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A Family's Guide to Interveners for Children with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss is a publication of the Utah State University Ski-Hi Institute. It is a comprehensive booklet for families regarding interveners which can be useful in providing basic knowledge and helping families advocate for their child's needs. Booklets can be ordered for $15.00. Please contact Diane Kelly for more information or to order a booklet.

The Coalition for Usher Syndrome Research (www.usher-syndrome.org), in conjunction with the Usher Family network, has recently launched the first EVER Usher Syndrome Registry at www.usher-registry.org.  The objective of the registry is to give individuals and families an opportunity to connect and for natural history data to be collected for future use by researchers. For more information, please click here.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness announces an Usher Syndrome Family Conference on Saturday, July 7, in St. Louis, Missouri. Registration is $25 a person, or $50 per family. For details or to register, click here.

An announcement from APH on 6/1/12: As Dolly herself might phrase it, “The Little Engine That Could”...did! This June, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and the Dollywood Foundation announced an exciting partnership to expand Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) to provide young blind and visually impaired children with accessible books.  Today, we are pleased to announce that the APH/DPIL Partnership has launched! The first DPIL audio book files are now available at the site as free downloads to registered National Library Service (NLS) members. Audio books will be added each month until most of the 75 titles in the DPIL collection are available to children and their families. For full information, go to Family Connect. 

National Family Association for Deaf-Blind (NFADB) is looking for parents to join the leadership of the organization. If you are interested in becoming more involved, please review the Call for Nominations. You can get more information by contacting Blanche Stetler, NFADB Board Member and Nominations Chairperson.

The biennial weekend for families and professionals in Tennessee, sponsored by TREDS Project for Individuals with Combined Hearing and Vision Loss is going to be held in Franklin, TN on July 13 and 14, 2012. Presenters this year are Robbie Blaha, Millie Smith, Kate Beals, and John Halloran. Get information and a registration form online at the TREDS website.

See new technology products from Ablenet.

"iCrazed"! is a presentation by Donna Brostek Lee and Paul Smith from Western Michigan University which was delivered at the DC/MD AER Conference in March 2012. Take a look at the presentation slides to find out about iPad access features and applications for individuals who are blind/visually impaired, with a focus on the needs of these individuals and their teachers!

Greenbelt Recreation Department is looking for Day Camp Inclusion Counselors for their summer camp programs. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please review the flyer for important dates, job requirements, qualifications and salary!

Learn about the process of Intervention and the role of an Intervener for a student who is deaf-blind. Get information on the important work that is being done nationally to make Intervention available for all students with deaf-blindness! Go to interveners.org.

Save the Date! The DeafBlind Transition Camp (DBTC), July 8-11, 2012, at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan. The camp is open to DeafBlind teens from the United States who are ages 16-19 years and plan to go to college or be competitively employed. The agenda is being developed and speakers invited, many of whom are successful DeafBlind adults. Topics are set to include presentations on rights, technology, available supports, etc. Registration materials will be available soon.

Through collaborative efforts with multiple agencies and organizations, the camp is offered free of charge. We pride ourselves on making the camp 100% accessible! Campers must make their way to MSU, though in previous years, many families have accessed financial support (from projects, state agencies, etc) to cover costs. Teens often travel with Support Service Providers or interpreters from their home area, if not their families. We must have at least ten teens to hold the camp. For more information, please contact Beth Kennedy and/or Jill Gaus.

New issue of Technology Voices available from Family Center on Technology and Disability. In this issue, find an article on "Utterance-Based Communication: Using the Right Tool for the Right Task". Find this and other interesting and useful information, and sign up to receive the newsletter directly, by visiting the FCTD website.

Kid Companions: CHEWELRY!

Advertised as follows: Cool, wearable, chewable "fidgets" perfect for individuals who like to chew or fidget. They are safe, bpa-, phthalate-, pvc-, lead- and latex-free special needs tools for children with a variety of disabilities. Kid Companions are stylish and discreet. They are made with FDA-approved materials sourced in the USA/Canada. You can buy them here: http://www.kidcompanions.com.

Parent Kate Patton from the District of Columbia has developed a website for parents in the DC/Metro area who are new to the world of special needs. It is a comprehensive database of all types of doctors and specialists that parents may need and includes articles from other informative sites pertaining to special needs. There is also a list of agencies and merchants which sell special equipment and products, as well as places that offer classes for creative arts, camps, fitness, national and local resources, respite and child care, and support groups for parents and siblings. www.Specialneedskidsinfo.com