| June, 2003 |
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Announcements
USDA Helps Buy and Repair Homes
The USDA Rural Development has programs that help people buy, build, rent or repair homes in areas with a population of 10,004 people or less. No down payment is required. The home ownership loan program is intended for people who cannot afford regular mortgages but can afford to repay a low interest loan on a modest home. The home repair program can help with replacing a roof, siding, installing installation or storm windows and making a home accessible. On the Eastern Shore, contact Gypsy Long or Peggy Mende at 410-479-1202 ext 4 or visit the website www.rurdev.usda.gov. TTY users should call 302-679-4303.
Accessible House Plans
FMR Home Portfolio, a company from Des Moines, Iowa that specializes in the area of home accessibility, has put together a catalog titled "Barrier-Free & Beautiful House Plans" of 50 different and original, accessible and adaptable house plans. This collection includes 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom, executive and duplex plans. Menards stores in the upper Midwest (including North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan) are now making these catalogs available on a special order basis. The suggested retail is $12.95. For consumers or agencies interested in obtaining copies of the catalog and who may not be located in the states listed above may contact FMR directly at (888) 937-3939.
SHOUT's New Initiatives
*Adapted from the Winter 2003 edition of Tech Connections
SHOUT (Support Helps Others Use Technology), a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, has as its mission advocacy for the employment of people who rely on alternative and augmentative communication (AAC).
SHOUT has developed a unique U.S. and international network that unites augmented communicators with successful role models through conference calls, shared presentation projects, and advocacy development meetings. New among SHOUT's initiatives is a mini-camp to invite families with young augmented communicators, who typically experience a deep isolation, to come to Pittsburgh during the PEC conference. This will allow young elementary and high school students to meet successful role models, attend a few sessions of the conference and visit education sites in Western Pennsylvania.
Another new initiative is the Campaign for Connectivity, which will make employment resources and information available to people who use augmentative communication. For more information, please call 1-800-668-4202, or email shout@sgi.net.
Funding Aid for Individuals with Disabilities
The Foundation Center now provides an extensive, helpful resource online for those with disabilities who are seeking more information on grants and funding.
To learn more about this topic, visit http://fdncenter.org/learn/useraids/disabilities_indiv.html
New Hearing Aid Loan Bank Program
UNINSURED FAMILIES MAY QUALIFY FOR TEMPORARY HEARING AIDS FOR CHILDREN
BALTIMORE, MD (April 23, 2003)- The Maryland State Department of Education has unveiled the Maryland Hearing Aid Loan Bank. The new program is administered through the Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services.
Many families with limited or no insurance coverage for hearing aids are unable to purchase aids for their infants and toddlers, often due to insufficient funds or delays in processing insurance claims. The Loan Bank will meet the needs of infants and toddlers with hearing loss by temporarily supplying them hearing aids while their families make arrangements to secure permanent amplification.
Families, in cooperation with their child's audiologist, may access the Loan Bank by completing a required application. Following the application review, families may borrow hearing aids for a six-month period. In the event that hearing aids are not secured within six months, three-month extensions may be granted upon written request.
The Loan Bank provides an important bridge from early identification, through Maryland Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, to full participation in early intervention services for infants and toddlers with hearing loss. Through the Loan Bank, eligible children will receive access to amplification during the critical period of language development.
"This exciting program can make a real difference in the lives of children," said Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick. "Improved hearing, along with important early intervention services, are building blocks for language development. They are the foundation for school readiness and success."
The Maryland State Department of Education's pioneering effort will help to enhance the emerging language abilities of infants and toddlers with hearing loss during a most crucial period of development. For further information regarding this program, please contact Paul Farrell, Director, at (410) 767-0739 or email at pfarrell@msde.state.md.us
PEPNet's Gates To Adventure!
PEPNet proudly announces the release of Gates to Adventure, a transition training for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The program provides meaningful information across the full range of post-secondary options, including:
On the job training; community-based rehabilitation training programs; technical & proprietary schools; and two year & four year colleges.
This can be found online at www.pepnet org. Click on the "Online Training" button and then on "Gates to Adventure."
Financial Aid Matters to Students with Disabilities
How do students with disabilities pay for college?
You can help other youth with disabilities by sending us a brief e-mail.
Tell us about your financial aid and disability experiences. Write to us at youthfeedback@yahoo.com so we can understand how disability and financial aid have affected your college experience.
Are you wondering what to write about? Sharing a brief, informal note about your story will be a big help. We invite you to share as much of your story as is needed to explain your circumstances and the relationships between your disability expenses, college financial aid, vocational rehabilitation services, and other sources of support.
Please return your comments by October 30, 2003. Send them to:
Youth Advisory Committee
National Council on Disability
1331 F St., NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
Fax: (202) 272-2022 Attn: Youth Advisory Committee
E-mail: youthfeedback@yahoo.com.
We encourage anyone whose disability makes writing difficult to ask supporters for assistance in responding.
To receive a copy of our report based on student feedback, subscribe to our Yahoo news list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ncdyacnews