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March 20, 2006
National Conference on the Reuse of Assistive Technology
John H. Hager, assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education, is pleased to share with you news of a national conference on the reuse of assistive technology to be held May 8-10 in Atlanta:
Since I was appointed assistant secretary for OSERS a little over a year ago, one of my priorities has been to expand and enhance the recycling and reuse of assistive technology.
Across the country, many people with disabilities and their families want to give away assistive technology (AT) that they no longer use-from wheelchairs to special computer keyboards. Others are seeking affordable, used AT to meet their needs. Hundreds of organizations help them do this through device reuse programs-programs that exchange, recycle, repair and redistribute used AT.
It is only common sense to try to match up needs with available resources. Although there are individual state efforts to recycle and reutilize assistive technology, this is an area that currently lacks national leadership-and one that can make a huge difference nationally to people with disabilities. We want to provide that national leadership.
"Pass It On!" is a national conference designed to help organizations share successful strategies and build new networks for reuse of AT. It is being held May 8-10, 2006, at the Georgia Tech Conference Center in Atlanta.
Through presentations from state-of-the-art reuse programs and small group discussions with peers, conference participants will:
Hear from some of America's most successful AT reuse programs about how to build, sustain and improve local device reuse programs; Find out how states can network local AT reuse programs and create partnerships to get more AT into the hands of consumers; and Be a part of building a national community of device reuse programs. This conference is sponsored by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, a component of OSERS at the U.S. Department of Education, with the assistance of the National Assistive Technology Technical Assistance Partnership housed at Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) and DTI Associates, Inc.
For more information and to register for the conference, visit the following Web site: http://www.dtiassociates.com/passiton/.
If you know of an organization or person who will benefit from this conference, please pass it on!
Posted by Nancy at March 20, 2006 02:20 PM