Michigan Chapter Rediscovering Our Vision April 23 & 24, 2009 Marriott Hotel at Laurel Park Place Livonia, Michigan Rediscovering Our Vision Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired – Michigan Chapter April 23-24, 2009 Marriott Hotel at Laurel Park Place Livonia, Michigan THURSDAY, APRIL 23RD 7:30 – Michigan & Huron – Michigan Optometric Association Sponsored Continental Breakfast & Registration 7:30-4:45 – Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 8:30-8:45 – Salon A-D – Welcome Address: Dori Pratt 8:45-9:30 – Salon A-D – Keynote Address: Wild Swan 9:30-9:45 – BREAK 9:45-10:45 – Salon A-D – Wild Swan Activity (General Session) 10:45-11:00 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 11:00-12:15 – Salon B – Intentional Interventions: Program Planning for Children with Cortical Visual Impairments: Kerry Clifford & Christine Roman Often, teams dealing with children who have Cortical Visual Impairment know only enough to provide broad interventions that don’t fit a child’s needs and abilities. This workshop will provide intervention ideas for students with Cortical Visual Impairment and take into consideration: levels of functioning, specific CVI characteristics, Phases, and objectives and routines that are individualized and appropriate. 11:00-12:15 – Salon C – Technology, Computing, and Beyond: Cathy McAdam Through the Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired, we started a peer computer-training program. For those of us who are blind, today’s technologies are both liberating and frustrating. By focusing on very basic tasks, the computers have served as incredible tools for teaching the tutors as well as the students. This interactive discussion will help you think out of the box and appreciate your computer in a whole new way. Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired supports this innovative program and invites your ideas! 11:00-12:15 – Salon D – Functional Low Vision Assessment for O&M Instructors: Evaluating, Communicating, and Creating a Meaningful O&M Program: Flavia Steiner-Viggiani This hands-on, interactive workshop will focus on the main steps in performing a Functional Low Vision Evaluation, how to communicate and apply the results to create a meaningful mobility program for your unique learner. Although this workshop is especially designed for O/M Instructors, most of the information and hands-on activities will apply to other VI professionals. Sample reports, hand-outs and other resources will be provided. 12:15-12:30 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 12:30-1:45 – Salon A-D – Lunch & MAER Annual Business Meeting 1:45-2:00 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 2:00-3:15 – Salon B – Organization on the Go (O&M, LV Aids, & Early Childhood): Jenni Burch & Dori Pratt Learn about organization of the itinerant… Two itinerant vision consultants and mobility specialists from rural Northern Michigan will share their ideas and experiences in this session related to organizing supplies related to orientation and mobility, low vision aids, and early childhood interventions. 2:00-3:15 – Salon C – What’s New at APH and More: Collette Bauman This presentation will focus on how to access APH materials by outlining the criteria for qualification. A short overview of the American Printing House history and its commitment to provide quality materials to students with visual impairments for over 150 years. A hands-on display of materials will be provided. In addition, suggestions of how to use the materials to enhance academic learning will be discussed. A question and answer session will be included. Persons attending will be able to take materials with them by providing the name of an eligible student. 2:00-3:15 – Salon D – Diabetes: A Personal and Hands-On Experience: Roberta McCall & Leela Kausch Two women who have had Type I diabetes for many years share their experiences using both shot therapy and insulin pump therapy to control their blood sugar. Equipment such as pumps, infusion equipment, blood sugar testing equipment, and resources will be shared. This session is intended to provide a personal perspective to help professionals working with individuals with diabetes understand some of the options available and some personal pros and cons to these options. 3:15-3:30 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 3:30-4:45 – Salon B – Organization on the Go (VI, ILS, & FVA): Jenni Burch & Dori Pratt Learn about organization of the itinerant… Two itinerant vision consultants and mobility specialists from rural Northern Michigan will share their ideas and experiences in this session related to organizing supplies related to vision services, independent living skills, and functional vision assessments. 3:30-4:45 – Salon C – Participation in State Assessment for Students with Disabilities: Linda Howley & Dan Evans, Michigan Department of Education This presentation will provide an overview of the Michigan Educational Assessment System (MEAS), an update on the current MEAP and MI-Access assessments focusing on students with disabilities, and a description of MEAP-Access, the newest assessment currently under development. The process used to develop this assessment and the administration of the pilot assessment will be presented. 3:30-4:45 – Salon D – Adaptive Mobility Device – Make It/Take It Session ($15 lab fee): Susan Langendonk & Susan Bradley Join us for an Adaptive Mobility Device Make It-Take It session. Take home a completed AMD ready for use! Fee includes instruction, materials and a PVC cutter. Examples of various AMDs will be available for viewing. This session required pre-registration. 4:45 – Salon B – Division 9 (O&M) meeting 4:45 – Salon C – Division 11 (Rehab) meeting 4:45 – Salon D – Division 8 & 16 (VI & Itinerant) meeting 6:00 – Hospitality Event Please join us for the hospitality event which will include door prizes, a more casual environment to converse with vendors and colleagues from across the state. Refreshments are provided as well as a cash bar. The 2009 MAER Conference was co-sponsored through the generosity of the following contributors. Please accept our sincerest thanks! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Michigan Optometric Association Michigan Response to the National Agenda FRIDAY, APRIL 24TH 7:00 – Michigan & Huron – Continental Breakfast & Registration 7:00-3:45 – Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 7:30-10:15 – Salon A – MAER is a Breeze! (All day session): Erica Ihrke, Sarah Johnson, & Meredith Newhouse The introduction of Trekker Breeze GPS has introduced game changing thinking and allowed a greater audience of people to take advantage of information that GPS provides. In this presentation “Breeze” will be taught in indoor and outdoor sessions. Discussion will include which GPS unit is best for your client. 7:30-8:45 – Salon B-D – Doctor’s Panel: Specialists in the areas pediatrics, low vision, and geriatrics to answer questions (General Session) This is the perfect time to bring your questions related to your clients/students vision issues to ask the experts. 8:45-9:00 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 9:00-10:15 – Salon B – Introduction to Active Learning: Patricia Obrzut With activity comes learning. Developed by Dr. Lilli Nielsen, Active Learning is a fresh innovative approach for creating learning environments for severely disabled children and adults. Join Patty Obrzut, Assistant Director of Penrickton Center for Blind Children, as she provides you with an introduction to the concepts of active learning. 9:00-10:15 – Salon C – Analog to Digital A La Carte: Listening and Recording Devices from Simple to Complex: Shig Toda In addition to telephone information banks, free directory information services and online sources for accessible e-books, we will examine and explore both analog and digital listening and recording devices currently available on the market for visually impaired consumers, concentrating on their prices, features, ease of access, and adaptive teaching methods. 9:00-10:15 – Salon D – The Squeaky Wheel Needs More Than Grease: Greg Botting, Gwen Botting, Sharon Kirchner, Susan Langendonk, & Dennis Opoka The Comprehensive Design Team (CDT) for Quality Education for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired is working to involve all persons in the education of children who are blind or visually impaired to improve outcomes. We seek to include all with interest in solving some of the serious problems we face, such as teacher overload, under-informed parents, and budget-stressed administrators. We seek new ideas to address the critical needs of our students. 10:15-10:30 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 10:30-11:15 – Salon A-D – State of AER/AER Update (General Session): Susan Langendonk 11:15-11:30 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 11:30-12:45 – MAER Awards Luncheon 12:45-1:00 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 1:00-3:45 – Salon A – MAER is a Breeze! (All day session): Erica Ihrke, Sarah Johnson, & Meredith Newhouse A continuation of the introduction of Trekker Breeze GPS has introduced game changing thinking and allowed a greater audience of people to take advantage of information that GPS provides. In this presentation “Breeze” will be taught in indoor and outdoor sessions. Discussion will include which GPS unit is best for your client. 1:00-2:15 – Salon B – The Grieving Process: Dr. Robert Shaffer Contemporary views of grieving will be discussed noting that this is a multi-level phenomenon affecting parents, patients and professionals as well as a lifelong process that changes and evolves in the face of life’s challenges. Changes in the theoretical views towards grieving will be discussed as well as practical steps to alleviate or perhaps more correctly optimize this very necessary human experience. 1:00-2:15 – Salon C – Assessing Functional Vision in Children with VI and Multiple Disabilities (Part 1): Flavia Steiner-Viggiani This interactive workshop is designed for VI professionals working with children or young adults with visual impairments and cognitive, physical and/or neurological disabilities. The presentation will take a look at the differences between clinical and functional aspects of vision, the relationship between vision and the brain, and some of the main issues in evaluating functional vision in children or young adults with visual impairment and other disabilities. The workshop will include samples of functional low vision evaluations in children with multiple disabilities and the educational objectives generated from the results of the observation. Numerous resources will be provided, including hand-outs, articles and manufacturers of products useful for both classroom work and O/M lessons. 1:00-2:15 – Salon D – Transition Services & Secondary Education Support: Leamon Jones The Michigan Commission for the Blind’s Transition Services help students age 14 and over to successfully make the transition from high school to post-secondary education or employment. The student works with the team including a Michigan Commission for the Blind rehabilitation counselor, the student’s parents, a teacher consultant, a social worker, a special education director, and possibly others to prepare an annual Individual Education Plan (IEP). The plan includes details such as what classes will be taken the following year, extracurricular and volunteer activities, job shadowing, mentoring, work experience, and others. Additional goals may be: College Prep Transition Services and/or college training; Non-College Transition Services which may include vocational, technical, and on the job training. 2:15-2:30 – BREAK Michigan & Huron - Exhibitors/Vendors Available 2:30-3:45 – Salon B – Professional and Parental Burn-out: Dr. Robert Shaffer The second theme “burn out,” when much discussed, achieves greater immediacy in these challenging economic and social times. Traditional approaches to reducing professional and parental “burn out” will be addressed. In addition, newer concepts of role definition, goal setting, and collaboration between consumers and providers will be reviewed in detail. 2:30-3:45 – Salon C – Assessing Functional Vision in Children with VI and Multiple Disabilities (Part 2): Flavia Steiner-Viggiani A continuation of this interactive workshop is designed for VI professionals working with children or young adults with visual impairments and cognitive, physical and/or neurological disabilities. 2:30-3:45 – Salon D – A Career Development Journey: Cathy McAdam This self-portrait is told in the hope of dispelling myths, finding realities, and building dreams. Developing a career is a journey that starts with knowing yourself, believing in a goal or dream, and finding support to make it happen. It is built on ability, skills and experience. This presentation will discuss tools I use with youth for career development: mentoring, service opportunities, and job shadowing help explore possibilities, develop self-confidence, and provide experiences that lead to careers. The 2009 MAER Conference was co-sponsored through the generosity of the following contributors. Please accept our sincerest thanks! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Michigan Optometric Association Michigan Response to the National Agenda 1/7