BAC Rutland

VERMONT EXPO for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late Deafened & DeafBlind
October 4th, 2008
Red Roof Inn Brattleboro, VT
9:30 am to 9:00 pm (more…)

By Jennifer Bhargava
The Kansas City Star

When Lisa Barrett Mann had her first child, she knew it was going to change her life. She just didn’t realize how much. Thirteen years ago, she had a successful career at a publishing firm in Maryland. Nowadays the Overland Park woman’s life is consumed by Asperger syndrome.

Years of research and raising her son, David, eventually led her to write a book about the neuro-developmental disorder, “More Than Little Professors,” which was published over the summer.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced that “America’s People, America’s Talent… America’s Strength!” will be the official 2008 theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which is observed in October nationwide. The 2008 theme captures the accomplishments highlighted in the 2007 progress report on President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative for people with disabilities.
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The NCSRC is pleased to be launching this new web site.  The site is a work in progress, so watch for new changes and additions in the near future.  We welcome your feedback and suggestions as we build this resource for the National Coalition.
Visit us at http://www.ncsrc.net/.
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WASHINGTON — Eighteen years and four Supreme Court rulings later, the Americans with Disabilities Act is not what it used to be. Its narrowed definition of disability now excludes any ailment that can be managed with medication or prostheses, including diabetes, epilepsy, cancer and more.
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Vermont’s 20th Annual Brain Injury Conference is being held on October 29th at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington, Vermont. The Hilton Hotel is located on Battery Street overlooking the beautiful Lake Champlain and sits directly across from Burlington’s  popular Waterfront Park….  For a link to information about this conference, go to http://www.vabir.org/.

Abilities ~ Promoting the employment of Vermont citizens of all abilities

September 2008 – Vol 2, Issue 4

Dear Friends ~ Celebrating Deaf Awareness Week

This week – the last full week in September – is Deaf Awareness Week. It is held in commemoration of the first World Congress of the Deaf that was held that week in 1951. It is also known as the International Week of the Deaf (or International Week of Deaf People). (more…)

Pain Management and  End of Life Care Study: The 2008 Legislature authorized a   study on end of life care and pain management in Vermont. The committee  held its second meeting on Sept. 22. The focus of the testimony was on the  quality of chronic pain management in Vermont and a presentation on pediatric  hospice and palliative care. The committee has two more meetings scheduled for  Oct. 29 and Nov. 14 in room 10 at the Statehouse. End of life care will  probably be a major focus but they also have said they will be accepting  additional testimony from home health and Visiting Nurse Association  representatives on chronic pain issues. (more…)

By Erica Noonan
Globe Staff / September 16, 2008

DOVER – Because of his severe autism, the cost of educating 5-year-old Jack Ursitti runs $100,000 a year. But unlike expenses with most medical conditions, the bills for treating him will be borne by Dover schools and the rural town’s taxpayers – not his family’s medical insurance.

Now, the nation’s largest autism advocacy group, Autism Speaks, is planning a legislative push in 20 states, including Massachusetts, to require private insurance companies to pay a portion of the intensive, expensive educational treatments that many medical professionals say are a child’s best chance to overcome, or just learn to cope with, profound and lifelong developmental and learning disabilities. (more…)

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Wednesday, September 17, 2008; 8:32 PM

CHICAGO — A government agency has dropped plans for a study of a controversial treatment for autism that critics had called an unethical experiment on children.

The National Institute of Mental Health said in a statement Wednesday that the study of the treatment _ called chelation _ has been abandoned. The agency decided the money would be better used testing other potential therapies for autism and related disorders, the statement said. (more…)