Biennial Pittsburgh Employment Conference

for Augmented Communicators

 PEC@ 2005

 Opening and Recognition                   

John L. Bernard, M.Ed., CRC, President of SHOUT

Retired District Administrator of the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Bruce R. Baker, Chairperson, PEC@ ‘05

Special Greetings by the President of the

International Society for Augmentative and

Alternative Communication (ISAAC)

Clare Bonnell, ISAAC, Executive Director

Filip Loncke, Ph.D., ISAAC Immediate President

The Theme of PEC@ 2005:

Employment and Community Interaction

Jennifer Lowe, Executive Director, SHOUT

Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance

Network (PaTTAN)

Interactions with the Medical Community

Susan Balandin, Ph.D.

Senior NHMRC Research Fellow                 

The University of Sydney

What Every OVR Counselor Should Know About

How to Serve a Client who uses AAC – From

Intake to 26!

Robert T. Stump

AAC Software Author

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

James Prentice, B.A.

Jim’s Business Services

Pittsburgh, PA

What you Tell -- and What you Don’t Tell -- your

OVR Counselor at the Beginning and Throughout

your Relationship

Jennifer Lowe, Executive Director, SHOUT

Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance

Network (PaTTAN)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Serving and Being Served – a VR Counselor and a VR Customer tell their Stories

Gary Donatelli, CRC, Pennsylvania OVR

The Presentation of Self – to your VR Counselor and to the World

Jumping in Front of your Communication Aid:  Effective Interviewing with  a VR Counselor or Anyone!

Snoopi Botten, Warren, Ohio

How AAC, with all its Challenges, Fits into the

Vocational Rehabilitation Vision     

John Bernard, CRC, (Rt.) District Administrator, PA OVR

Augmentative Communication in the Workplace: 

An Employer’s Perspective

TBA (waiting for final confirmation)

A Structural Gap in Employment Services

Diane Bryen, Ph.D.

Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology

(PIAT)

Professor of Special Education, Temple University

Interactions While Starting a Business

Out and About:  Using a Communication Aid

at a 7-11, at an Emergency Room,

and on a Date

Faye Warren, B.A.

Community connection: The role of employment

in reducing the experience of loneliness

Liora Ballin, Speech-Language Pathologist

The University of Sydney

7:30 p.m.- 11:30 p.m.             FRIDAY is Talent Night --

Karaoke, Disc Jockey, Open Microphone, Entertainment, Singing, etc. by Zuke!

Saturday, August 6, 2005                  Second Day

Community Interactions:  AAC and Being a Church Member

Dennis Hollman

Author, 360 Degrees of Verklemptitude

Rick Hohn, B.S.,

Presentation of The “Joe Award”

to Andrew Aloe, Shenango, Inc.

Presented by Rory Cooper, Ph.D.

Professor and Chairman

Department of Rehabilitation Science and

Technology School of Health and Rehabilitation

Sciences

University of Pittsburgh

Director, Human Engineering Research Laboratories

Veterans Administration, Pittsburgh Healthcare System

The Development of Leadership with the

Community of People Who Use AAC: 

Opportunities and Strategies being

explored by ISAAC

Clare Bonnell, ISAAC, Executive Director

How Valuable is Voice Output for Employment, Community, and Personal Interactions:

An Introduction to “Broken Speech”

Randy Kitch, B.A.

Bruce Baker, A.M.

“Broken Speech: 

What would you say if you could really speak?”

A Play in One Act

By Tony Diamanti, David Lam, and Vivian Luong

Players:

Tony Diamanti as himself

Cliff Makinson as Alex

Blake Thorne as Tony’s voice

David Occhipinti as Randy

Break

Supports and Barriers to Community Recreation and  Leisure for Individuals Who Use AAC

David McNaughton, Ph.D., Associate Professor

Penn State University

Gus Estrella, B.A.

Former Program Director, United Cerebral Palsy Associations (UCPA)

Getting Children Who Use AAC Ready for the “Real World”, and 

Getting the “Real World” Ready for Them!

Robin Hurd

Parent and Author

Edinboro, Pennsylvania

Community Interaction at the University

Kevin Williams, B.S., Kent State, Ohio:  Chairperson

Panel participants:

Bill Adams, B.A., Shawnee State University 

Beth Ann Luciani, California University of PA

Robert O’Gurek, Lehigh Carbon Community College

Sarah Lever, North Carolina State University

Rewind, Pause, and Fast Forward (past, present, and future)

Dawn Seals, United Kingdom

David Gault, United Kingdom

6:30 p.m.  to 10:30 p.m. (All registrants invited) 

Reception for the Cast and Crew of “Broken Speech”

Sunday, August 7, 2005                  Third Day

8:00 a.m.            

Open Door and the Government System

Victor Valentic, Vice President,

International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC)

Hamilton, Ontario

Canada

The Practical Issues of TeleWork for AAC Users

David McNaughton, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Special Education

Penn State University

Anthony Arnold

Technical Service Department

Prentke Romich Company      

Grand Forks, North Dakota

Communicating in Public Places

TBA KG    Paul Garrick                Randy Horton

Paul Pecunas     BA    RP     Leigh Ann Lightholder

In Hospital Without AAC: Involving Careers in Interaction and Support

Bronwyn Hemsley, Doc. Cand.

Susan Balandin, Ph.D.

Senior NHMRC Research Fellow                 

Leanne Togher, Lecturer

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

The University of Sydney

Sydney, Australia

Closing Ceremonies

John Bernard, MEd., CRC  Bruce R. Baker, A.M.

Hickory, Pennsylvania        Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania