Session 5

Session 5: 1:30 - 2:20

Featured Speakers: Richard Ellenson, Parent and CEO of Blink Twice with Tom Nurse, Parent and MetDESK Specialist: As parents of children with cerebral palsy, Richard Ellenson and Tom Nurse have faced the challenges of helping their children become more independent and integrated in the world. These challenges gave Richard Ellenson the determination to help not only Thomas, his son, but other children with similar challenges. Richard has worked with the NYC Department of Education to create a new inclusion model in the city, worked with many of the country's key organizations to elevate expectations of individuals with disabilities, and invented the Tango, a new AAC device that offers a truly innovative approach to communication. Tom Nurse has been an advocate for his daughter, Shelby, a 17 year old high school student, throughout her life and school career. What led these fathers to understand the depth of their children's abilities - and demand that their rights be respected? What obstacles did they stare down? Who assisted them in overcoming each obstacle as it came along? And where are they now? This session will be one of sharing the difficulties, as well as celebrating the triumphs, as Thomas and Shelby and their fathers have learned to communicate more effectively and confront the challenges facing individuals with disabilities.

Peter Ramsdell, Regional Sales Director, TextHelp Systems, Inc.: Come learn how Read & Write Gold assistive technology software, designed around the idea of universal design for learning and the inclusive classroom, provides resources to several target student populations, from learning disabilities to English Language Learners and struggling readers, with personalized literacy resources that help improve reading comprehension, writing outcomes andlearning independence. Read & Write GOLD brings this support to the applicati ons students use, such as Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer and Adobe Reader.

Valerie Nicholson, Promethean: Promethean's ActivClassroom is made up of several award winning products, all working together to create a truly interactive educational environment where teaching is far from ordinary and learning is exciting and fun! It's an all-in-one solution that integrates formative assessment, resources, and dynamic instructional tools. ActivClassroom allows you to harness the power of the Internet with the ability to develop web-based classes to suit your unique, individual instructional needs.

Bill Schulte, Local Assistive Technology Specialist (LATS), Collier County Public Schools
Sheri Wiseman, Local Assistive Technology Specialist (LATS), Collier County Public Schools: This session will demonstrate the hottest inclusion tools. We'll review the best of the best and give you time to play with some products that can provide you with curriculum on demand. Best of all, many of these new tools come with incredible teacher management and automatic record keeping systems. With the increasing demands on your time and the call for data, these are the must-haves to meet the needs of your students. Resources and materials will be provided so that you can begin using them the very next day!

Exhibits Open - Community Agencies and Organizations: Come and explore the range of community agencies and organizations devoted to educating, empowering, and including individuals with disabilities through the use of assistive technology.

Bonnie Hill, Southeast Regional Manager, Freedom Scientific/LSG: Come learn about WYNN 5.1, one of the easiest to use options for learning when reading is an issue. We'll review the software basics and WYNN's built-in tools for reading, writing and studying. Then we'll move to the Internet to address student learning using multiple modalities. WYNN's new built-in Web tools will be used to enhance comprehension of Web content/research, extract key information, and assist in learning and writing. Additionally, TestTalker, an accommodation tool for testing from quizzes to FCAT will be demonstrated.

Valerie Herskowitz, Founder, Dimensions Therapy Center, South Florida: Valerie Herskowitz, an SLP for 30 years, is a contributing writer for a number of national publications on the subject of autism and one of the world's foremost speakers on the subject of computer-based intervention with special needs individuals. She is establishing a "global autism support village" through podcasts, webcasts and other cyber tools. She has started two innovative community programs: Mothers of Special Needs Individuals (MOSI) and the Family Club. Her professional journey as a therapist and as a parent of a child with autism have given her unique insights to help families cope with problems they face in parenting a child with autism.

Andrea Madeya, Regional Consultant, Speech/Language Pathologist, Prentke Romich Company: In this session, individuals will learn the importance of using core vocabulary and the ease of implementation as a result. We will look at several examples of how to use PRC communication devices in the classroom, therapy, and with peers.

Leonard Elbaum, Ed.D., PT, Chair and Associate Professor, Florida International University: Dr. Leonard Elbaum, Department of Physical Therapy Fellow at Florida International University will share the latest advances in electric stimulation technology for persons with paralysis.

Angela Obregon, Curriculum Support Specialist, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Martha Berman, Curriculum Support Specialist, Miami-Dade County Public Schools: This session will focus on the new access points designed for students with significant cognitive isabilities. Participants will gain knowledge about access points and how to integrate assistive technology (AT) into learning activities. Different AT devices and software will be demonstrated during the session.