JULY
2014

ISSUE
No. 4

RESNA MEMBER NEWS

Website Professional Development Renew Membership

Board Election Results

RESNA announced today the results of recent board elections. RESNA members elected two officers for the open slots of President-Elect and Secretary, and three open board positions. The results are:

Roger O. Smith, PhD, OT, FAOTA is elected to fill the position of President-Elect; he has served the past two years as a board member.
Maureen Linden, MS, is elected as Secretary; she has served the past year as a board member, and has been the chair of the Student Design Competition.
Barbara Crane, PhD, PT, ATP/SMS is elected to the board; she is a RESNA Fellow and has also served as a RESNA course instructor.
Rajesh Pagadala, MSBME, ATP, RET is elected to the board; he has been serving as the Special Interest Groups Chair, and will continue in that position.
Julie Piriano, PT, ATP/SMS is elected to the board; she has been serving as a member of RESNA's Professional Standards Board.

RESNA members also voted to accept changes to the organization's bylaws. Leaving the board are Jerry Weisman, MSME, ATP, RET, Immediate Past President, and board members Jennifer Boger, PEng, MASc, BASc; Clayton Lewis, PhD; Amanda Reinsfelder, MS, ATP; and Richard Simpson, PhD, ATP.

Ray Grott, ATP, RET begins his two-year term as President on August 1st, while Alex Mihailidis, PhD, PEng takes over as Immediate Past President. READ MORE

RESNA urges the U.S. Senate to ratify disability treaty

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international treaty that outlines the obligations of ratifying countries to promote, protect, fulfill, and ensure the rights of people with disabilities. President Obama signed the treaty in 2009, but it still requires U.S. Senate ratification by a two-thirds majority. A vote was held in December, 2012, that failed by five votes.

146 countries around the world have ratified the treaty. Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to send the treaty to the floor for a full vote, still to be scheduled. In recognition of last week's action, RESNA issued an updated statement of support. More

Welcome New Members!

RESNA had 80 new members join during the months of May and June. Please contact the RESNA office if you have any questions about your membership or need any information.

Alex Mihailidis, Wade Wingler, Juli Paini, and Michael Brogioli

RESNA 2014 Conference News Round-Up

The RESNA annual conference got off to a great start at the opening reception on Thursday, June 12. Invited guest Juli Paini, the Director of the Indianapolis Office of Disability Affairs, presented a proclamation from Mayor Gregory Ballard declaring June 11-15 as "RESNA Assistive Technology Days" and welcoming conference attendees to the city.

Indianapolis played host to approximately 400 assistive technology professionals from over 15 countries, including 134 first-timers, the highest number ever. Conference attendees enjoyed a packed schedule of over 40 workshops, platforms, and poster sessions, as well as several social events.

Opening plenary speaker Sam Schmidt spoke movingly to a full house about his goal to

Checking out Sam Schmidt's racecar

some day walk again. Much to the delight of the audience, he also brought his experimental, semi-autonomous racecar (called the SAM car) to the conference. Just a couple of weeks prior to RESNA, he test drove the car around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hitting 100 miles per hour. Sam steers the car with a head array, accelerates by pushing his head against the headrest, and brakes using a bite plate. All of the plenary speakers presentations are available on the RESNA website video archive - click here to access.

A student team from the University of Toledo placed first in the RESNA Student Design Competition with their design, "The Day to Day Prosthetic," which uses inexpensive 3-D printing and widely available hardware, such as cabinet latches and springs, to create a prosthetic designed to increase the use of a limb. Johns Hopkins University and the University of Toronto placed second and third, respectively. 8 finalist student teams presented their designs and participated in the conference. Read More

Dr. Galloway and colleague conducting research

Dr. Cole Galloway, PhD, PT, enraptured conference attendees on Sunday with his engaging, humorous, and inspiring talk entitled "Go, Baby Go Microenvironments or Have You Heard the One About An ATP, ME, PT, OT, SLP and Voc Rehab Counselor Walk Into A Bar..." Dr. Galloway's work in pediatric mobility has been featured recently on NBC Nightly News and other national media. The video of his talk is available on the website at this link.

Go Tribe!

Conference attendees also had the opportunity to soak in some local flavor, including a night cheering on the local Triple-A baseball team, the Indianapolis Indians, at an event hosted by the local conference committee. While the local team lost, RESNA folks bonded over hot dogs, popcorn, and doing the "wave" on a beautiful night in downtown Indianapolis.

Save the Date for RESNA 2015 Denver - June 10-14

Plan ahead for next year's conference in Denver, CO. The first submission deadline is October 19 for workshop and instructional course proposals. More

Check out all of the RESNA 2014 conference pictures on RESNA's Facebook page.

Courses & Webinars

All webinars are $28 for RESNA members, $40 for non-members. RESNA is authorized to offer 0.1 CEUs per webinar.

Has Technology Made Handwriting Obsolete? - August 8 webinar at 1pm ET with instructors Molly Shannon, OT and Gloria Jinks, COTA/L.
Power Wheelchairs: IR Transmission - August 11 webinar at 3pm ET with instructor Michelle Lange, OTR, ABDA, ATP/SMS.
Power Wheelchairs: Mouse Emulation- September 15 webinar at 3pm ET with instructor Michelle Lange, OTR, ABDA, ATP/SMS.

Fundamentals of Assistive Technology

There's two more chances to catch the Fundamentals course this year. Click here for the Fundamentals webpage.

Boston, MA - September 4 & 5, in conjunction with Abilities Expo Boston, Boston Convention Center, Boston, MA.
Phoenix, AZ - October 16 & 17 at the Arizona K-12 Professional Learning Center

Advanced Seating Workshop

Offered only once a year, this workshop addresses common positioning challenges.

Atlanta, GA - October 22 & 23 at the Doubletree Atlanta Buckhead; click here for info

For more information, visit the Professional Development section on the website.

RESNA gives statement on assistive technology access at World Health Organization

RESNA and other international stakeholders were invited to the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland to provide input on a new initiative aimed at increasing access to assistive technology. More

Pardon Our Dust

RESNA is upgrading to a new database and a new website! This very exciting development is happening the week of August 18th. During this time, there may be a few days when we will not be able to process on-line transactions or address changes. If that happens, a prominent notice will be posted on the homepage.

Once the dust settles, the new website and database will provide members with more functionality and easier access to information, plus an improved look and feel. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we update RESNA's technology. Please be on the lookout for member orientation webinars about the new website this fall.

Membership Questions: membership@resna.org

RESNA
703-524-6686
Suite 1540, 1700 N. Moore Street

Arlington, VA 22209-1903
http://www.resna.org

RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America, is the premier professional organization dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of people with disabilities through increasing access to technology solutions.