Assistive Technology for Special Needs Event - Thursday, April 2, 2015 from 9am-5pm

ARLINGTON, Va. - March 23, 2015 - PRLog -- Through technological innovation, we can make the lives of those with special needs significantly better. We can help them become more mobile, communicate more clearly, and live more productive and comfortable lives even with significant challenges. Come to this workshop and learn more about new innovative technologies that are making a difference for this important part of our society.

The Innovative Solutions Consortium (ISC), George Mason University (GMU), and Mason LIFE is hosting a workshop on April 2, 2015, from 9am-5pm at George Mason University’s Arlington Campus where you can see these cutting edge technologies in action. This event will allow you to see live demonstrations of new and emerging technologies developed to assist special needs populations and hear from technology experts, policy makers and health care providers from around the Washington metropolitan region and beyond on how they are making a difference. The presentations will be paired with discussions with all who attend on how the special needs population can be better served, and what types of future innovations would help.  The outcome of this workshop will be requirements that will be distributed globally to technology companies in a Challenge Event in Fall 2015 where companies will compete to demonstrate how their innovation will best meet these hard-to-solve issues.

These technologies help a diverse group of people with visual and hearing impairments, cognitive or developmental impairments, Veterans with disabilities, aging populations and those with chronic illnesses, such as ALS, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Participants will be able to explore the unprecedented developments that experts in the field of assistive technology have created to meet needs of this diverse audience. The topics will include discussion on cognition assistance, smart pens, tablets, serious gaming, augmentative and alternative communication, wearables, robotics and mobile apps.

The speakers for this event include:

Andrew LaHart, Manager, Consulting and Accessibility Project Office, IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center

Stephen King, Director, Computer / Electronics Accommodations Program, U.S. Department of Defense

Paul Schroeder, Vice President, Programs and Policies, American Foundation for the Blind

Ann Flynn, Director, Education Technology, National School Boards Association (NSBA)

Dixon Cleveland, President, LC Technologies

Teresa Shea, National Institutes of Health

Heidi Graff, Director, Mason LIFE

Korey Singleton, ATI manager, Mason Assistive Technology Initiative

Emily O'Brien McKeough, north coordinator , Virginia Assistive Technology System (VATS), Commonwealth of Virginia

Falar Fatmi, President, My Care Text

Technology demonstrations will include:

IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center, "Embodied Learning: Gameplay to disabled students"

Dragonfish LLC, "OLIVER: Our on-line learning and behavior recording system"

Fairfax County Public Schools, "Google Apps & Augmentative Communication"

Virginia Commonwealth University, "Self-Initiated Prone Progressive Crawler (SIPPC)"

The Wisdom Center of Autism, "Measuring Knowledge: Using voice control with Leap Motion and Multi-Touch Light Table Technology to see what individuals in this spectrum know "

Virginia Commonwealth University, "Haptic Glucometer Guide"

Robots & Pencils, “Mobile First Education”

The Innovative Solutions Consortium is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization that was established in April of 2011.  The organization was developed to provide thought-leadership and deliver innovative solutions to the toughest problems facing today’s government and commercial industries. More information the ISC organization and their work can be found on their website, www.isc-connect.org. You can register for the Assistive Technology for Special Needs Event on the ISC website, http://www.isc-connect.org/events (http://www.isc-connect.org/Events/events). The fee for this event is  $60 and it includes lunch and refreshments.

If you would like more information, an interview with someone connected to this event or any member of the ISC, please contact Elysa Leonard at Elysa@splashmarcom.com or 571-426-5145.