiana.edu with "Subscribe to First Words" in the subject line.

ACROSS THE STATE



Support the Self-Advocates of Indiana: You can support the Self-Advocates of Indiana by purchasing buttons, created by the Self-Advocates, to celebrate the organization’s 20th anniversary and to celebrate the twenty years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The buttons are $1.00 with the proceeds benefiting SAI and their ongoing work for a brighter future for all people with disabilities. Order yours today!

AND NATIONALLY...



Autism Society of America (ASA) National Contact Center: The Autism Society of America (ASA) has an opportunity to expand its National Contact Center through funding from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Currently, ASA provides a free online Autism resource database. Each month, the database is used by approximately 20,000 people who are seeking local services and supports.

Through the Pepsi Refresh Project, ASA would expand their contact center by making trained professionals available for parents, persons with autism, and professionals at any hour of the day or night.

Every month, Pepsi awards grants through the Refresh Project for ideas that will have a positive impact. Ideas that receive the highest number of votes for each funding level in a one month period get funded. Currently the ASA project is ranked 50 out of 320 entries at their funding level. To receive the grant, ASA needs to be ranked as number 1 0r 2. You can help ASA by voting online every day for the remainder of the month of May! Voting is easy and takes about two minutes to register.

LIBRARY CORNER



New Items

The following new materials may be borrowed by Indiana residents from the Center for Disability Information and Referral at the Institute. To check out materials, contact the library at 1-800-437-7924, send e-mail to cedir@indiana.edu, or visit us at 2853 East Tenth Street in Bloomington.

Mirenda, P., & Iacono, T. (2009). Autism spectrum disorders and AAC. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub.

Gruenberg, A. M., & Miller, R. (2011). A practical guide to early childhood inclusion: Effective reflection. Boston: Pearson.

Price, J., & Fisher, J. E. (2010). Take control of Asperger's syndrome: The official strategy guide for teens with Asperger's syndrome and nonverbal learning disorder. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

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