[nabs-l] Fwd: MSU-RRTC Fall 2011 Newsletter

Wed Oct 5 22:17:20 UTC 2011

 Fall 2011

Quarterly Connections: News from the MSU-RRTC

Linking Blindness and Low Vision Research to Practice

Celebrating 30 Years of Applied Research
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) at Mississippi State University (MSU) is celebrating its 30-year anniversary in October! The RRTC was established in 1981 under a National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) grant. In the decades since then, the RRTC has continued its applied research under NIDRR funding, including six 5-year RRTCs and two Disability and Rehabilitation Research (DRRP) grants. Other funding has been provided by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read more . . .

Current RRTC Research Highlights: A Customized Transportation Model
This project will utilize a quasi-experimental design to examine the effectiveness of “a customized transportation model employing an intensive intervention with a small number of people who are blind or severely visually impaired to enable them to resolve specific transportation issues,” according to project P.I., Dr. Adele Crudden, a senior researcher at MSU-RRTC. The project seeks to extend the “customized employment” vocational rehabilitation model to apply it with VR consumers who are blind or severely visually impaired and for whom transportation is the sole remaining barrier to employment. Read more . . .

Contact Us Now to Participate in a Nationwide Employment Mentoring Project!
It's not too late to sign up to enroll in this interactive, nationwide mentoring project! If you are interested in being paired as a mentor or as a mentee with someone who lives in your local area, we are still in need of college students and professionals who are legally blind to participate. Volunteer today for this great opportunity or forward the information to someone you know! Students, visit http://tiny.cc/mentor-students. Professionals, go to http://tiny.cc/mentor-professionals. The deadline for January 2012 participation is November 18, 2011. 
If you are interested in participating but the timing of our first group doesn't work well for you - contact us anyway! We will continue to enroll mentors and mentees for subsequent groups throughout the school year and into the summer of 2012. To find out more, visit MSU-RRTC Mentoring Project. 

In the Works: Training and TA
MSU-RRTC's Vision Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation Certificate program is still accepting applicants - but only until October 1! A limited number of stipends are available. Read more . . . 
Upcoming Highlight! On October 12 & 13, 2011, MSU-RRTC will sponsor its annual two day workshop for Mississippi teachers who have students with visual impairments in their classrooms. The emphasis of the workshop this year will be on "Reading Resources and Technology."Read more . . . 
During September, RRTC Training Coordinator B. J. LeJeune will collaborate with Billy Brookshire to conduct an in-service training for Kentucky Services for the Blind. 

Other RRTC News:
Career Advantage Live Online Now!
MSU-RRTC is happy to announce that we have gone live with our online employment preparation program, Career Advantage for V.I.P.s! This program offers eight self-paced modules of instructional materials and activities to guide job seekers . . . Read more . . . 
“Like” the MSU-RRTC on Facebook!
This summer, MSU-RRTC joined the trend toward social media integration by designing a Facebook page. Visit us, "like" us, link to new publications, and follow the most current news about our center. Visit the MSU-RRTC Facebook page and check it out!

Publications, Presentations, and Miscellanies
Publications Recently Archived for Download from Our Website:
Cavenaugh, B. S., Pierce, S. J. (May, 1998). Characteristics, services, and outcomes of rehabilitation consumers who are blind or visually impaired served in separate and general agencies. Mississippi State, MS: Mississippi State University.
McBroom, L. W., Giesen, J. M., Gooding, E. M., Hicks, J., Laney, T. C., & Robertson, C. (1997). Student perceptions of careers in blindness rehabilitation services at historically African American and historically white universities. Mississippi State, MS: Mississippi State University.
Recent Publications:
DeCoster, J., O'Mally, J., & Iselin, A. M. (2011). Archiving for psychologists: Suggestions for organizing, documenting, preserving, and protecting computer files. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 18(3) 246-265.
McDonnall, M. C. (2011). Predictors of employment for youth with visual impairments: Findings from the second National Longitudinal Transition Study.  Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 105(8), 453-466.
Upcoming Presentations:
LeJeune, B. J. (2011, September). Psycho-social adjustment for persons aging with hearing and vision loss. Panel presenter on persons with dual sensory loss. Envision: A multi-disciplinary low vision rehabilitation and research conference. St. Louis, MO.
LeJeune, B. J. (2011, September). Severe brain injury and vision loss: Challenges and steps toward progress. Envision: A multi-disciplinary low vision rehabilitation and research conference. St. Louis, MO.
LeJeune, B. J. (2011, September). Transition services that lead to competitive employment outcomes for transition age individuals with blindness or visual impairments. Panel presenter on employment. Envision: A multi-disciplinary low vision rehabilitation and research conference. St. Louis, MO. 

For Additional MSU-RRTC News and Activities:
Visit our website at http://www.blind.msstate.edu/. 
This newsletter was supported in part by grant #H133B10022 from the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). Newsletter contents do not represent policies of NIDRR or the Department of Education and viewers should not assume endorsement by the federal government. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to interested parties.
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your contact information, contact the MSU-RRTC at rrtc at colled.msstate.edu.