Member News
December, 2012- Vol 1, Issue 4 |
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Curious about RESNA's board and committee structure? |
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Greetings! |  Even if you were fortunate enough to miss Hurricane Sandy, as I was, you don't want to miss our feature story this issue. RESNA's own Board Secretary, Jamie Prioli, a nationally-known emergency preparedness expert, has great information to share about her own Sandy experience, and lessons learned.
Due to Sandy, the RESNA conference deadline for workshops and instructional course proposals has been pushed back to December 17. Catch up on the other conference news, including something that I'm very excited about: the addition of a special conference track dedicated to students. This track will include workshops related to career development, the assistive technology field, and of course, our annual student scientific paper and student design competitions. Students conference attendees will also receive a free membership to RESNA. It's our way of giving back to the next generation, and we hope you'll help spread the word. In addition, the RESNA 2013 conference will partner with ICORR (International Conference on Rehab Robotics). This partnership will provide an opportunity for conference attendees to also attend ICORR through a simulcast of sessions and transportation service between both conferences. Have a wonderful holiday season, and we'll see you in 2013.
Sincerely,
Alex Mihailidis, PhD, P.Eng President, RESNA |
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Upcoming RESNA Events | |
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An Emergency Preparedness Expert Faces Sandy |
 | | Jamie Prioli, ATP |
RESNA's Board Secretary, Jamie Prioli, ATP, is a nationally-known expert on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities through her work at Pennsylvania's Initiative for Assistive Technology (PIAT) and the Pass It On Center. She faced her own emergency when Hurricane Sandy swept ashore and hit her hometown of Brick, New Jersey, on October 29th.
Living only blocks from the beach, she was prepared; but when her parents' home, just a block away, was swept out to sea, and her brother and his family ran out of water, she learned that even the most prepared emergency expert can face some unforeseen challenges. Read more |
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RESNA 2013 Call for Participation |
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Photo Credit: Ben Tobin |
RESNA 2013 Annual Conference - June 22-24, 2013
Do you have fresh insights, interesting research results, or innovative clinical practices to share with your fellow AT colleagues? Submit a proposal to the RESNA 2013 Conference.
RESNA members and the AT community-at-large provide the programming of the annual conference. Want to see more on AAC? Now's your chance. How about Universal Design? We're in if you are. And you don't have to do it alone - collaborate with your fellow SIG and PSG group members and share the load.
RESNA has dedicated conference call phone lines and listserves for SIG and PSG group member use. Contact your SIG or PSG chair to schedule a conference call, then post a notice on your group's listserve and start the conversation.
The Call for Participation schedule is as follows:
Submission instructions and more information are now available on the RESNA website.
RESNA 2013 is June 22-24 in Bellevue, WA, nine miles from downtown Seattle on the shores of Lake Washington. The final day of the conference, June 24, will overlap with ICORR 2013, the International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics. More |
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New for 2013: Dedicated Student Track at the Conference | 
Students have always been an important part of RESNA. Many of today's AT leaders got their start in RESNA's Student Design Competition or Student Scientific Paper Competition.
RESNA 2013 will take that commitment one step further by offering a dedicated student track at the conference, with five unique workshops tailored to student needs. While plans are still developing, workshop topics include careers in rehab engineering and assistive technology, rehab engineering for non-engineers, behind the scenes at a peer review journal, and more. Students will also receive a free, one-year membership to RESNA. More For advance notice about the program, registration, and special events, sign up for the conference mailing list. |
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Government Affairs Policy & Advocacy Update | |
Now that the US elections are over, Congress is back in session with many items on the agenda of interest to RESNA and our disability coalition partners.
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act
This proposed legislation would allow individuals and families to save funds in new ABLE accounts without impacting eligibility for means-tested programs like Supplement Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, which many people with disabilities rely on for support. More
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
On December 4, this international treaty did not receive the necessary 67 US Senate votes for ratification despite strong support from the disability community, including RESNA. 61 Senators voted for the treaty, including 8 Republicans. 38 Senators voted against, after a vociferous opposition claimed that the treaty violated US sovereignty and would affect the home schooling movement. Former US Senator and disability advocate Bob Dole appeared on the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to vote for the treaty, but the six additional votes needed for passage did not materialize. Disability advocates plan to re-introduce the treaty during the next session. 126 countries have ratified the treaty, including Canada. More
HR 4378: Complex Rehab Benefit
HR 4378 would create a separate benefit category under Medicare for complex rehab technology, which includes products such as complex rehab power wheelchairs, highly configurable manual wheelchairs, adaptive seating and positioning systems, as well as other products. 35 of the 37 co-sponsors of the bill were re-elected. RESNA and coalition partners are working on signing up more support in both the House and the Senate. More
RESNA's Government Affairs Committee
This all-volunteer committee develops and coordinates RESNA's positions on public policies and related activities. RESNA participates in public policy activities through memberships, affiliations and coalitions. Find out more. |
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Do you offer job accommodations expertise? | |
 RESNA members who offer services to employers for job accommodations are invited to list their services in this new "AT for Business" web portal, developed by the RESNA Catalyst Project. The web portal will provide assistive technology resources and referrals to help employers hire people with disabilities.
To be listed, please take a few minutes to provide your information and professional details through this on-line tool:
http://resnaprojects.org/resnamemberdirectory/inputform.html.
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Meet the RESNA ATAC Staff |
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Jenifer Simpson and
Courtney Shewak |
RESNA recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy to establish the Assitive Technology Action Center (ATAC).
ATAC is a new national resource to facilitate and promote the use of accessible technology in the hiring, employment, retention and career advancement of individuals with disabilities.
Project Director Jenifer Simpson and Project Associate Courtney Shewak joined the RESNA staff recently and are hard at work establishing the new center, which will offer resources and support through a website. More about ATAC. |
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Member Benefit Spotlight: Assistive Technology Journal | 
A free print or on-line subscription to RESNA's prestigious scientific journal, Assistive Technology, is a membershp benefit. Are you taking advantage of this resource?
Members have full access to all AT journal articles, including the archives. This year there was a special issue devoted to AAC; other articles of interest include evaluating assistive reading software, the principles of universal design, and pediatric power mobility. Members need to log in to the RESNA website to access the full articles. More |
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RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, is the premier professional organization dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of people with disabilities through increasing access to technology solutions. Find out more at www.resna.org. |
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