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April 2008
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Great Possibilities
LATAN E-Newsletter
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Greetings!
The Louisiana Assistive Technology Access
Network
(LATAN) assists individuals of all ages with
all
disabilities
achieve a
higher quality of life and greater independence
through
increased access to Assistive Technology as
part of
their
daily lives.
In its effort to reach as many individuals
across
Louisiana, LATAN has implemented this monthly
electronic communication newsletter service
to keep
consumers, caregivers, educators, therapists,
supporters
and all
Louisiana
citizens informed of LATAN's programs,
activities and services for individuals with
disabilities.
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2008 Solutions for Assistive Technology Conference |
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April 30 - May 2, 2008 - Baton Rouge, La.
It is time for the annual conference on AT
Solutions geared for educators, caregivers
and AT specialists. At the conference,
participants will:
- Receive hands-on training on the
use of
AT and software to be utilized with
individuals with disabilities.
- Learn how to integrate Augmentative
Alternative Communication Devices hardware
and software for evaluations and assessments
- Learn how to customize AT and
Augmentative Communication devices
For more information, please contact
Sherri
Hollingsworth, via email,
sherry@adaptive-sol.com or (225)
387.0428
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AT Device Demonstration Free Workshops |
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Register Now! May 7, July 2 & August 6 Workshops - Shreveport, La.
LATAN proudly presents Carol Civils,
MA, CCC-SLP of
DynaVox Technologies & Mayer-Johnson
to our
North Louisiana AT Demonstration Program
Shreveport Resource Center
to provide hands-on training sessions with
today's most innovative products for
individuals of any age with communication and
learning challenges, including the DynaVox
Series V and BoardMaker Plus.
These free sessions are designed for
Assistive Technology (AT) users, potential AT
users, their family members, and Speech
Language professionals.
All workshops to be held at:
LATAN North Louisiana AT Device
Demonstration Center
820 Jordan Street, Suite 120
Shreveport, La.
For more information and/or to register,
please contact Susie Stewart , AT
Demonstration Program Director at
sstewart@latan.org (318)
841.1548.
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LATAN's Newest AT Device Equipment |
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Let's Tango
Developed by a father of a child with
cerebral palsy, the Tango by
Blink-Twice, Inc. is a portable,
speech-generating device for individuals who
require augmentative communication
assistance.
What separates the Tango from other
communication devices is its core vocabulary.
Using a touch screen, the Tango cycles
through 500 words most commonly used in the
English language. The device also "learns"
the user's speech habits and automatically
updates itself to be more efficient.
The Tango is available for
demonstration
in both of the LATAN Device
Demonstration
Centers located in Baton Rouge and
Shreveport, Louisiana.
For the Baton Rouge office, please call
Mona Miley, AT Specialist, or Josh
Miller, AT
Program Assistant at (800)
270.6185
(V/TT) or via email
mmiley@latan.org.
For the Shreveport Office, please
contact
Susie Stewart, AT Director at (318)
841.1548
or via email at sstewart@latan.org
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LATAN Selected by HEALTHSOUTH Hospital |
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Day of Caring Project of United Way Capital Area
The senior management team of HEALTHSOUTH
Hospital of Baton Rouge, Louisiana adopted
LATAN as part of the annual Day of Caring
project sponsored by the Capital Area United
Way Day of Caring.
This was a unique opportunity to have the
expertise and assistance of professionals.
The outstanding volunteers:
- David Snyder, President & CEO
- Roxanne Bingham
- Karolyn Bull
- Gayle Courtney
- Murry Harmon
- Jayme McCabe
- Jacque Shadle
- Andrea Smart
spent Friday, April 18 lending their talents
to LATAN via a variety of projects. They
assisted with organizing files, moving AT
devices to our storage, cataloging AT
inventory so that when AT consumers contact
LATAN we are poised and ready to assist.
LATAN thanks HEALTHSOUTH Hospital Senior Team
for their dedication and volunteer spirit.
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Participate in a Study on Aided Communication for Children |
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Conducted by University of Louisiana Lafayette
This is a first large-scale comprehensive
investigation of the communication skills of
children who use AAC. It is part of a
cross-cultural study conducted by researchers
in 17 universities throughout the world. The
data to be obtained will have important
implications for the assessment and
intervention practices.
A minimum of 10 children between the ages of
5-15 years: Children who have the following
are able to qualify:
- Developmental disability
- Normal hearing
- Normal vision or corrected vision
- No intellectual impairment
- No diagnosis of autism
- Relatively normal speech comprehension
- No speech or highly unintelligible
speech
- An AAC system that is their main form of
communication
For more information, contact Mona Miley
at LATAN. She may be reached via email:
mmiley@latan.org, or (800) 270.6185
(V/TT)
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In the Spotlight |
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Josh Miller, AT Device Demonstration Program Assistant
The newest addition to the LATAN is staff is
Joshua Miller. Originally from
Opelousas Louisiana, Josh moved to Baton
Rouge in 2005 to attend LSU. In 2008, he
graduated with a B.A. in Mass Communication
specializing in Public Relations with a minor
in History. Josh is the LATAN AT Device
Demonstration Program Assistant. In
addition to being responsible as to the daily
administrative tasks, Josh educates consumers
to the various device equipment.
He may
be reached via e-mail:
jmiller@latan.org or (800) 270-6185
(V/TT)
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Want to Know More about LATAN and its Services? |
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Schedule a Presentation
LATAN encourages groups, organizations and
agencies interested in learning more about
the benefits of Assistive Technology to
please contact Maria Yiannopoulos,
Public Information Officer to schedule a
presentation.
You may reach Maria by telephone: 1 (800)
270-6185 (V/TT) or email
mariay@latan.org
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North Louisiana AT Device Demonstration Grand Opening |
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Site of the Latest AT Available
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Shreveport, La.
To confirm your attendance, contact Maria
Yiannopoulos via email:
mariay@latan.org
LATAN invites you to stop by
to experience first-hand the newest Assistive
Technology device equipment available for
Louisiana citizens.
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Independence is Priceless - LATAN Makes It Affordable |
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Loans to Assist You in Purchasing AT
The LATAN AT Financial Loan Program
provides an alternative source of funding to
assist individuals with disabilities or a
family member purchase AT through its
special loan program.
LATAN in partnership with Regions
will make extended-term loans ranging
from $500 - $50,000 depending upon the cost
of the adaptive equipment and your
demonstrated ability to repay your debt.
Contact Henry Bateman, at
hbateman@latan.org, or for more
information or contact LATAN at (800)
270-61859.
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Louisiana Assistive Technology Access Network
phone:
(800) 270.6185
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