FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (UPDATED: Oct. 8, 2009)

Contact: Amy Sharp, Director of the Family Support Network, at 979-845-4612 or sharp@tamu.edu, or Kelsey Johnson, Communications Specialist, 979-862-4990 or kelsey_johnson@tamu.edu

CANCELED: 'Informed and Empowered' Disability Conference Scheduled for Oct. 10

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – "Informed and Empowered: A Disability Conference for Families in the Brazos Valley" will be held Saturday, Oct. 10 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the College Station Conference Center at 1300 George Bush Drive. This annual event is sponsored by the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University.

Four breakout session strands will be offered: transition, special education, assessment and other disability topics. Lunch will be provided with advance registration. Download the brochure and registration form (pdf).

Conference Rates & Schedule

Advance Registration (postmarked by Sept. 26): $25 individual / $30 family
Regular Registration (on site): $30 individual / $35 family

8 – 8:30 am	Registration
8:30 – 10 am	Transition (T1): "Texas Microboard Collaboration" by Jennifer Mathews Special Education (S1): "The ABCs of IEPs" by Jennifer Ganz Assessment (A1): "How to Interpret Scores" by Anita McCormick Other (O1): "An Introduction to Assistive Technology" by Marcia Montague
10:15 – 11:45 am	Transition (T2) "PATH: A Cutting-Edge Method for Person Centered Planning" by Jennifer Mathews Special Education (S2): "The Future is Now!" by Jeff Garrison-Tate Assessment (A2): "Applying Structured Teaching to the Home" by Marcia Montague Other (O2): "Reading Disabilities: Myths and Realities" by Malatesha “Malt” Joshi
Noon – 1:30 pm	Lunch and Keynote Address "Overview of Community-Based Waivers and Consumer Directed Services Option" by Elizabeth Jones
1:45 – 3 pm	Special Education Advocacy Panel Jeni Ganz, Jeff Garrison-Tate, Dione Parrish and Anita Sohn McCormick
3 – 3:30 pm	"Living in Darkness, Always Seeing a Brighter Future" by Blake Boudreaux

For more information, contact Dr. Amy Sharp, Associate Director of the Center on Disability and Development, at 979-845-4612 or sharp@tamu.edu.

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