APH News

Exciting New APH Products Announced!

Read on to learn about these new products – now available!

• FanFold Tractor-Feed Braille Paper in 8 1/2 x 11 Inch Sheets
• Push Button Padlock — Accessible Security!
• Now Available Separately–Sticky Dots Adhesive™

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We’ve Decked the Hall with a New Website Design!

We’re excited to launch our redesign of the virtual Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field.

The wealth of information on the Hall of Fame site has been reorganized for easier navigation. The site features:

• User-friendly, streamlined navigation
• Photos and bios of all 38 Hall of Fame inductees, including the new Class of 2006 inductees
• Additional photos of some inductees
• New photos of the Hall of Fame space, housed at APH
• New stones on the Wall of Tribute
• Information on how you can support the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of vision and is housed at APH in Louisville, Kentucky. The Hall is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

Field Test Families Needed for New "Lots of Dots"

APH is seeking families to field test the third and final book in the Lots of Dots raised-line and large print coloring book series. Lots of Dots: Coloring the Garden presents fruits, vegetables, and herbs. This product is designed for beginning readers. It is recommended that children have completed at least one other book in the Lots of Dots series. The word for each item is presented in large print, uncontracted braille, and contracted braille (when applicable). This book is best used in the home where parents and children can complete the enrichment activities (recipes) together. Field testing is scheduled for July and August of 2007. Spend your summer shopping the farmers’ market and preparing fun family meals. To participate, contact Tristan Pierce at tpierce@aph.org

June Workshop Planned on Making Tests Accessible

The APH Accessible Tests Department is offering a half-day post-conference workshop in connection with the 2007 Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Conference on Large Scale Assessment. The post-conference workshop will be conducted on Wednesday, June 20, from 1:30-5:00 p.m. at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. It is targeted for members of assessment teams, such as test publishers, state and local assessment personnel, and school psychologists, and anyone involved in the provision of tests in accessible media. Although there is a $25 workshop fee, you may apply for a fee waiver if needed. If you are attending the post-conference workshop, but not the regular conference, you need not register and pay the CCSSO registration fee. This workshop will provide information on test development and adaptation in order to ensure access to test items by students who are blind or visually impaired. For more information or to register for the workshop, contact Nancy Bayens at 800/223-1839, ext. 470 or nbayens@aph.org

National Family Conference to be Held

Families Connecting with Families in the Heartland of America will take place July 13-15, 2007 in Omaha, Nebraska. This is the second national conference of its type for families with children who are blind or have low vision of all ages. The American Foundation for the Blind, the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments, and The Seeing Eye, Inc. will be the lead sponsors for the 2007 program. There will be a significant level of family entertainment alongside informational workshops.

The color and black and white brochures are available at www.afb.org. You will find the brochures by using search words, such as "family conference" or "Omaha."

Online registration began March 1, 2007.

If you have specific questions, contact Mary Ann Siller (AFB) at siller@afb.net

The Results Are In!
APH Online Assessment Survey: New Directions

Information about this survey was circulated in the APH News; on various list serves such as AERnet, braille-n-teach, and Vhassessors; by our Ex Officio Trustees; and by word of mouth. One hundred and forty-six online responses and one response by U.S. mail were received. Persons from 25 states and Guam participated, with the following states boasting the highest number of participants: Indiana (19), Texas (16), South Carolina (16), Virginia (12), Missouri (10), and Kentucky (9). Job titles of participants ranged from Test Coordinator to Teacher of the Visually Impaired to Department of Education Program Director. Respondents reported that test scores were utilized in a variety of ways across the states: NCLB compliance, tracking Adequate Yearly Progress, establishing IEP goals, program placement, interventions, accountability, etc.

Survey results indicated that APH has continued to accurately identify the highest priority assessment needs reported by practitioners. The top 10 individually administered achievement tests requested were: *Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT II), *Woodcock-Johnson III: Tests of Achievement (WJ III); Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT 3/4); *Kaufman Tests of Academic Achievement (KTEA II); *KeyMath 3, Blind Learning Aptitude Test (BLAT); *Brigance Diagnostic Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills, Revised (CIBS-R) aka Brigance Green; California Achievement Test (CAT); Diagnostic Achievement Battery (DAB-2); and Peabody Individual Achievement Test, Revised (PIAT-R).

* in development at APH

Thanks to everyone who answered the online survey questions.
For a complete report, go to sites.aph.org/tests/index.html

Utah Learns About the SLK

Approximately 60 services providers from around Utah gathered in Salt Lake City March 19th and 20th to learn about the APH Sensory Learning Kit (SLK) with author Millie Smith. The highly successful event, held in partnership with Ex Officio Trustee Lori Quigley and the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind, offered participants an opportunity for hands-on training with the guidebooks and materials in the kit.

In addition to hearing great information provided by Millie, participants used materials from their own kits to practice assessments with each other and to learn about developing routines using the learning media and access items found in the SLK.

NIP events are designed to showcase the use of APH products across the areas of the Core Curriculum and the Expanded Core Curriculum. If you are interested in partnering with APH to bring an "expert" to your area, please contact Janie Blome by calling 800-223-1839, ext 367, or emailing jblome@aph.org

APH and CTEVH

The 48th Annual Conference of California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped, Inc. (CTEVH), titled "Check Your Resources", took place March 1 – 4 in Santa Clara, CA, and APH was well-represented! Speakers, presenters and vendors at the conference focused on the varied services and resources that exist in the field of visual impairments.

APH’s Accessible Textbook Department staffers Dena Garrett, Jayma Hawkins and Yan Zhang gave a presentation on Quality Assurance: Creating Quality Braille Documents For Your Customers and Students. The presentation was standing room only and the participants were excited to receive new resources and helpful techniques to create quality documents.

Jane Thompson facilitated a panel discussion titled Employment and Training Opportunities for Braille Transcribers. The panel consisted of Diane Spence, TX, Whitney Gregory, TX and Nancy Niebrugge, CA. This presentation introduces transcribers to employment opportunities at APH as well as other organizations.

Nancy Lacewell presented a session on Prison Braille Programs Across the U.S., and included discussion on the challenges facing prison braille programs and individual inmate transcribers as they transition "to the outside".

Karen Poppe gave a presentation on the APH product Setting the Stage for Tactile Understanding, a newly available set of materials intended for early instruction of tactile graphics.

APH and SOMA

Research Department Project Leaders Terrie Terlau, Jeanette Wicker, and Fred Otto represented APH in Nashville at the 2007 conference of the Southern Orientation & Mobility Association (SOMA) in March. Terrie delivered presentations on electronic travel devices (the K-Sonar and Miniguide US) and the upcoming APH video, Reclaiming Independence. Fred presented on Map Use and Tactile Design while Jeanette anchored the APH exhibit. Visitors to the exhibit showed interest not only in the newest APH products but in several old stand-bys as well, particularly ones related to making tactile diagrams.

Bards and Storytellers Series Announces a Program Change

Bards & Storytellers, the Callahan Museum’s performance series which celebrates entertainers with visual impairments, announced a program change. Fiona Page, an award winning storyteller from Atlanta, has replaced Oregon storyteller John Dashney on the program for Saturday, April 14th. Dashney was forced to cancel his trip to Kentucky due to a serious illness. We wish John the best and hope to see him next year. A former president of the Southern Order of Storytellers, Fiona Page’s passion is using the art of storytelling with the young and the young at heart to help them overcome adversity in their own lives. Page draws her stories from southern folklore and her own experience with vision loss late in life.

The remaining acts on the program are unchanged. Local traditional duo Tom and Kathy Arnold perform on Saturday, May 12th. Classical violinist Barbara Henning concludes the 2007 series at on Saturday, June 16th. Admission to the series is free but reservations are required, as tickets go quickly. For more information, contact Mike Hudson at 502-899-2365.

Why Your APH Power Select May Not Work

Have you experienced inconsistencies with the Power Select found in the Sensory Learning Kit (SLK)? If so, we are here to help.

The Power Select is the only power control unit on the market today that features ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). We offer this feature to allow the unit to be used safely in kitchen and bathroom settings. If, however, you plug the device in to an outlet with a ground fault (a leakage of AC current to the safety ground in home wiring), the Power Select will automatically trip (interrupt power to) the device. To read a full set of instructions on how to correctly reset tripped GFCIs on the Power Select, please go to archive.aph.org/products/ps_reset.html.

In some of the units, the GFCIs are sensitive to a "spike" generated by turning devices (lamps, massagers, etc.) on and off. APH has designed a repair to eliminate this problem in future production runs.

The process to reset the GFCIs is the same as outlined at the above link. Your Power Select may operate 5, 10, 20, or even 100 times in a row without tripping from a power spike. If the tripping of the GFCIs becomes an annoyance, please return the unit to APH for the modification.

Thank you and we are sorry for any inconvenience.

Connecting Youth Who are Visually Impaired Around the World

The youth working group of the European Blind Union (EBU) has set up an e-mail group to build a network between visually impaired youth all over the world. This group is primarily focused on blind and partially sighted youth between 15-35 years old but is open to all other people who are interested.

If you would like to join this group, send an empty message to ebu_youth-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Braille Music Class

A Braille Music Class will be taught on June 10-21 for students ages 12-22
at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The class will be
taught by Bill McCann from Dancing Dots (Dancing Dots. Braille music) and Jane Rundquist, TSBVI music director. Participants should be functioning on or close to grade level,
have a musical background, independently use a Windows PC and access
technology, and read contracted literary Braille.

For more information, contact Dr. Lauren Newton, laurennewton@tsbvi.edu, 512-206-9119. Read more at
www.tsbvi.edu/Outreach/seehear/fall06/music.htm

Our Newest APH Ex Officio Trustee!

Please welcome Georlene Adams as the new Ex Officio Trustee for the Illinois Center or Rehabilitation and Education-Wood. Georlene replaces Harold W. Williams.

APH Travel Calendar

April

April 3-5, 2007
Dakota Chapters AER Conference;
Aberdeen, SD

April 4-12, 2007
National Family Conference Planning Committee Meeting;
Omaha, NE

April 12-15, 2007
BANA Spring Board Meeting;
APH in Louisville, KY

April 16-18, 2007
Florida Conference of Volunteers;
Jacksonville, FL

April 18-21, 2007
CEC 2007;
Louisville, KY

April 23-24, 2007
Power Up 2007 Conference & Expo;
Columbia, MO

April 26-28, 2007
NBA Professional Development Conference 2007;
Colorado Springs, CO

April 27-28, 2007
New York Institute for Special Education (NYISE) Staff Training;
Bronx, NY

June

June 17-20, 2007
Council of Chief State School Officers 2007 Large Scale Assessment Conference;
Nashville, TN

June 30-July 6, 2007
NFB Convention 2007;
Atlanta, GA

June 30-July 7, 2007
ACB 2007;
Minneapolis, MN

July

July 13-15, 2007
Family Conference;
Omaha, NE

In Memoriam: Judy Cernkovich

Judy Cernkovich, 59, of Bowling Green, Ohio passed away on March 11. She is survived by husband Stephen and daughters Erin and Abby. Judy was a career Teacher of Blind and Visually Impaired Children with the Wood County Educational Service Center, guest lecturer at Bowling Green State University, former Ohio Chapter AER (AERO) President, chair of three memorable state-wide AERO conferences, member of the Educational Products and Resources Evaluation team for APH, and partner with APH’s Babies Count project.

Among her honors, Judy earned AER’s 2006 Pauline M. Moor Award, AER’s 2006 International Itinerant Teacher Award, AERO’s 2006 Educator of the Year Award, and CEC/DVI’s 2003 Teacher of the Year Award. Shortly before her death, AERO renamed the annual AERO Educator of the Year Award the Judy Cernkovich Excellence in Education Award.

Her many friends at APH are saddened by the loss of this exceptional teacher, collaborator, and friend. Read the entire obituary here: www.dunnfuneralhome.com/show.pl?id=398

NEW!
FanFold Tractor-Feed Braille Paper Now in 8 1/2 x 11 Inch Sheets

8 1/2 x 11 FanFold Tractor-Feed Braille Paper, 100#:
Unpunched (500 sheets): 1-04137-00 — $21.00
3-hole / 19-hole Punched (500 sheets): 1-04138-00 — $21.00

This low dust paper is designed to be used with computer-driven braille embossing devices. Perforations allow tractor feed holes to be removed after brailling. This same paper is also available in 11 1/2 x 11 inch sheets.

Also Available:
11 1/2 x 11 FanFold Tractor-Feed Braille Paper, 100#
Unpunched (1000 sheets): 1-04139-00 — $46.00
3-hole / 19-hole Punched (1000 sheets): 1-04140-00 — $46.00

NEW! Push Button Padlock — Accessible Security!
1-03990-00 — $12.50

Note: Push Button Padlock not available on Quota.

The traditional push button padlock is now accessible!

Does this sound familiar to you? "Excuse me, but I just purchased a push button padlock. Can you please tell me what my combination is?" If you have to ask someone what the combination is, then your security may be compromised. You can now have a combination that is known only to you. Each lock comes with two large print/braille cards listing the combination, along with large print and braille instructions. Buttons eliminate the worry of losing a key. Just push five buttons and presto, you’re in! Use at school, work, or home.

Now Available Separately!
Sticky Dots Adhesive™

1-08452-00 — $7.50
Note: Sticky Dots not available on Quota.

Tactile graphics projects are easier with Sticky Dots — make any lightweight object self-adhesive!

Sticky Dots Adhesive™, included in APH’s Rolling Right Along Construction Kit, is now available separately. Sticky Dots Adhesive is a convenient and quick solution to the slow glue-drying time often needed for creating collage graphics, tactile books, worksheets, maps, adapted game boards, etc. These sheets of self-adhesive dots allow teachers, transcribers, and parents to create multi-textured tactile displays by transferring the dots to a wide range of materials, e.g., felt, craft foam, textured paper, etc. Just press a pre-cut shape onto the Sticky Dots sheet, lift to transfer dots to the back of the shape, and then permanently affix the shape onto the page. Sticky Dots allows for smooth adhesive application to a variety of materials without adding the tactile distraction of unevenly applied glue.

Package includes eight 8.5" x 11" sheets in a tear-off pad.

Related Product:
Rolling Right Along Construction Kit™: 1-08451-00 — $58.00
Note: The full Rolling Right Along Kit IS available on Quota.

Note: No APH Braille Book Corner this month