Vol. 35, No. 3
September 2005

The Ninth Annual Vision Rehabilitation and Technology Expo will be held on November 18, 2005 at Phoenix Civic Plaza, Hall A, from 9 am to 5 pm. VRATE will feature distinguished speakers, more than 40 exhibitors, and workshops throughout the day. VRATE is a wonderful opportunity to explore all the services available for those with visual impairments and to learn about the latest research on eye disease.

Dr. J. Shepard Bryan of Associated Retinal Consultants in Phoenix will be just one of the featured speakers. Dr. Bryan specializes in vitreoretinal diseases and is also a clinical instructor at Maricopa County Medical Center. He will be joined by Dr. Sharam Danesh, a colleague at Associated Retinal Consultants who is also a vitreoretinal specialist. Drs. Bryan and Danesh are slated to be on the main stage from 10 am until 12:15 pm, and their presentation will include a question and answer session.

We are very hopeful that Governor Janet Napolitano will speak at 9:30 am. Her schedule is always apt to change at the last minute, but since she missed speaking last year due to a medical emergency we are counting on her this year.

Visiting the exhibitor booths will give you the opportunity to learn about all the goods and services available to you. Exhibitors range from companies demonstrating the latest technologies to guide dog schools to the agencies that provide services to the visually impaired community.

Dr. Judith Dixon from the National Library Service, Library of Congress will appear on the main stage at 2 pm to discuss the upcoming change to a new digital format in the NLS program in 2008. Those of you who remember the transition from records to cassette tapes may be especially interested in the next step, a digital format, but all those who love their talking books will benefit from her presentation. Bring all your questions and be prepared to hear about the improvement to your service the digital format will make. Dr. Dixon is also the NLS Web-Braille expert, so if you have any questions about Web-Braille you may talk to her at the Talking Book Library Booth between 11 am and noon.

In addition to the main stage events, breakout rooms will host talks and demonstrations throughout the day. Some will demonstrate new technologies and others will be quite low tech. Chef Vikas Khanna of New York City will demonstrate the benefit of taste for people with visual disabilities in his workshop titled “Vision of the Palate”. His delectable workshop will be held at 1 pm in Breakout Room A for adults and again at 3 pm for children with visual disabilities.

All the reader advisors from the Talking Book Library will be in the Library’s booth that day, although not all at the same time. Other staff will also be available to answer any questions you might have and to just meet the faces that go with the voices that are so familiar to us.

There is an additional track at VRATE just for teachers, professionals, and counselors in the field of rehabilitation with several workshops that will provide continuing education credits.

A complete list of speakers, exhibitors and workshops will be available at www.vrate.org, or for more information you may call Rich Kenney at 602-331-1470. Phoenix Civic Plaza is located at 111 North Third Street in downtown Phoenix.