The conference is being held March 17-22 in Los Angeles
and the live and archived streaming video coverage
with captioned video streaming is being simulcast
via AbleTV, the
web-based TV channel for people with disabilities
on the TVWorldwide.com network, and AT508.com,
Internet TV for Assistive Technology which features
articles and video content from the AT community and
award winning writer, John Williams. Initial video
of the event will be streamed as it becomes available.
Ray Kurzweil's Keynote Address will be captioned and
the remaining speakers and sessions will be captioned
at a later date.
The event will be live and archived
for later viewing at, www.at508.com,
and www.abletv.net.
Participants should have the free Windows Media player
installed prior to the event. Questions can be directed
to 703-961-9250, ext 223 before and during the event.
Welcome
from Bud Rizer, EdD, ATP, Director, Center on Disabilities
Welcome to the 18th Annual International Conference,
"Technology and Persons With Disabilities."
Once again, we hope to capitalize on your suggestions
from last year to make this year's conference an even
more productive and educational experience.
I
would like to share with you a recent event that I
believe should serve to motivate all of us to try
to do more for a larger population. An NBC production
team attended the 2002 CSUN conference but it wasn't
until September 27, 2002 that a two and one-half minute
segment regarding assistive technology(AT) was aired
on Tom Brokaw's MSNBC Nightly News. Those interviewed
included users of assistive technology (AT), providers
of AT, and staff associated with the conference and
the training component of AT. AT was presented in
a very positive light and the segment was professionally
presented in an interesting format. Although there
was no mention of the organization sponsoring the
conference in the segment, the following week found
the Center on Disabilities at CSUN receiving a large
number of emails and phone calls from people throughout
the United States. These people wanted information
regarding specific products referenced in the news
story, or they wanted to know how they could learn
more about the field.
I
reviewed each of the requests for information and
became very concerned by the overall message I was
witnessing. Most requests for information contained
descriptions of a person who the writer thought could
benefit from some form of AT. The stories used such
descriptors as "desperate," "clinging
to final remnants of self-esteem," and "lifetime
of failure." Of even greater concern to me was
that these stories were coming from all over the country,
from both the most progressive and resourceful states,
as well as those with historically fewer resources.
People were literally begging for information on where
to find help.
I
would like to request that each of you attending the
2003 Conference make a personal commitment to promote
the benefits of AT on the largest scale possible.
The progress we have made over the years is only truly
effective when the needs of everyone requiring access
to needed information or technology have been met.
This part of our mission is far from complete. Let's
start now, together, to spread the word.
Thank
you for all that you do to make this world a better
place. Enjoy the 2003 Conference.
