The Easter Seals Arkansas Technology and Curriculum Access Center, in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), will be offering free training in collaboration with the Prentke Romich Company and Dynavox Technologies to provide professional development on the topic of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices during the Winter and Spring of 2008. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires Individualized Education Program teams to consider each child’s need for assistive technology devices and services. There are a number of Arkansas students using dedicated speech producing devices (augmentative and alternative communication). In Arkansas, two vendors of the devices (Prentke Romich and Dynavox Technologies) offer free training. It is recommended that all team members who work with students using these AAC devices participate in an appropriate device training session. Both companies require registration through the companies' Web sites, located on the attachment to this Commissioner's Memo.
Please see the attached contact information, calendar of dates, and registration information. For further information, contact Bryan Ayres, Assistive Technology Consultant with the Technology & Curriculum Access Center (TCC) at Easter Seals Arkansas by phone 501-227-3612, fax: 501-227-3601, toll-free: 877-533-3600, or e-mail, bayres@ar.easterseals.com. Registration materials are available on-line at www.prentrom.com or at www.dynavoxtech.com.