APH News

Exciting New APH Products Announced!

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

• APH Spring Fever Sale
• Book Port Plus
• 2nd Edition: Developmental Guidelines for Infants with Visual Impairments: A Guidebook for Early Intervention
• Super-Sized Folders
• USB 2.0 Extension Cable, NLS Cartridge to PC Connection
• APH Braille Book Corner

How Do YOU Use Your ALL-IN-ONE Board?

APH would like to hear about your creative uses of the ALL-IN-ONE Board for educational and recreational purposes. What are some classroom activities for which you have found the board useful? What ages of students do you usually use the board with? Are there supplemental materials that you would recommend for APH to provide to increase the usefulness of the product (e.g., types of magnetic materials)? Please forward your comments and ideas to Karen J. Poppe, Tactile Graphics Project Leader, at kpoppe@aph.org

APH – HELP WANTED – IMMEDIATELY!

APH has the following positions available. Why not consider livin’ large in Looavul? This is an exciting career destination where you can spend quality time providing needed products to people who are blind and visually impaired! Click the following job titles to learn more!

• Core Curriculum Project Leader
• Human Resources Director
• Research Assistant II
• Accessible Test Editor Trainee
• Certified Braille Textbook Transcriber
• Certified Nemeth Braille Transcriber

You can always find the latest employment opportunities on our website at About APH.

National Instructional Materials Access Center Celebrates!

NIMAC staff Julia Myers, Nicole Gaines, Johanna Argo, and Tiffany Bradford celebrated the milestone of the NIMAC’s 20,000th file. NIMAC is a digital source file repository that makes NIMAS files from publishers available to states for the production of accessible formats on behalf of eligible visually impaired or print-disabled students, including braille, large print, audio, and DAISY. Created by IDEA 2004, the repository has been in operation since December 2006.

Surfin’ (the Web) in San Diego!

"Wow!" "Awesome!" "Amazing!" These were just a few of the comments overheard during APH’s inaugural Book Port Plus National Instructional Partnerships event. Teachers gathered at the Braille Institute of America’s San Deigo Regional Sight Center on March 22-23 for a National Instructional Partnerships event presented by Larry Skutchan, APH’s Technology Project Leader.

The event offered two days of hands on training for both the new Book Port Plus and the Braille+. Attendees learned techniques and tips for using both devices in half day workshops devoted to each piece of equipment. Teachers were excited to have skills they could immediately share with their students and to learn about the many ways use of this technology could make their own lives easier!

Thanks to Ex Officio Trustee Nancy Niebrugge and San Diego’s own Jay Comstock and Vint Bradburn for all of their support and hospitality for this event!

NIP events are designed to highlight the use of APH products across the areas of the core curriculum and the expanded core curriculum. Agencies partnering with APH are asked to provide space for the workshop, assistance with local arrangements, assistance with on-site registration, etc. APH will provide fees and travel expenses for the workshop leader. If you are interested in hosting an event in your area, please contact Janie Blome, jblome@aph.org, or call 800-223-1839, ext. 367.

Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three!

March was a busy month for Dr. Lynne Jaffe as she presented two back-to-back NIP events designed to train teachers and psychologists on the use of the Woodcock Johnson III Braille edition recently released by APH.

The first stop on the tour was the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Alamagordo on March 8–9, 2010. Participants came from around New Mexico and all the way from Florida to hear Dr. Jaffe’s presentation. The two-day event provided opportunities to practice with the test materials along with information about the adaptations made to the test and techniques for administration and scoring.

The California School for the Blind in Fremont was up next, with a special one day event on March 12. Staff from CSB and others in the Bay area got a whirlwind course in using the Woodcock Johnson III, with presenter and attendees alike wishing for more time at the end of the day. Attendees found the information presented helpful, relevant and enlightening—and Dr. Jaffe left them wanting more!

Thanks to Ex Officio Trustee Linda Lyle and Danette Fuller for their assistance and wonderful hospitality in New Mexico and to Ex Officio Trustee Stuart Wittenstein and Sharon Sacks for their support and wonderful California hospitality!

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance

APH exhibited at the 2010 AAHPERD Convention in Indianapolis, March 16-20. Sandi Baker, Cathy Johnson, and Tristan Pierce worked the exhibit booth and introduced many new APH products to physical education teachers and adapted physical education teachers. Tristan and Dr. Lauren Lieberman (SUNY Brockport) presented The Value of Adapted Sport Equipment. Tristan and Lauren were joined by Matt LaCortiglia (Perkins School for the Blind), Jim Mastro (Bemidji State University), Joe Paschall (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired), and Tricia Zorn (United States Association of Blind Athletes) for a panel presentation titled, Run, Jump, Swim, & Play: Resources for Youth with Blindness.

APH Provides Training to Prison Programs

Two staff members from the Accessible Textbook Department, Yan Zhang, Tactile Graphics Developer, and Jayma Hawkins, Accessible Media Editor, headed to the blistery cold of the Midwest to meet with two prison programs and offer training.

Their first stop was the Nebraska State Penitentiary where Yan provided training on tactile graphic theory, design, and development. Jayma presented APH Accessible Textbooks Specifications, proofreading and quality control to ensure a clean and useful textbook. The Braille team, also known as Prose & Cons, has 35 inmates active in the program and the various NLS braille certifications are covered by members of the team.

Their next stop was Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they visited the South Dakota State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Pheasantland. Yan and Jayma provided two days of similar training to the braille and tactile graphics teams of approximately 40 inmates.

The Pheasantland program has a large tactile graphics work space with ample equipment. Both programs are very impressive in their management and procedures and have gained national recognition for the quality of their work.

APH is currently using eight prison programs to help produce textbook materials for students across the country, and we visit them as often as we can to ensure proper training and resources are available to them.

Scott Blome Receives APH President’s Award

Recently, at a full gathering of APH staff, President Tuck Tinsley announced that Scott Blome, Director of Communications, had earned the prestigious APH President’s Award. This award is given periodically to an exemplary employee who meets very high standards. Scott’s honesty, loyalty, positive attitude, problem solving skills, and team approach made him a natural to be tapped by President Tinsley. Congratulations to this 25-year APH veteran for a recognition well deserved!

Communications Department E X P A N D S!

We are happy to announce that Ricky Irvine has joined APH in the Communications Department in our new position of Website Associate. Ricky is a website designer, graphic designer, and photographer who comes to us from the commercial world. One of Ricky’s tasks will be shooting new kinds of APH product videos.

APH Now Accepting Donations Online!

Thousands of blind children and adults across the U.S. rely on APH for accessible editions of Reader’s Digest®, Newsweek®, and Weekly Reader®. These publications are supported by generous donors.

APH now accepts donations online right from our website, using PayPal™. You can make either a one-time or recurring donation: just go to sites.aph.org and click on Donate Now and Support our Mission.

PayPal is the internet’s most trusted and convenient tool for online donations. You can make a donation through your PayPal account, use debit card, or any major credit card. A PayPal account is not required.

The American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Gifts are tax-deductible.

Recruiting Youth with Visual Impairments to Help with Study

In the field of occupational therapy, there is little information from youth with visual impairments regarding their experiences. The focus of this study is students with visual impairments who are 10-14 years old. Since both play and social engagement are within the realm of occupational therapy, the researchers conducting this study expect that the input received will aid practitioners by providing information and insights into the perspectives of students with visual impairments on play and social participation. */ -->

Jennifer, Korina and Laura are graduate students at San Jose State University. They are working with Anthony Fletcher, Associate Director and Chief Operations Officer at Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco.

In Memoriam

His award-winning research discovered and eliminated a major cause of blindness in infants.

Dr. Arnall Patz, who was inducted in to the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field in 2006, died March 11 of heart disease. He was 89. The director emeritus of Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute was considered a pivotal figure in the history of ophthalmology. For his body of work, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. APH honored him with its highest honor, The Wings of Freedom, in 2006.

In an historic clinical trial, Dr. Patz followed premature babies who were routinely given high concentrations of oxygen and others who were given lower doses. Rebuffed by a funding agency, which thought the proposal unscientific and possibly dangerous, he conducted the clinical trial with personal funds. For this discovery and the subsequent saving of vision in thousands of premature infants, he was given the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award, one of the most prestigious honors in American medicine. Helen Keller presented him with the award in 1956. From that incredible beginning, Dr. Patz went on to become one of the most influential ophthalmologists in the world.

Please visit the Arnall Patz Hall of Fame biography page to learn more of this extraordinary story, along with links to three obituaries.

APH Welcomes New Ex Officio Trustees

James Baumgartner, the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh, replacing Stephen Barrett.

R. Scot Booth, the Glenwood Resource Center in Iowa, replacing Kelly Brodie.

Robert A. Disher, the Oregon Department of Education, replacing Gail Gibbard.

Linda Woodbury, the Orientation Center for the Blind in California, replacing Anthony Candela.

APH Travel Calendar

April

April 5-9, 2010
EPAC 2010;
at APH in Louisville, KY

April 7-9, 2010
Dakotas AER;
Aberdeen, SD

April 12-16, 2010
Legislative Visits On Capitol Hill;
Washington, DC

April 13, 2010
APH Product Training for The University of Arizona students preparing to become TVIs;
Tucson, AZ

April 16-18, 2010
The Parent Solution: Expanding Their Future…And Yours;
Altoona, IA

April 21-24, 2010
CEC 2010;
Nashville, TN

April 22-25, 2010
CTEBVI (California Transcribers & Educators for the Blind & Visually Impaired)(was CTEVH);
LAX Marriott, Los Angeles, CA

April 26-27, 2010
Power Up 2010;
Columbia, MO

April 29-30, 2010
Michigan AER 2010 Conference;
Lavonia, MI

April 29-May 1, 2010
AOTA 2010;
Orlando, FL

May

May 3-5, 2010
Visual Aid Volunteers of Florida (VAVF);
Orlando, FL

May 23-26, 2010
ESAC 2010;
APH in Louisville, KY

June

June 5, 2010
INSIGHT 2010;
Morehead State University-Morehead, KY

June 10-11, 2010
Texas Focus;
Plano, TX

June 10-12, 2010
Research in the Rockies: Research Summit on Reading and Writing Braille;
Denver, CO

June 16, 2010
Washington Product Presentation – Public Affairs Event;
Washington, DC

June 20-23, 2010
2010 Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Conference; 40th National Conference on Student Assessment;
Detroit, MI

June 25-26, 2010
Texas Parent to Parent 2010;
San Marcos, TX

June 25-26, 2010
National Braille Challenge 2010;
CA

July

July 1-3, 2010
NEA Expo 2010;
New Orleans, LA

July 3-8, 2010
NFB 2010;
Dallas Texas

July 9-17, 2010
ACB 2010;
Phoenix, AZ

July 19-21, 2010
OSEP Project Directors Conference 2010;
Washington, DC

July 21-25, 2010
AER International 2010;
Little Rock, AR

July 28, 2010
Product Training for TVI Students at Portland State University;
Portland, OR

July 31-August 1, 2010
6th Biannual LCA (Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis) Family Conference;
Philadelphia, PA

Handy List of New Products

There is a new feature on the shop.aph.org homepage: a list of new APH products released since the current Instructional Products Catalog was printed. This list contains all major products released since April, 2009. We hope this will be a handy tool to help you plan your ordering. You’ll find the list on the left side of the homepage, just below the yellow navigation box.

You Can Contribute Articles to APH’s Fred’s Head Blog!

Have you visited "Fred’s Head from APH" lately? If not, check out our award-winning blog at www.fredshead.info You’ll discover a wealth of searchable information on a wide variety of blindness-related topics. Articles are posted every business day by Michael McCarty, APH’s Social Media Coordinator.

APH continues to develop Fred’s Head and expand our social media presence on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. We invite you to contribute an article to share your knowledge with thousands of readers. The audience for Fred’s Head is broad, and includes students, parents, adults, and professionals. We’ll publish your name in by-line for your article.

You can write articles for any of 178 subject areas (scroll toward the bottom of the blog page to see the full list). Some subjects include: Adjusting to blindness, Assistive technology, Braille books, Employment, Exercise, Family life, Household hints, Job searching, Low vision, Note-taking, Organizing, Orientation & mobility, Transportation. You might also have an existing article you would allow us to republish.

To learn more about APH’s Fred’s Head blog and how you can contribute, contact Michael McCarty at mmccarty@aph.org, follow Fred’s Head on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fredshead, or call 502-899-2396.

Spring Fever Sale

Load up a world of savings on selected APH products with APH’s Spring Fever Sale 2010, April 1 – June 30. As always, first come, first served. archive.aph.org/products/springfever.html

NEW! Book Port Plus

1-07191-00 — $299.00 + shipping

INTRODUCTORY PRICE! ORDER NOW FOR AUGUST DELIVERY

Additional Shipping Charge

All shipments will incur actual UPS shipping rates based on the destination.

Replacement Items:

• AC Adapter, O-Type: 1-07192-00 — $18.50
• Rechargeable Battery, Lithium-Polymer: 1-07194-00 — $26.00
• Battery Door: 1-07193-00 — $3.25
• Cable, Mini AB-Short USB: 1-07915-00 — $5.00

Read Digital Talking Books, play digital audio, read computer files, and make superb recordings with Book Port Plus!
Book Port Plus™ represents the latest generation of accessible media player/recorders. Its small size, quality recording, and unique capabilities make it an ideal replacement for older technology like cassette player/recorders, earlier Digital Talking Book (DTB) players, or inaccessible commercial digital recorders. Its specialized hardware and software makes Book Port Plus easier to use, more reliable, and more flexible than cell phones or PCs that might perform some of its functions.

The quality components and innovative software make Book Port Plus an excellent music player and outstanding recorder. The reading controls let you read a wide variety of books in both audio (human speech) and text (synthetic speech) format. Its ability to create Digital Talking Book recordings is unique. Book Port Plus’ recording capabilities are unmatched and perform better than many dedicated digital recorders.

Includes

• Book Port Plus unit
• SD card (already inserted into unit)
• Rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• AC adapter with braille label
• Ear buds
• Short USB host cable
• Longer USB client cable
• CD-ROM containing software, books, and documentation
• Quick Start Guide and safety warnings
• One-year limited warranty

NEW! 2nd Edition: Developmental Guidelines for Infants with Visual Impairments: A Guidebook for Early Intervention

Print w/CD Kit: 8-50701-00 — $95.00
Braille w/CD Kit: 6-50701-00 — $95.00

Replacement Item:

Summary Consumables Forms (pack of 10): 8-50701-00 — $5.00

Developmental Guidelines from APH has been updated to include the latest research, theory, and practice. This thoroughly-researched manual describes what is known about the development of infants with visual impairments. It compares theories from many of the foundational theorists in the fields of infant development and vision.

Topics Covered:

• Visual impairment in infants (overview)
• Social-emotional development
• Communication development
• Cognitive development
• Fine motor development
• Gross motor development
• Functional vision development
• Use of the guidelines to develop intervention goals and strategies
• Developmental chart sources
• Selected resources for additional reading

Intervention Methods

In addition, intervention methods for infants with visual impairment have been reviewed and summarized in two ways:

• Narrative Chapters for each developmental area addresses critical issues and provide an overall perspective of intervention options.
• Developmental Charts that are organized into primary processes with specific indicators of those processes. The sequence, rather than expected ages for development, has been emphasized.

A form called "Summary of Developmental Strengths and Intervention Concerns" accompanies the text and is available in packets of ten as a consumable item. These forms are used to plan interventions for infants with visual impairments. They make a nice guideline for parents and professionals who want to know what the interventionist is doing, and what to do to support the work of the interventionist.

Note: Developmental Guidelines was designed mainly for professionals who serve infants with visual impairments. It is available in standard print, braille, HTML, and DAISY formats for full accessibility.

NEW! Super-Sized Folders
Set of 3: 1-04296-00 — $13.50

These folders are made of a semi-rigid blue polyblend plastic. Each measures 12 x 11 1/4 inches with a depth of 3/4 inches, allowing full 11 1/2 x 11 inch braille sheets to fit. A part of the braille page remains uncovered so that the contents of each folder can be quickly scanned. Each set includes 3 blue folders that have a die cut APH logo on the front.

New! USB 2.0 Extension Cable, NLS Cartridge to PC Connection (3 ft.)
1-02612-00 — $5.00

Related Products

• Digital Talking Book Cartridge, 2GB (Blank) 1-02610-00 — $11.99
• Digital Cartridge Mailer 1-02611-00 — $2.50

Not available with Quota funds.

This blank cartridge is for use with National Library Service (NLS) Digital Talking Book Players. A digital cartridge is a new medium for playing digital talking books and magazines. Use the USB cable to connect a Digital Talking Book Cartridge to your PC for downloading materials such as NLS Talking Books or other materials.

For more information about National Library Service digital talking books, please visit http://www.loc.gov/nls/digital.html

APH offers a number of recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.

Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow several weeks for delivery.

Bully Trouble
by Joanna Cole: T-N1348-60 — $10.00
Eddie, the neighborhood bully, picks on best friends Arlo and Robby, stealing their food whenever he can. But Arlo and Robby come up with a red-hot plan to make him stop. Fiction, Grades K-3. *(AR Quiz #7360, BL 2.0, Pts. 0.5)

Blind Faith
by Ellen Wittlinger: T-N1755-60 — $70.00
After fifteen-year-old Liz loses her grandmother, Liz’s mother joins a spiritualist church to communicate with the dead and alienates her atheist husband. New neighbors sixteen-year-old Nathan and his younger sister live with their grandmother while their mother is dying. Liz and Nathan console each other. Fiction, Upper Grades. *(AR Quiz #107317, BL 4.5, Pts. 10.0)

The Hindi-Bindi Club
by Monica Pradhan: T-N1756-90 — $120.00
Three first-generation American women struggle to reconcile traditional Indian ways with Western life. As divorced doctor Kiran considers an arranged marriage, artist Rani loses her passion, and married Preity confronts past heartache, they draw upon the strength and wisdom of their mothers, affectionately dubbed the Hindi-Bindi Club. Includes recipes. Fiction.

Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir
by Carolyn Jourdan: T-N1756-50 — $81.50
When her seventy-two-year-old mother had a heart attack, U.S. Senate counsel Jourdan took leave to man the receptionist’s desk in her father’s rural Tennessee doctor’s office. She describes those days that turned into a year, and the lessons in humanity she learned during that time. Strong language. Biography, Adult.

Remember Me
by Sophie Kinsella: T-N1770-70 — $116-00
London. After twenty-eight-year-old Lexi Smart wakes up with amnesia, she can’t remember the past three years of her life. Lexi learns that she’s now a gorgeous but cut-throat businesswoman with a priggish millionaire husband and a secret lover. Strong language. Fiction, Adult.

*Accelerated Reader quiz number, book level, and point value. For more information on the Accelerated Reader program, see the January 2006 APH News or www.renlearn.com/ar/