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FYI Newsletter May 7, 2007
Quick Scan:
- ADA-Indiana May Audio Conference
- Indiana Summit on Equity and Educational Partnerships
- Family and Disability Survey
- Library Corner
ADA-Indiana May Audio Conference
Join ADA-Indiana for this month's audio conference on legislation to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act. Participants will learn about the history and intent of the ADA Restoration Act and the future of legislation that may affect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities. Andrew J. Imparato, President of the American Association of Persons with Disabilities (AAPD), will be the featured speaker. The ADA Restoration Act is intended to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act to its "original intent" and address several decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past 16 years. It is anticipated that this piece of legislation will once again be introduced during the new 110th Congress and under very different circumstances given the outcome of the 2006 elections.
This audio conference will be held on Tuesday, May 15th at 2:00-3:30 p.m. (EDT) in five different Indiana locations and will be of special interest to advocates, people with disabilities, and other interest ed community members. No pre-registration is required. CRC credit is available. The session is free at the locations sponsored by ADA-Indiana. ADA-Indiana site locations include:
Bloomington, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Building L
2853 East Tenth Street
Evansville, IN (1:00-2:30 p.m. Central)
University of Southern Indiana Campus
Science Center, Room 1212 (SC 1212)
Indianapolis, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
Indiana Government Center, Conference Room 1
402 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services
4701 North Keystone Avenue, Suite 222
West Lafayette, IN (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT)
Purdue University - West Lafayette Campus
Stewart Center, Room 318
Coming June 19, 2007:
Performance versus Disability: What is the difference?
One of the major questions facing employers is whether or not the performance issues experienced by their employees are due to a disability which may require reasonable accommodation. Sharon Rennert, Senior Attorney for the EEOC, will addresses issues of performance versus disability and the steps that an employer should take to ensure that they do not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities while ensuring that they have a productive workforce.
If you are unable to attend at one of ADA-Indiana's sponsored sites, individuals and organizations can purchase access to the audio conference by visiting http://www.ada-audio.org. The cost is $25.00 (for not-for-profits) and $40.00 (for-profit entities). For more information, contact Matt Norris at 1-800-825-4733, e-mail adainfo@indiana.edu, or visit http://www.adaindiana.org.
Indiana Summit on Equity and Educational Partnerships
Mark your calendars for June 7, 2007 (Holiday Inn Select North, Indianapolis) and plan to attend a one-day workshop on Equity and Educational Partnerships sponsored by the Indiana State Improvement Grant (IN-SIG), in conjunction with the Equity Project at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, projects of the Division of Exceptional Learners, Indiana Department of Education.
The Summit will provide the opportunity to hear first hand about efforts focusing on two issues critical to improving student achievement in Indiana:
· Addressing disproportionality at the local level through systems change; and
· Partnering with families and communities in school change efforts.
The Summit is appropriate for all stakeholders in ed ucation including school personnel, families, and organizations working with schools and families. Dr. Beth Harry, Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Miami and Co-Principal Investigator of the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems, and Consultant to the ICAREE School program, will be the keynote speaker. Harry will also host a breakout session. She is nationally renowned for her work in both the areas of disproportionality and family and community involvement. School practitioners, parent and community partners, and researchers will present concurrent sessions throughout the day.
We are all looking for ways to help our students succeed and respond in a meaningful way to the legislation that guides our efforts such as P.L. 221, IDEIA 2004, and No Child Left Behind. The sessions at this Summit will offer lessons from the field, presented by educational stakeholders, who are currently working to collaborate with families and the community to develop cultural competence and address disproportionality.
To register for the Summit, visit the informational website at http://www.EquityinIndiana.org/summit. Contact Julie Havill-Weems at jhavill@indiana.edu or Shana Ritter at rritter@indiana.edu with questions.
Request for Survey Participants - Family and Disability Survey
The Purdue University Calumet xCouple and Family Therapy Center is seeking parentsxwho have xsons or daughters with a disability(s) to take part in a survey to help evaluate how family therapy, adequate physical resources, and coping strategies can affect both subjective and objective burden of parents who are caregivers of children with disabilities.
Caring for a child with a disability is a hard job. Previous research shows that when someone cares for a person with a disability, they often experience significant feelings of stress and strain that are caused by the responsibilities of caregiving. This research study is looking at the difference in feelings of caregiver burden between parents that have attended therapy and parents that have not attended therapy. Everyone that is a biological parent of a child with a disability is invited to participate in this study (this includes both Moms and Dads). This study is completely anonymous and confidential. You can choose not to participate in filling out the survey questions. The answers that you provide will be treated confidentially and will not include any identifying information.
There are many definitions of disability in the United States. A disability can be physical, intellectual, developmental, or a combination of any of these. For purposes of this investigation, any parent who cares for a child that meets the criteria of any federally recognized definition for a disability is appropriate to participate in this study.
There are many different types of therapy or counseling that family members caring for a member with disability can and do attend. All forms of therapy that focus on the emotional or social well-being of a person or a family such as individual, couple, family, as well as group therapy, will meet the criteria for therapy. Anyone who began attending one of the above mentioned types of therapy after the birth of the child with the disability will be considered appropriate to participate in this study. Please know that the results of this study will help parents and families in similar situations to cope and to deal with the stress of caring for a person with a disability a little bit better.
For more information contact Julie Ramisch at (805) 570-4160, e-mail Julie.ramisch@gmail.com, or complete the survey at http://69.51.190.45/Start/RAMISCH/FAMILIES_AND_DISABILITY_STUDY.HTM.
Library Corner
New Items: The following new materials may be borrow ed by Indiana residents from the Center for Disability Information and Referral (CeDIR) at the Institute. To check out materials, contact the library at 1-800-437-7924, send e-mail to cedir@indiana.edu, or come visit us at 2853 East Tenth Street in Bloomington.
Coleman, J.G. (2006). The early intervention dictionary: A multidisciplinary guide to terminology, 3rd edition. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
McKenzie, J.A. (1999). How teachers learn technology best. Bellingham, WA: FNO Press.
Wright, P.W.D. & Wright, P.D. (2006). Wrightslaw: From emotions to advocacy: The special education survival guide, 2nd edition. Hartfield, VA: Harbor House Law Press.