August 2008

ADA and Website Accessibility

Location: telephone or via webcast, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET, or participate in person:
Doubletree Hotel Crystal City
300 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA 22202

Website accessibility cases courts have reached different conclusions as to whether websites are covered under the ADA. This session will discuss recent legal developments and their potential implications.

For more information and registration, see the conference website.

ADA and Website Accessibility

Location: On-line Seminar, 1:00pm-2:00pm Central Time

The purpose of this event is to allow individuals with disabilities and their representatives (family members, organizations, service providers, disability and rehabilitation research and policy groups, organizations with specialized disability knowledge) the opportunity to suggest specific ways to improve future disability and rehabilitation research to benefit individuals with disabilities. We are also interested in hearing from individuals concerning how well the existing federal research programs are responding to the changing needs of individuals with disabilities.

For more information and registration, contact jpete@uic.edu.

Autism Today Presents:
A Special Invitation An Evening With Temple Grandin

Location: The Dole Ballrooms, Historic Dole Cannery, Hololulu, Hawaii

Join your peers, colleagues and friends as together we explore topics such as:
Dual Diagnosis • Direct Support Worker Issues & Solutions
Supervision & Management • Clinical Issues • International Best Practices
Self-Advocacy/Independent Living • Autism/Aspergers • Employment • Caregiving

For more information, see the conference website.

Update: ADA Restoration Act vs ADA Amendments Act

Location: Audio Conference, 11:00pm-12:30pm Central Time

Speakers: Andy Imparato, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD); Michael P. Aitken, Director of Governmental Affairs, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM); Christine M. Griffin, Commissioner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

It has been a year since the ADA Restoration Act was introduced in both the House and the Senate. The intent of this legislation was to address the interpretations of the law by the US Supreme Court that negatively impacted the ability of thousands of Americans with Disabilities from exercising their rights under the ADA. Over the past year the House has passed legislation known as the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (HR 3195) and the Senate is in the process of considering their version of the bill (S 1881). There has been a great deal of discussion via generated on listservs, email and blogs regarding the compromise language used in the ADA Amendments Act and questions raised by advocates, members of Congress and the business community. Join us for this special session of the ADA Audio Conference series to learn more about the legislation, the perspectives of the employer community and how the definition of disability would impact Title I cases of discrimination.

For more information and registration, see the conference website.

ADA and Website Accessibility

Location: telephone or via webcast, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET, or participate in person:
Doubletree Hotel Crystal City
300 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA 22202

Website accessibility cases courts have reached different conclusions as to whether websites are covered under the ADA. This session will discuss recent legal developments and their potential implications.

For more information and registration, see the conference website.

2nd Annual NALSWD 2008 Conference
2008 National Association of Law Students with Disabilities conference

Location: Crystal City, VA

Lawyers with disabilities discuss working for the federal government. Commissioner Christine M. Griffin (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Christopher Kuczynski (U.S. EEOC, Assistant Legal Counsel ADA Policy Division), and Claudia Gordon (U.S. Department of Homeland Security).

For more information and registration, see the conference website.

Serving Customers with Disabilities: Implications for the Hospitality Industry

Location: On-line Seminar, 1:00pm-2:30pm Central Time

A 2001 survey conducted by Open Doors Organization/Harris Poll in cooperation with the Travel Industry Association of America and the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality indicated that disabled persons annually spend $13.6 billion on travel - including $3.3 billion on air travel and $4.2 billion on lodging. A second study showed that 75% of people with disabilities report dining outside of their home at least once/week representing an annual expenditure of $35 billion. Serving customers with disabilities has become a business necessity. Join this session and learn more about what is being done to assist business in meeting their obligations to customers with disabilities.

For more registration, see the conference website.

September 2008

2008 National Lifespan Respite Conference
Home Grown; Cultivating Caregivers

Location: Webinar, 2:00-3:30pm ET

For more information, see the conference website.

The Conference provides valuable, up-to-date information for families, professionals and other respite stakeholders who provide, utilize support or are in need of respite. Conference keynote speakers and breakout sessions will offer presentations that tie back to the components that will be addressed through the Lifespan Respite Care Act, in addition to requested topics from last years conference evaluation forms.

9th National Self Advocacy Conference

Location: Indianapolis Downtown Marriott, Indianapolis, IN

For more information, see the conference website.

Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR)
Notice of public meetings and Request for comments

Location: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET
Doubletree Hotel Crystal City
300 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA

The Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) encourages individuals with disabilities or organizations representing individuals with disabilities such as: 1) service providers, 2) disability and rehabilitation research and policy groups, and 3) advocacy organizations with specialized disability knowledge and experience, to suggest specific ways to improve future disability and rehabilitation research to benefit individuals with disabilities.

For more information, see the conference website.

NASHIA's 19th Annual State
of the States in Head injury Conference

Revolutionizing Systems of Care: Leading the Way

Location: Williamsburg, Virginia

The SOS Meeting is the only annual national meeting providing professional development opportunities among state government program adminis­trators in the field of traumatic brain injury.

Who Should Attend? While the primary focus of the SOS meeting is on State government services and programs, the meeting is open to all who are involved in the field of brain injury including advocates, individuals with brain injury, families, professionals, and anyone else concerned with planning, prevention, and service delivery for individuals with brain injury.

For more information, see the conference website.

National Association of Disability Examiners Conference

Location: Millennium Maxwell House Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee

The keynote speaker will be the Honorable Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. We will have a wide range of speakers including internationally recognized physicians, Social Security Administration experts, inter-agency cooperative panels, research project findings, and a performance by a troop of mentally challenged professional magicians. Several Social Security Administration personnel will be on hand to demonstrate various programs currently in development. You must be registered in order to attend the conference.

Social events have been scheduled around the conference schedule to give our visitors a well rounded taste of Music City, USA.

For more information, see the conference website.

2nd Annual Housing, Employment and Resources Expo (H.E.R.E.)
2008 for People with Disabilities

Location: George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX

For more information and registration, contact Raul Tello, H.E.R.E. PR Chair.

Learning Disabilities in the Workplace

Location: Ernst & Young, New York, NY 8:00am – 10:30am

Interested in tapping into a growing pool of highly qualified, motivated young people who happen to have learning disabilities? Confused about accommodations needed to help qualified individuals perform at maximum productivity? Ready to share best practices and learn from the experiences of leading corporations? Please join us as a panel of experts representing a variety of perspectives – employees with learning disabilities, adult learning disabilities specialists, parents, and employers – begin to develop answers to an emerging challenge for business.

For more information and registration, contact slipton@abilitiesonline.org or call 516-465-3751.

Direct Threat/Safety in the Workplace

Location: Webinar, 2:00-3:30pm ET

This session will review the ADA and its regulations, EEOC guidance and recent case law and provide employers with information about conducting an individualized assessment and the role of reasonable accommodations to address a potential threat health and safety in the workplace.

For more information, see the DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center website.

Learning and Accessibility

Location: On-line Seminar, 1:00pm-2:00pm Central Time

This seminar will address strategies for businesses to improve their knowledge and implementation of accessible e-Learning.

For more information and registration, contact jpete@uic.edu.

October 2008

The Sixth Annual Conference on Brain Injury

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

For more information, see the conference website.

NCD's Quarterly Meeting

Location: Kansas City, Missouri

For more information, see the NCD website.

Autism Summit

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Gentle Teaching International Conference

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Dr. John McGee and presenters from the US, Europe, Canada, and Japan will share their experiences with non-violent support of children and adults with disabilities. The presentations by Gentle Teachers in Puerto Rico will be especially interesting for anyone who supports Latino populations.

For registration and more information, see the conference website.

National Caregivers Conference

Location: Woodbridge Hotel and Conference Center, Iselin, NJ

Our conference will concentrate on the critical importance of caregivers. This year, we are coordinating a conference that will direct caregivers towards information on easily accessible, cost effective supports to all populations, regardless of age or disability. Knowledge of available resources can help to alleviate the stress associated with caregiving, sustain families and marriages, improve caregivers’ health and well being, reduce the risk of abuse and neglect, and minimize or delay the need for more costly out-of-home placement. The conference will also serve as a networking session for parents to gain social supports and help them realize that they are not alone.

For more information, see the conference website, or contact Jacqueline Moskowitz, Executive Director of the Family Support Center of New Jersey at 732-528-8080 or Jacqui.moskowitz@fscnj.org.

Annual Disability Employment Awareness Conference

Location: 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM, Club Meade, Building 6600, Mapes Road (Enter at the gate located at Reece Road and Route 175)

This year’s conference brings together practitioners with expertise in employment law, veterans’ issues, emergency preparedness, and disability issues.

Sessions will be interactive and provide the opportunity to receive practical, up-to-date information on emerging trends and policy changes.

Featured topics include: the use of OPM’s Schedule A Hiring Authority, emergency preparedness and accommodating employees with disabilities, and working with employees with brain injuries and intellectual disabilities.

For registration and more information, see the conference website.

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

Autism Today Conference

Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada

For more information, see the conference website.

March 2009

First World Congress on Spina Bifida Research and Care

Location: Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin
1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd.
Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Specialists in Neurosurgery, Urology, Orthopedics, Nutrition, Genetics, Epidemiology, Physiatry, Nursing and Social Work will showcase and translate research to improve healthcare for those living with Spina Bifida.

For more information and registration, see the conference website, or contact Russell Kirby at rkirby@health.usf.edu or 813-396-2347.

6th International Conference on Positive Behavior Support

Location: Jacksonville, FL at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront

The Conference is an international conference dedicated to promoting research-based strategies that combine applied behavior analysis and biomedical science with person-centered values and systems change to increase quality of life and decrease problem behaviors.

For more information, see the conference website.

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

Genetic Alliance 2009 Annual Conference:
Discovering OPENNESS in Health Systems

Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference
Center Metro Washington, DC

For more information, see the conference website.

July 2009