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WCD EXPO: What is it?

We here at Physical Issues are very excited about the upcoming World Congress on Disabilities Expo (WCD EXPO) on Nov 21 & 22 here in Jacksonville, Fl.

Mark Dineen is the Managing Director of the World Congress & Expo on Disabilities. We sat down with Mark and asked the following questions:

PI: What is the WCD Expo? How often is one held?

Mark: The WCD Expo is a trade show and conference providing products and education to people with developmental and physical disabilities, their families and the professionals who work with them. This includes physicians, nurses, PTs, OTs, educators, administrators and everyone else involved in the lives of people with disabilities. The show is currently held twice a year. We are planning on staying in Jacksonville every November and hope we have a big attendee turn out to help bring the vendors back in 09.

PI: How far back does WCD go and overtime what have been some of the changes?

Mark: The WCD was launched in 2000 and had the mission of Bringing People Together. Over the 9 years of the shows existence many things have changed. One major change has been the advancement of technology. Assistive technology products, the increased benefits of technology within power chairs and other mobility products and the significant changes within science and advancement of prosthetics. Conversion vans have become sleeker and more in line with standard looking cars, lifts have become easier to use and lighter. Homes are now being designed by Universal home designers creating living spaces that are much more in tune with the needs of the individual.

PI: Where are some of the places the WCD Expo has been held and why?

Mark: The show has been held in a few different cities over the years, Atlanta , Orlando , Philadelphia and now Jacksonville . Each city has its own benefits and potential attendee base. We have moved the event to different places because we were trying to reach more people. In 2008 we started a second show with more of a regional focus. This helped us reach the people who can not make the trip to Jacksonville and will then allow us to stay in Jacksonville in the Fall timeframe while producing these smaller events in other regions.

PI: Why Jacksonville?

NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH

October is -
NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH

Millions of Americans live with disabilities, and many other Americans will become disabled at some point in their lives. To integrate people with disabilities more fully into every aspect of life, our country is working to advance greater freedoms at work, in schools, and throughout communities. By expanding employment opportunities and fighting false peceptions that hinder people living with disabilities from joining the workforce, we can uphold America�s moral values, strengthen our economy, and make America a more hopeful place.

Read more of the President�s Proclamation

BY SIMPLE MOVING THEIR TONGUE

Assistant Professor: Bioengineering, and Electronic Design and Applications

This immigrant from Iran has become one of our nation's most ingenious biomedical engineers. Last month, the good professor and his team of researchers at Georgia Tech unveiled an incredible invention that could one day help people with severe disabilities operate wheelchairs and surf the Internet by simply moving their tongue. Through this pioneering research, this good professor has brought new hope to thousands. He, like others in this room, have earned the admiration of our citizens.

Professor Ghovanloo received his B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran in 1994. He received his M.S. degree in biomedical engineering from Amirkabir Institute of Technology, Tehran, Iran in 1997. From 1994 to 1998, he worked at the Industrial Development for Electronic Application, Inc., where he participated in the design and development of a modular patient care monitoring system. In December 1998, he founded Sabz Negar Rayaneh Co. Ltd., developing physiology and pharmacology laboratory equipment. During summer of 2002, he was with the Advanced Bionics, Inc., working on a spinal cord stimulator. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in electrical engineering in 2003 and 2004, respectively. He joined the faculty of N.C. State University in August 2004, where he is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He will join the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in summer 2007.

President Bush Attends Iftaar Dinner
Professor Ghovanloo attended a dinner at the White House on Wednesday September 17 2008 and President Bush singled him out in his speech and even talked about the Tongue Drive system. You can read the transcript or watch the video here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080917-11.html.

In Defense of the Veteran By Paul Sherbo

Some time ago, an aspiring novelist visited the VA Office of Public Affairs (OPA) Regional Office in Denver to get some information for a book she wants to write. The plot? A Vietnam veteran involved in a gruesome murder ... and I said, "Oh, please."

In the summer of 1998 1 wrote an article for our OPA newsletters on the facts versus fiction about veterans. I am far from being the only one who talks about this. I drew all my facts from research done by many much bigger players with far more resources.

I would like to tell you that, as a result of those studies and research, the media and public image of veterans (and specifically, Vietnam veterans) has turned for the better. I would like to tell you that, but it would not be true. Consider the following items:

LIVES REMOTES!

We now have the ability to come out and do LIVE REMOTES. Since we are only on Saturdays from Noon till 2 that will be the time frame that we can do this LIVE REMOTES.

So, if you are having an event coming up and you might like to have us come out and be part of the event, then please contact us via the web or call DON at (904) 786-9094.

FREE WEBSITE PROMOTES SUPPORT GROUPS

There is a new, easy way for support organizations and support groups to get the word out to the public that they exist and for the public to find help. It�s www.mysupportjax.com a free website with a simple purpose � to help people. On the Home Page you will find over 70 categories containing close to 300 listings. Click on a category and then the specific listing to learn what�s offered. Best of all, you will also find a live link to that organization�s website as well as an active email address of the contact person. For example, categories currently listed include: Active Seniors, Adoption, Alcoholism, Al-Anon, Alzheimers/Related, Blind or Low Vision, Cancer, Disability Services, Divorced/Separated, Employment Services, Family, Fatherhood, Fibromyalgia, Grief/Bereavement, Household Item Abuse, Kids, Mental Health, Mentoring, Mothers, Multiple Sclerosis, Pornography Addiction, Restless Leg Syndrome, Stroke, Suicide, Victims of Crime, and many others.

If you are a person in need of help, check out the site. You might find exactly what you are looking for.

_______________________________________________________

For more information about the development and operation of www.mysupportjax.com call me, Tom Golatz, at 904-382-6250 or email me at mysupportjax@mysupportjax.com. I would be happy to provide additional information for a public service announcement and am also available for an interview or to make a presentation.

Las Cruces Resident with Disability Sues Mall for Banning Segways

Las Cruces Resident with Disability Sues Mall for Banning Segways

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2007

CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003 Cell (505) 507 9898 or Joleen Youngers (505) 541-8000

Las Cruces, NM�A man with a disability is suing the corporation that manages Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces and its local manager for prohibiting him from entering the mall on his Segway, a self-balancing, two-wheeled transportation machine. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico claims that Jones Lang Lasalle, Inc. is violating John R. Funk�s rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Funk, who suffers from severe scoliosis and spinal stenosis, uses the Segway as an alternative to a wheelchair as his principal assistive transportation device.

�Mr. Funk prefers to use a Segway over a wheelchair because it allows him to stay at eye level with other people,� said ACLU executive director Peter Simonson. �The mall is penalizing him for trying to overcome the effects of his disability in this way. Too often, people with disabilities are treated as second class citizens, shunned and segregated by physical barriers and social stereotypes.�

The local mall�s manager has refused to reasonably accommodate Mr. Funk�s disability and allow him access to the mall. Funk has enlisted Las Cruces attorney Joleen K. Youngers and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico to sue the mall�s management. Ms. Youngers and the ACLU have requested a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction so that Funk may be allowed back into the mall while the case is pending.

Segways have become popular among come veteran groups because of the advantages that they present over wheelchairs for severely injured servicemen and women. In September 2005, a group called Disability Rights Advocates for Technology (DRAFT) launched a nation-wide campaign (Segs4Vets) to provide Segways to every U.S. soldier who has been disabled by an injury while serving our country.

As part of the lawsuit, Funk seeks an order compelling the mall to modify its policy to allow Funk and other people with disabilities to use assistive mobility devices such as the Segway, and not only traditional, and less agile, devices such as wheelchairs.

ACLU of New Mexico cooperating attorney Joleen K. Youngers of Almanzar & Youngers, P.A. and ACLU of New Mexico staff attorney George Bach filed the lawsuit yesterday in the Third District Court in Las Cruces. The case has been assigned to the Honorable Robert E. Robles.

Local DRAFT Advocate:
Alan Maccini
904-234-4587
www.DRAFT.org
AMaccini@DRAFT.cc

Segs4Vets-Keeping our Disabled Vets moving.

With the large military presence here in Northeast Florida I thought that our Segs4Vets program may be of interest.

In September 2005 Disability Rights Advocates For Technology ,DRAFT, launched the Segs4Vets program with the goal of providing Segways to every United States Soldier whose service to our country resulted in disability and difficulty walking.

This is done by "Grass Roots" fundraising worldwide.

After I suffered a Spinal Cord Injury in 2004 my wife and I decided to dedicate some time and money to a related cause.

That's what brought us to the Segs4Vets program. I know what use of the Segway has done for myself and others with a wide variety of mobility related problems.

These American Heroes deserve the same so we are proud to be donating a Segway to this upcoming ceremony. We are also honored to be invited to attend the event.

The presentation ceremony on December 6 2006 will be a part of the Severely Injured Marines and Sailors Initiative Luncheon at the Army Navy Country Club. SIMS is a program that was started by the Secretary of the Navy in an effort to cut through all of the red tape and bureaucracy faced by our severely injured military personnel. All of the federal agencies which deal with programs to assist our severely injured are represented in this initiative and every month they gather to work together to find solutions to issues which they can apply system wide. Even though this initiative is under the Secretary of the Navy I believe all branches of service are participating in this very common sense approach. Assistant Secretary of the Navy, USMC Colonel William O'Brien left a private law practice in California to return to Washington, DC to head up this initiative and he is passionate about serving all of our severely injured military personnel.

The luncheon will be presided over by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Barney Barnum and the Segs4Vets presentation will be made by General Ed Eberhart who retired on January 1, 2005. At the time of his retirement General Eberhart was
the Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command, and the United States
Northern Command. Our Segs4Vets program was conceived and started with the assistance of General Eberhart who is currently president of the Armed Forces Benefit Association headquartered in Alexandria Virginia.

WE ARE ALSO THERE FOR EVERY DISABLED PERSON.

The development of new technologies has profound implications for people with
disabilities. It is creating products and environments offering them the opportunity to more fully participate in our society and enhance the quality of their lives.

Disability Rights Advocates For Technology is dedicated to promoting the increase in access to, provision of, and funding for, assistive technology
devices and assistive technology services, in order to empower individuals with disabilities so that they can achieve greater independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion within the community and the workforce.

Please visit our website for more information .
www.DRAFT.cc

Thank you for your time and have a Happy Holiday Season.

Regards,

Alan Maccini
Local Advocate for DRAFT
Segforlegs@bellsouth.net

Visually impaired persons on the move with innovative new accessibility software

Dolphin Computer Access Inc.
Press Release � March 7, 2007

CSUN Disabilities� 22nd Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, March 19-24, Los Angeles, CA

Dolphin Exhibitor Booth No. 317-318

Greater independence for visually impaired persons on the move with innovative new accessibility software for cell phones and PDAs

The CSUN Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference sees Dolphin Computer Access Inc. demonstrating their innovative new suite of assistive technologies designed to transform the lives of people with limited or no eyesight while at work or at leisure.

Three new and upgraded �on the move� products will make their debut:

Smart Hal is a new software product which speaks aloud the contents of a cell phone screen. It allows a visually impaired person to make full use of the features and functionality, such as cameras and email, that are found on the latest handsets.

Pocket Hal screenreader offers full access to the Windows Mobile solutions on a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) such as Internet Explorer, Office and Messenger. It means that visually impaired workers can use a mainstream Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) of their choice, along with a Bluetooth keyboard and headset, and enjoy exactly the same technology as sighted colleagues.

Dolphin Pen recognizes that many Americans hot-desk from PC to PC. Instead of visually impaired persons having to struggle every time they change computer, they can use this liberating, lightweight thumb drive in their pocket to unlock the potential of any PC anywhere by installing their favorite Dolphin speech, magnification or Braille software � with full settings in tact.

Ron Stewart, Dolphin�s VP of Operations, said: �Dolphin�s suite of mobility products, which give you full accessibility to technology anywhere, offers freedom and independence to blind and partially sighted persons on the move. It takes us very close to our goal of ensuring that our customers are able to enjoy the same kind of mobility as other American workers.�

Shannon Cary, a visually impaired PR account manager at Waggener Edstrom in New York which supports promotes the promotion of Microsoft�s products worldwide, comments: �I've been using the Hal product range since 2000 as it was the first screen reader to work well with MS Windows 2000 Pro operating system and because in my opinion it is the best quality screen reader software available. Dolphin are really good about getting updated products out in conjunction with new OS and application releases from Microsoft, which is important in workplaces like mine where we are early adopters of new technology.�

Ron Stewart will be with the rest of the Dolphin team at the CSUN Conference in Los Angeles on March 19-24 to demonstrate the new products at Booth 317-318. Delegates and journalists will also be able to hear presentations from Dolphin personnel, details as follows:

Dolphin presentations at CSUN Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference (http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/)

1. �Visionary VISTA, a Black Hole or a Supernova?�
Presenter: Mike Hill
3/21/2007 12:00:00 PM
Venue: Marriott � Atlanta

2. �Tutored today, Empowered tomorrow�
Presenter: Paul Thompson
Use of EasyTutor to help the learning disabled.
3/22/2007 3:05:00 PM
Venue: Hilton - La Jolla A

3. �Mobile Madness - Getting the Most from Your PDA with Pocket Hal�
Presenters: Jane Brassington and Dave Williams
3/23/2007 9:20:00 AM
Venue: Marriott - Chicago/Dallas Computer Lab

4. �Get Smart with Smart Phone; Access for Smartphone Devices Using Smart Hal�
Presenters: Steve Bennett and Dave Williams
3/23/2007 10:40:00 AM
Venue: Marriott - Chicago/Dallas Computer Lab

And a final word on Pocket Hal comes from Kathleen Dusing, who lost her vision twenty years ago and was one of 20 students named last year as USA Today�s All-USA Community College Academic First Team as representatives of all outstanding community college students: �I use Pocket Hal to take notes in the classroom using word. I transfer notes to my PDA from my desk top and from my PDA to my desktop computer. I am a full-time student in the TVI �Teacher for Visually Impaired� Program and Hal is making quite a splash - everyone wants to know how it works. I have professors in the program asking me to demonstrate for their assistive technology classes. I have been appointed to the Presidential Commission on Persons with Disabilities here on campus and have been invited to meet with the university president when I will be demonstrating Pocket Hal.�

Find out more at the CSUN event on how Dolphin products are giving independence and mobility to visually impaired persons across the USA.

ENDS

For interview requests and more information, contact Van Credle on 609-213-2174.

Notes to editors

1. Pocket Hal, Smart Hal and Dolphin Pen: detailed product information
Further information about Dolphin�s �on the move� products, including benefits & features, full technical specifications, demo versions for download and how they can be purchased, is available at: www.yourdolphin.com.

2. About Dolphin Computer Access
Dolphin Computer Access is one of the largest companies in the computer access industry, with over 60 employees in offices in the USA, UK and Sweden and dealers in over 30 countries worldwide. The company offers a complete range of software solutions, including screen readers, screen magnifiers, text scanners and readers, Braille translators, educational software to help with reading and writing, speech synthesizers and DAISY talking book software. More information about Dolphin and its assistive technology and altformat products is available at: www.yourdolphin.com.

AIDS: it is covered by the ADA

Thanks to William Rollo, the Executive Director of Northeeast Florida AIDS Network, for being on the program today, June 24 2006.