NEWS
FYI Newsletter
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FYI Newsletter March 14, 2011
QUICK SCAN:
- School Readiness Training
- STAR Autism Support Training
- Employment Specialist Training
- Indiana businesses capitalizing on their Corporate Advantage
- Indiana Resource Center for Autism to Co-Host Screening of 'Wretches and Jabberers'
- INARF Conference
- APSE Conference Call for Sponsorship
- Library Corner
SCHOOL READINESS TRAINING: Two weeks ago we told you about the Institute’s Early Childhood Center’s workshop series on School Readiness for Preschoolers. Since then, the Center has secured workshop locations and training dates. To view the complete listing of dates and locations, visit http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=15 and click on the New Trainings Available link.
STAR AUTISM SUPPORT TRAINING: Back by popular demand! The Institute’s Indiana Resource Center for Autism will host a two-day workshop with a focus on research and outcomes associated with the STAR Autism Curriculum and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) instructional strategies (discrete trial training, pivotal response training, and teaching functional routines).
Participants attending this May 5-6, 2011 workshop will:
- Understand developmental curriculum content appropriate for children with autism;
- Learn curriculum-based assessment techniques for baseline and program monitoring;
- Use applied behavior analysis lesson plans;
- Teach children with autism using the discrete trial training method;
- Learn pivotal response training and the research; and
- Understand the critical skills students with autism need to learn.
This event will be held at the Central Indiana Educational Service Center in Indianapolis. Registration fee is $300.00 per person. Certificates of Attendance and CEUs will be available. Content questions? Contact Kim Davis at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail davisk@indiana.edu. For registration information, contact Donna Beasley at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail dbeasley@indiana.edu. Click to download a conference brochure.
EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST TRAINING: The Indiana Supported Employment Training Team (ISETT) will host the first of its 2011 trainings for first year employment specialists on May 10-12 and June 14-16, 2011 at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community Bloomington, IN.
EST attendees learn best practice in job and career development, employment support planning, ecological analysis, follow-along, and emerging industry trends. EST is a six-day training split into two sessions which are held one month apart. An exit test is required for participants seeking certification. Individuals who attend all days of both sessions and successfully complete the exit test receive a competency-based certificate from Indiana University. CEUs and CRUs are available.
Act now and receive a $200.00 per participant discount toward the $300.00 registration fee while supplies last. For more information or to register, contact Kay Moore at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail moorel@indiana.edu.
ACROSS THE COURTYARD
INDIANA BUSINESSES ARE CAPITALIZING ON THEIR CORPORATE ADVANTAGE: In its own way, PDF, Inc., in Brazil, Indiana, is debunking disability employment myths. The small design, fabrication and original equipment manufacturer is one of over 30 Indiana businesses now working with the state’s Corporate Development team, a division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS). The company shattered the myth that only large companies are capable of providing the necessary on-the-job accommodations for people with disabilities. They also blew right by another myth that says that people with disabilities are a burden on the workforce or slow down production. Instead, PDF worked with Child Adult Resource Services to hire an applicant who now has a full-time job operating a laser. The key, says PDF human resources director Aaron Rugenstein is to “allow people to find their niche.”
Read more about PDF and about how Corporate Development is partnering with Indiana employers in the winter edition of The Corporate Advantage. Visit http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/styles/iidc/defiles/Corporate%20Advantage%20winter%202011.pdf. The newsletter, published by the Center on Community Living and Careers for VRS Corporate Development, also contains an update on company activities and new hires as well as a feature on Project SEARCH, another VRS corporate initiative.
INDIANA RESOURCE CENTER FOR AUTISM TO CO-HOST SCREENING OF 'WRETCHES AND JABBERERS': The Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA) at Indiana University and the Autism Society of Indiana have been selected by the Autism Society of America (ASA) to host two screenings of Wretches & Jabberers, on April 16 in Bloomington and April 23 in Indianapolis, to commemorate National Autism Awareness Month.
Wretches & Jabberers, directed by Academy Award® winner Gerardine Wurzburg, follows two men with autism, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, who embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability, intelligence, and communication. The movie is the latest documentary by Wurzburg, who won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for her film Educating Peter and was again nominated in 2005 for Autism is a World.
“We are pleased to be selected by the National Autism Society to be a local host of this film event. We hope the documentary will bring awareness to the reality of the challenges faced by adults on the autism spectrum while celebrating their potential,” said Cathy Pratt, director of the IRCA and past president of ASA.
The local screening of Wretches & Jabberers will be hosted by the IRCA and representatives of the Indiana University student group Students on the Spectrum (SOS), which focuses on providing IU students living with autism with supports and opportunities to engage in campus and community activities. The Bloomington screening will be held on Saturday, April 16 starting at noon, AMC Showplace 12, 2929 W. Third St. The Indianapolis screening will be held at the AMC Showplace 17, 4325 S. Meridian St., starting at noon.
AMC Theatres is partnering with the National Autism Society and the film distribution company Area 23a for a national theatrical run of Wretches & Jabberers. “AMC’s exclusive release of Wretches & Jabberers speaks to people with autism in their lives and raises the awareness of those not familiar with this condition,” said Gerry Lopez, CEO and president of AMC. “Our showcasing this moving documentary is an extension of AMC’s commitment to the autism community through our Sensory Friendly Films program, which presents first-run theatrical films in a safe, accepting environment for families who live with autism.”
Wretches & Jabberers will premiere on April 1 for a limited theatrical run at the AMC Empire 25 in Times Square in New York. The company will also launch a limited theatrical run of the film in Los Angeles starting on April 15. Additionally, Area 23a will open Wretches & Jabberers across the United States as part of a 40-city tour in top markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston beginning April 2, which is World Autism Awareness Day. AMC will donate a portion of the ticket sales from the 40-city tour to the Autism Society.
For more information on the Bloomington event, contact Pam Anderson, Indiana Resource Center for Autism, at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail pamander@indiana.edu. For information on the Indianapolis screening, contact Leslie Jachim at 800-609-8449 or e-mail info@inautism.org.
For a complete list of markets and AMC theatres where Wretches & Jabberers will be playing, visit http://www.autism-ociety.org/wretchesandjabberers. To view the movie trailer, visit http://www.wretchesandjabberers.org/.
COMINGS AND GOINGS
INARF CONFERENCE: This past week, INARF hosted its Annual Conference in Indianapolis. The event welcomed over 500 attendees from around the state and impacted thousands of staff, families, and individuals with disabilities who live, work, and, recreate throughout Indiana.
Several Institute staff participated in the conference program. Indiana Institute Director David Mank presented a session titled The State of Our Work, As I See It. Kim Davis, Research Associate, Indiana Resource Center for Autism, presented a session entitled Autism Spectrum Disorders: The First Pieces of the Puzzle. Davis also co-presented with Sue Dixon, Program Trainer, with the Institute’s Early Childhood Center. The Dixon and Davis presentation titled When Actions Speak Louder than Words, focused on understanding how behavior and communications are linked.
ACROSS THE U.S.
APSE CONFERENCE CALL FOR SPONSORSHIP: APSE invites you to become an active player in its 22nd Annual APSE Conference, to be held in Seattle, WA on June 14-16, 2011, by becoming a conference sponsor or advertiser. Your financial support will assist APSE to continue its important work promoting integrated employment for people with disabilities with employers, legislatures, and communities across the nation.
Based on past conference attendance, 750 participants are anticipated including people with disabilities and family members, employers, employment service providers, educators, researchers, advocates, job center personnel, mental health agency personnel, university faculty, vocational rehabilitation counselors, state agency personnel, and scores of other professionals. There will be over 70 presentations on topics related to increasing and enhancing employment outcomes. Forty-plus exhibitors, including several entrepreneurs with disabilities are expected to attend. Additionally, there will be a half day Employer Forum which will focus on establishing the business case for hiring individuals with disabilities.
There are several sponsorship and advertising levels and price points for you to consider for this year’s conference. To view the 2011 APSE National Conference Sponsor and Exhibitor Prospectus or for more information on the conference program, visit http://www.apse.org/training/lead.cfm or contact Jenny Levet, Conference Sponsorship Coordinator, at jenny@apse.org or phone (804) 278-9187.
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.
Feinstein, A. (2010). A history of autism: Conversations with the pioneers. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell.
Otten, K. L., & Tuttle, J. L. (2011). How to reach and teach children with challenging behavior: Practical, ready-to-use interventions that work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Stefanakis, E. H. (2011). Differentiated assessment: How to assess the learning potential of every student. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.