Schizophrenia Research

From CNN Health comes an article highlighting a new finding in the cause of schizophrenia. "Scientists may have found another clue to the cause of schizophrenia. A new study some scientists are labeling "groundbreaking" comes from researchers at Harvard, the Broad Institute and Boston Children's Hospital and is published in the latest edition of Nature."

To read the entire article, please visit:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/28/health/schizophrenia-a-genetic-cause/index.html?sr=fbCNN012916schizophrenia-a-genetic-cause0920AMVODtopLink&linkId=20773782

Teaching for the lifespan: Successfully transitioning students with learning challenges to adulthood

Teaching for the lifespan: Successfully transitioning students with learning challenges to adulthood "makes transition planning easier. Backed by the latest research in learning and development, Teaching for the Lifespan provides you with the pedagogical best practices to promote your students’ strengths for life-long success. You’ll benefit from:

• A deep understanding of the educational, vocational, social, and emotional dimensions of adulthood for students with learning differences
• Techniques to help students with learning differences develop an awareness of proactive behaviors
• Strategies to help all learners achieve the demands of the Common Core and high-stakes assessments through Universal Design for Learning (UDL)"

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check it out or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Lego unveils wheelchair user

According to an article in the Guardian, toy maker Lego has created a mini-figure who uses a wheelchair and a service dog. The minifigure was spotted at the Nuremberg and London toy fairs.

To read the article, please visit: http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jan/27/lego-unveils-disabled-minifigure-promobricks-nuremberg-toy-fair?CMP=share_btn_tw

Taming the Data Monster: Collecting and Analyzing Classroom Data to Improve Student Progress

"To help educators and other practitioners meet the demands for accountability and student progress, [Taming the Data Monster] offers effective tracking systems, simple methods to analyze data, and appropriate use of the data to make sound decisions about student performance. In learning how to tame the data monster of organization and endless paperwork, readers will save time and effort." -publisher

To check out this title, email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Conference for Librarians Serving People with Disabilities

The National Library Service is announcing the 2016 Biennial National Conference of Librarians Serving Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals set for April 3-7, 2016, in San Francisco. A day of pre-conference workshops is set for April 2nd.

For hotel reservations, visit:
https://goo.gl/w3vbeH

For more information, visit:
http://go.usa.gov/cK3fz

Mobile App Monday - Recolor - Coloring Book For Adults

Recolor features "over 300 unique coloring pictures proven to help you rest your mind. Organized into themed chapters, with range in complexity from beginner to expert-level, the pictures feature Mandalas, Animals, Bouquets, Ornates, Lowpolys, Mortes and much more." -iTunes

This app would be helpful in the areas of communication, fine motor skills, language, etc.

For more information about this app, please visit:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id1027352017

Teaching mindfulness skills to kids and teens

Teaching mindfulness skills to kids and teens "features sample lesson plans and scripts, case studies, vignettes, and more. Leading experts describe how to harness the unique benefits of present-focused awareness for preschoolers, school-age kids, and teens, including at-risk youth and those with special needs. Strategies for overcoming common obstacles and engaging kids with different learning styles are explored." -publisher

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check it out or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

New Employment Specialist Trainings for 2016

The Indiana Institute’s Center on Community Living and Careers has scheduled four new Indiana Employment Specialist Trainings (EST) for 2016. EST provides training and expertise for Indiana employment professionals supporting people with disabilities who are seeking community employment. All Employment Specialist Trainings combine online integrated content with two in-person, face-to-face meetings where participants have the chance to receive essential support from experts in the field as well as their colleagues-in-training from around the state.

The first training of 2016 will be:

February 1 – March 28, 2016 (access to online content)
February 1 and March 1, 2016 (in-person meetings) 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, at Easter Seals Crossroads, 4740 Kingsway Dr., Indianapolis.

EST prepares participants for the APSE Certified Employment Specialist Professional Exam. Trainings are intended for new professionals in the field - employment consultants, job coaches, job developers, mental health professionals, vocational coordinators, and WorkOne staff. The deadline for registration is January 27, 2016. Registration fee is $200.00 per participant.

For more information or to register, visit http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/styles/iidc/defiles/CCLC/employmentspecialisttraining/EST%202016%20Feb%20March%20Registration.pdf.

To access a list of additional 2016 training dates, visit http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/styles/iidc/defiles/CCLC/employmentspecialisttraining/EST%202016%20Save%20the%20Date.pdf.

Stipend available for ADA Symposium

The ADA National Network is hosting the 20th annual ADA National Symposium on the Americans with Disabilities Act and related disability issues. The Symposium will take place in Denver, Colorado from June 19 to 22, 2016.

The ADA Symposium includes up to date information regarding employment, communication, transportation, emergency preparedness, case law, regulatory updates for government and private entities and the latest on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

The Great Lakes Center will be offering a number of stipends in the amount of $650.00 to cover the cost of registration (not to include late fees).   The conference is very popular and registration numbers have swelled over the past few years. Applications will only be accepted from individuals who reside in the Great Lakes Region (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI). This stipend is valid for the 2016 Symposium and registration should be completed as soon as possible. Applications will be accepted through January 29th, 2016.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.adagreatlakes.org/

Researchers develop Braille Tablet

According to an article at bgr.com, "researchers at the University of Michigan recently unveiled a new Braille-enabled prototype tablet that makes it possible for those with vision problems to read text on a full display. The tablet itself features fully refreshable pages containing raised bumps, a marked improvement from current devices that can only display one line of Braille text at a time."

To read the entire article, please visit:
http://bgr.com/2016/01/14/braille-tablet-prototype-blind/

Holiday hours

In observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the CeDIR library will be closed on Monday, January 18th. We will return at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 19th.

A boy and a jaguar

"Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion—their voice—but he stutters uncontrollably.

Except when he talks to animals…

Then he is fluent.

Follow the life of the man Time Magazine calls, "the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation"as he searches for his voice and fulfills a promise to speak for animals, and people, who cannot speak for themselves. This real-life story with tender illustrations by Catia Chien explores truths not defined by the spoken word." -publisher

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Five flavors of dumb

Five flavors of dumb is a Schneider Family Book Award winner that CeDIR has recently purchased. "Piper is a seventeen-year-old high school senior, and she's just been challenged to get her school's super-popular rock band, Dumb, a paying gig. The catch? Piper is deaf. Can she manage a band with five wildly different musicians, nurture a budding romance, and discover her own inner rock star, though she can't hear Dumb's music?" -publisher

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check out this title or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Books on vision impairments for kids

Looking out for Sarah is a Schneider Family Book Award winner and is written from the perspective of Sarah's service dog, Perry. Perry helps Sarah, a blind musician and teacher, navigate her way through her day. "This true story of an amazing black Labrador retriever and his owner will inspire young readers to follow their own dreams and give them the courage to achieve anything." -publisher

Another Schneider Family Book Award winner that CeDIR recently purchased is Things Not Seen. This book is about a fifteen year old boy who suddenly turns invisible to everyone, including himself. "For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life.  He's a missing person.  Then he meets Alicia.  She's blind, and Bobby can't resist talking to her, trusting her.  But people are starting to wonder where Bobby is.  Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out.  He has to find out how to be seen again-before it's too late." -publisher

Want to check out either of these books? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use Worldcat to find them in a library near you:
Looking Out for Sarah
Things Not Seen

Mobile App Monday - Toca Doctor

"Toca Doctor is a fun and puzzling digital toy for kids. Examine the patients and play puzzles and mini-games that take place in the human body. There are no timers or stress elements so that kids can play in their own time. If they can't finish any certain game it still continues so that they never get stuck. It always works and it's always fun!" -iTunes

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id424209938

reVISION: A Tactile, Auditory, and Spatial Experience

Looking for an art exhibit for those with vision impairments? "reVISION: Re-exploring Art, Expression & Perception is designed to welcome individuals who are blind and their sighted peers into a unique interactive art exhibit. reVISION will be an exhibition of new works by regional artists exploring the world of art through the eyes of the visually impaired. VIPS asked artists to re-imagine their work in a way that it can be enjoyed by art lovers who are blind. reVISION will transform the traditional gallery presentation into a tactile, auditory, and spatial experience. Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS Indiana) is hosting the art exhibit opening January 14, 2016 at the Indiana Interchurch Center Art Gallery in Indianapolis."

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
http://www.artsworkindiana.org/index.php?pageId=95&newsId=247

Girls Like Us

Girls like us is a coming of age book for two high school graduates with intellectual disabilities. "When they’re thrown together as roommates in their first "real world" apartment, it initially seems to be an uneasy fit. But as Biddy’s past resurfaces and Quincy faces a harrowing experience that no one should have to go through alone, the two of them realize that they might have more in common than they thought — and more important, that they might be able to help each other move forward." -publisher

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

The pirate of kindergarten

The pirate of kindergarten is a book for young children to raise awareness of the condition called double vision. Ginny sees differently than most children, reading words twice, occasionally running into chairs and taking a lot longer than other children to use her scissors. It isn't until she attends a vision screening session at school that she and her teacher learn why.

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check out this title or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

What's New

Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Even though we had a short one, we received several new titles in the library last month, many of which are Schneider Family Book Award winning titles from 2015 and years past. According to the American Library Association, "The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences."

To view the entire list of titles received at CeDIR last month, please visit:
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/whats-new

To learn more about the award, please visit:
http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/schneider-family-book-award

Mobile App Monday - Grocery iQ

Grocery iQ is an aid for independent living and individuals who struggle with memory and organization. Build lists from the Grocery iQ extensive product database using text, barcode, or voice search. Sync and share lists with other devices and the GroceryiQ.com website. Find related coupons and much more.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id290591617