Resources for Indiana Transition Teachers

Hoosier middle and high school teachers now have access to hundreds of transition assessments, tutorials, checklists, presentations, and Transition IEP guides with the introduction of the updated and redesigned Indiana Secondary Transition Resource Center (INSTRC) website.

INSTRC, a project of the Indiana Institute’s Center on Community Living and Careers, is funded by the Indiana Department of Education to assist transition educators and administrators as they comply with federal transition requirements and provide their students and their families with the information and experiences they need to move from high school to their postsecondary lives. There you will discover:

• Resource Collections: Including health, sample IEPs, information for new teachers and families, and more.
• Transition Assessment Matrix: Assessments are a key component of transition planning. The new Matrix allows teachers to quickly find age-appropriate transition assessments that fit their student.
• Access to dozens of state and national education, employment, and service organizations.

To access this site, please visit:
https://instrc.indiana.edu/

Indiana Disability History Project

Are you interested in first-hand stories of Hoosiers with disabilities and their advocates? The Institute’s Center on Aging and Community’s Indiana Disability History Project is documenting the challenges and victories of Hoosiers who’ve worked for disability rights. The project is also looking at the “everyday” lives of people with disabilities, and how those experiences have changed over the years.

There is now an Indiana Disability History Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/INDisabilityHistory/) where you can share your stories and find excerpts of video interviews and other thought-provoking information from disability history.

Voting Guide

Wondering about your rights as a voter in this election season? CeDIR has developed a voting guide that has links from the agencies that make up the Developmental Disabilities Network. There you can check to see if you are currently registered to vote, find out how to register if you aren't, learn about accessibility at polling places and more!

Please visit the guide at:
http://guides.libraries.indiana.edu/vote

Using Choosito

Looking for a free search engine that takes the guesswork out of which websites might be appropriate for your students? Richard Byrne, author of Free Technology for Teachers, has produced a short video on how to do that with Choosito, a reading level-indexed search tool.

To check out his blog post, please visit:
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/01/how-to-use-choositos-reading-level.html#.VrsqhNsrJD8

Something different?

The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community is pleased to announce the launch of our newly redesigned website. Our site sports a fresh new look, incorporates mobile responsiveness for viewing on desktops, tablets, and mobile/phone browsing, and features a powerful new search tool from Google to enhance the user search experience! We hope that you will enjoy browsing our new site!

For questions or comments, contact Joel Fosha at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail foshaj@indiana.edu.

http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/cedir

2015 Indiana Disability Poll

This year's Indiana Disability Poll is asking Hoosiers about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As the 25th Anniversary of the ADA approaches, ADA-Indiana is interested in finding out from people with disabilities, family members, disability advocates, and interested others about their opinions on ADA implementation in Indiana and what's needed moving forward. The Disability Poll is anonymous, and should take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

Complete this year's Disability Poll online at http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=3657, or contact Matt Norris at 812-855-6508 or cwlab@indiana.edu for alternative formats.

5 Tools for Seeing or Hearing Webpages More Clearly

Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers has compiled a list of five tools that can help students see or hear webpages more easily. From stripping sidebar content to text-to-speech options, the apps and extensions will help those with vision or hearing disabilities.

To view the list, please visit:
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/10/5-tools-that-can-help-students-see-and.html#.VFD4KfnF9yx

Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms

Looking for help understanding genetic terms? Check out the Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms. Created by the National Human Genome Research Institute, the glossary offers definitions, descriptions of terms, and many images and animations related to the terms. Additionally, a free app is available featuring more than 250 common genetic terms. Both the online and the app version have a quiz at the end.

For the online version, please visit: http://www.genome.gov/Glossary/index.cfm

For the mobile app, please visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/talking-glossary-of-genetics/id428340581?mt=8&ls=1

Ramps 101

Looking for information on how to build accessible ramps for homes and/or businesses? Ramps.org is a great website with that information and more. Suggestions on materials to use, layout considerations, and even a resource directory can be found. They have even compiled a list of charitable programs and institutions that offer both funding and building services.

To visit the website, go to: http://www.ramps.org/

To view their resource directory, please visit: http://www.ramps.org/free-ramps.htm

Vocabulary-building site

Looking for a website that will help your students build their vocabulary? Check out Rewordify.com. Much like a translation site, Rewordify.com will take your difficult text and replace the harder words with easier-to-understand synonyms or explanations. It will highlight the words that are changed and even place them side-by-side with the original words so that the meaning is clear. For those with reading disabilities, this free site might prove to be beneficial.

Out Of Step Provides Economic Opportunities

Press release
SEATTLE, Wash., May 23, 2013 -The one in four Americans with a disability now have a new opportunity for economic success. Introducing Out of Step, www.outofstep.com, a free website where people with disabilities can sell products or offer services or upload their resumes to connect with employers.

Out of Step is an innovative solution for the growing number of people with disabilities who struggle to find work and earn money. Only 17% of persons with a disability were employed full-time in 2011, and those with a disability are much more likely to be self-employed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. On Out of Step, members can promote an existing business or start a new one, or search for employment.

To read the entire press release, please visit: http://www.outofstep.com/articles/press-releases/out-of-step-press-release/

Sailing is for Everyone!

Ever thought about sailing for someone with a disability? US Sailing has a website specifically for adaptive sailing. The site features video of people with disabilities sailing alone and with others, and it has resources for clubs that are interested in starting an adaptive sailing program. You can also find an adaptive resource sailing manual free for download.

Want to learn more? Please visit: http://adaptive.ussailing.org/

BARD Enhances Services to Patrons

"The Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library recently unveiled enhanced services as part of the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) program from National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). BARD enables registered patrons to download over 22,000 digital books and over 40 digital magazines directly from the program’s website."

Want to find out more about this service? Please visit: http://in.gov/library/3811.htm

Soccer for youth with disabilities

This soccer mom's got it on the brain! With the nicer weather that we're currently having comes the chance to play more outdoors and, to many, that means SOCCER! TOPSoccer is a community-based program for kids ages 8 and older to practice and play. "The program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any players, age 8 and older, who have a mental or physical disability." Come on, kids, score that GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLL!

Want more information about this program? Please visit: http://www.soccerindiana.org/programs/topsoccer.aspx

Social Emotional Development in Young Children

Looking for a way for teachers and parents to help young children build social emotional skills? The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention has collaborated with others to create The Backpack Connection Series, a series of one-page handouts designed to keep parents informed on the specific social and behavioral topics their children are learning in school and how they can help at home.

To learn more about this series, please visit TACSEI's site at: http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/resources/backpack.html

What's New last month?

Looking for something new to curl up with after that scary Halloween? Visit our What's New page to find out what came in the library last month: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=2317

What's New?

Have you noticed the nip in the air? the colors on the trees beginning to change? the pumpkins and scarecrows in the front yards? the sneezes surrounding you? Must be that October is here! But before we get too far into the month, let's take a look back at what new items were received in the library last month. Visit our What's New page at http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=2317

Become an ADA-Indiana Host Site

ADA-Indiana is seeking to partner with community organizations in Indiana to host a monthly series of Audio Conferences related to the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. ADA-Indiana intends to support up to eight site locations for the 2012-2013 ADA Audio Conference Series, which runs from October 2012 to September 2013.

Organizations wishing to become a local host site for the 2012-2013 ADA Audio Conference series should submit a letter of intent postmarked by October 5th, or complete an online application. An Application Packet is available on the ADA-Indiana website. The packet includes more information about ADA-Indiana’s ADA Audio Conference program, and contains the specific instructions on how to apply.  Please visit the ADA-Indiana website to download the application packet, or complete the online application at http://www.adaindiana.org/. For questions, contact Matt Norris at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail adainfo@indiana.edu.

Assistive Technology: A parent's perspective

The Family Center on Technology and Disability puts out a monthly newsletter. This month's focus is a parent perspective on assistive technology.

"As we begin the 2012-2013 school year, the Family Center on Technology and Disability is pleased to bring you the insights of Dana Nieder of New York City, a parent and former teacher and the author of the blog Uncommon Sense.

"Ms. Nieder is the mother of four-year-old Maya who is experiencing a so-far undiagnosable inability to vocalize, as well as fine and gross motor challenges. Through her blog, Ms. Nieder records her struggles, discoveries, and the resources she has found to be most helpful in navigating through the maze of challenges that are all-too-familiar to families of children with physical, sensory, and/or cognitive impairments. Readers of her blog benefit from Ms. Nieder’s generous sharing of photographs and videos documenting Maya’s experiences."

Want to read more? Visit: http://www.fctd.info/assets/newsletters/pdfs/303/FCTD-TechVoices-July12.pdf?1347310609&utm_source=July+2012+-+Technology+Voices&utm_campaign=News+-+July2012-newlist&utm_medium=email

Alzheimer's: A textured, tactile journey of abstraction

Undone is a beautiful and bittersweet stop-motion film by animator Hayley Morris. This film is inspired by Morris' grandfather and captures, in abstract, the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. This 6 1/2 minute short film is exquisite in its tenderness and creativity.

To view the film, visit: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/08/29/hayley-morris-undone/