ARATA 2008 National Conference

AT: Creating Value Through Participation

Adelaide welcomes ARATEES

Conference dates: Monday 22 - Wednesday 24 September 2008
Registration and program: Register online or complete the printed registration form and post/fax with payment.; Early bird rate closes 30th June 2008; Program and abstracts (doc 325 kb); Registration brochure UPDATED July (doc 9 MB); Registration brochure (pdf 980 kb)
ARATA Soft Technology Awards 2008: These awards recognise developments, improvements and innovations in service delivery to Assistive Technology users and in the AT service industry. The aim of the awards is to promote quality service delivery and to acknowledge excellence in service provision.; Soft Technology Awards brochure (doc 400 kb)
Sponsorship, exhibition & advertising opportunities: Exhibitor and sponsorship brochure (doc 350 kb); Exhibitor and sponsorship brochure (pdf 890 kb)
Expression of interest: To receive further information about the 2008 ARATA Conference, complete and return the following form indicating your area of interest.; Expression of interest form (rtf 33 kb); Expression of interest form (pdf 39 kb)
Call for abstracts: Guidelines for submission of abstracts is now available.
Speaker downloads: Manuscript template for full paper (rtf 65 kb); Copyright Release Form (doc 208 kb); Abstract Proposal Template (rtf 7 kb)
For more information: Conference organiser: A.M. Meetings Plus P/L
Email: arata08@ammp.com.au
Phone: 03 9372 7182
Conference bookmark: ARATA 2008 conference bookmark (rtf 75 kb); ARATA 2008 conference bookmark (pdf 1 MB)

Keynote speakers

Baroness Jane Campbell

Baroness Campbell is a Commissioner and Disability Committee Chair at The Commission for Equality and Human Rights. She is an independent health and social care policy adviser, and Chair of the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) Independent Living Review Expert Panel. She has been a Commissioner of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) since its inception in 2000. She is also a member of the Editorial Board of the British Journal of Social Work (BJSW).

Jane co-founded, and for a time directed, the National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL). As chairperson of the British Council of Disabled People (BCODP) from 1991-95, she saw the organisation through some of its most pioneering work in the fields of independent living, civil rights, peer counselling and equal opportunities.

Baroness Campbell has a long history of parliamentary lobbying for disabled people's civil and human rights, and has been particularly active in creating structures which encourage people with disabilities from all sectors of society to take control of their lives and influence political and social change. Jane has been recognised for her work twice in the Queen's birthday honours (in 2000 with an MBE and again in 2006 when she was made a Dame) and is the recipient of two honorary doctorate degrees. Jane was born with spinal muscular atrophy. She cannot lift her head from the pillow unaided and needs a ventilator to help her breathe at night. She uses a powered wheelchair and has a computer on which she types with one finger.

Jane is unable to fly so will present to the conference via video interview.

Geoff Fernie, PhD, PEng

Geoff Fernie is Vice President, Research at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. He is a full professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto with cross appointments that include the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, the Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science and the Departments of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Physical Therapy and Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy.

A mechanical engineer, he has over 100 peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters, and 16 families of patents. He was the recipient of the 2002 Jonas Salk Award and the 2003 MEDEC Award in recognition of his contribution to the quality of life of people with disabilities through the development of innovative technologies. His primary research interests are in understanding physical and cognitive disabilities that are frequently encountered by people as they age and developing technologies that help prevent, treat or manage these limitations. Geoff's research focuses on mobility, falls prevention, dementias and caregiver burden. He emphasizes the transfer of his research findings into products available in the marketplace and knowledge applied to health service delivery.

Dr. Fernie as the Principal Investigator and colleagues across the country in collaboration with the University of Toronto, were awarded funding to build one of the world's most advanced rehabilitation research laboratories, iDAPT.

Noel Hiffernan

Noel works in the community sector as a community development worker and has been involved in the disability rights movement for the last 30 years. Over this time he has served on numerous state and federal government boards and committees that have dealt with a range of topics such as access to the built environment, employment, health care and advocacy.

He is currently a member of the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal, president of Disability Enterprises and vice chair of Mountains Youth Services Team.

Noel has been a member of the Break Thru People Solutions Board since 2000.

Pat Rix, Tutti Ensemble Inc

South Australian playwright, composer and social entrepreneur Pat Rix is widely respected as a national leader in social inclusion and internationally recognised for bringing community and professional artists with and without a disability together for high quality performance.

Pat has written and composed for many theatre companies and festivals since 1986 including Vancouver's 2001 and 2004 KickstART Festivals. Significant music-theatre works include the award winning My Life, My Love produced by SA State Theatre Company for the 2002 Adelaide Festival, Singing of Angels for the 2003 Australian Youth Arts Festival and Between the Worlds for the 2005 Awakenings Festival.

Most recently she composed the music for Northern Lights Southern Cross an international collaboration which won the Advertiser Critics OscArt for best new music-theatre of 2007. Pat received the inaugural Arts SA Mid Career Fellowship in 2001 and a Governors Leadership Foundation Scholarship in 2006.

In 2007 she received the Australian of the Year - South Australian Local Hero Award and the High Commendation from the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission for her work in challenging stereotypes and public perceptions about disability.

Invited speakers

Gail Van Tatenhove and Maureen Casey will be presenting at the conference through the sponsored support of Liberator Pty Ltd and Semantic Compaction Systems. Gail, of the United States, and Maureen from South Africa, have been active in the no-tech, low-tech area of AAC intervention; an aspect to the augmented communication field of major interest to both the Australian and American companies.

Maureen Casey

Ms. Casey is a teacher who has over 25 years experience in teaching language and literacy to children with mild to significant difficulties, including children using AAC systems. She has developed an entry level literacy programme, entitled "The Bridge to Literacy" that supports all learners (both those with complex communication needs and their typically developing peers) in inclusive classrooms. Her intervention and literary strategies operate from the maxim of "nothing breeds success like success, " which ensures that children learn in an atmosphere of fun and support. She has presented her literacy strategies at conferences in South Africa and the United States, conducting practical, hands-on training with teachers with limited literacy experience and training. Currently she works at a school for children with physical and learning disabilities, as well as in private practice as a reading specialist.

Clare Hocking

Clare Hocking is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at AUT University in Auckland New Zealand, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Charles Sturt University in Albury, New South Wales. She is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters and editor of the Journal of Occupational Science, which is supported by AUT University, the University of South Australia and the University of Southern California.

Clare's familiarity with assistive technologies stems from her experience practicing as an occupational therapist in 1980s. More recently, as a researcher and educator, she has become aware of the discrepancy between health professionals' enthusiasm for assistive devices and some recipients' rejection of them. Examples of these different perspectives came from many quarters: written accounts of discarding equipment, personal accounts of technology solutions consumers perceive as naïve, research findings that adolescents choose the least obtrusive rather than most effective device, and the observation that devices are removed from view when visitors are expected.

Clare's interest in the objects people use in their daily occupations led to new insights about the problematic relationship between assistive devices as things that support function and as things that proclaim an identity as disabled. Her presentation will provide a philosophical perspective of having things (including assistive devices), an historical perspective on occupational therapists' enthusiasm for prescribing assistive devices to improve function, and a humanist view of equipment as proclamations of identity.

Gail Van Tatenhove

Gail Van Tatenhove is a speech-language pathologist who has worked for 30+ years with children and adults who use AAC devices. She is both a practicing therapist and AAC product developer, employing AAC device users as therapy material developers and peer mentors. Her contributions to the field of AAC include development of a loaner bank of AAC devices; participation in ASHA projects on AAC implementation; editor of the ASHA newsletter for the AAC Special Interest Division, and board member for USSAAC.

Denise Wood, University of SA

Denise is the Program Director responsible for the Bachelor of Media Arts, and shares responsibility for the double degree and combined computer science and media arts programs as well as the Digital Media Honours specialisation in the School of Communication at the University of South Australia. Denise is also Chair of the School of Communication Teaching and Learning Committee and the School representative on the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences Teaching and Learning Committee as well as Chair of the Division's Equity Committee.

Denise has extensive experience in the multimedia industry as both a producer and training provider. Denise was a founding member of the Information Policy Advisory Council established by the Communications Minister in 1996 and the Director of an organisation specialising in multimedia production and training for young people with disabilities, from 1994 to 1997.

Denise has undertaken research studies addressing the impact of technology in education and has published several articles on the findings from her research into the effects of feedback and reinforcement on learning. The knowledge Denise gained from her research has been applied to the instructional design of commercial packages published by the Education Department of Victoria and Jacaranda Publishers. Universal design is a focus in all of Denise's software publications and much of her research has focused on the design of interface solutions that are accessible and usable for diverse audiences. More recently, Denise's research has focused on Web accessibility, with a particular focus on emerging Web 2.0 and 3D virtual world environments. In 3D virtual worlds such as "Second Life" (a 3D simulated online virtual environment, which is popular as an educational platform as well as a space for business and socialising), Denise is known by her avatar identity (3D constructed representation), "Denlee Wobbit" (shown in the image to the right). Denise will be discussing the benefits of Web 2.0 and 3D virtual environments, as well as the accessibility issues for people with disabilities, in her conference presentation.

Significant awards include: South Australian Information Technology Achiever of the Year (innovative solutions for people with disabilities) presented by the Premier of South Australia, Comtech'94 and an SA Great Award for services to a special field (disability) presented by the Governor of South Australia, Proclamation Day 1994.

Sponsors & exhibitors

The ARATA 2008 Conference Committee would like to thank the following sponsors and exhibitors for their support:

Deluxe Exhibitors

Some key features

Great keynotes – inspirational and motivational
Interaction – forums, hypotheticals, panel discussions
End user presentations and experience
Real problem solving – brown bag workshops, hands on workshops
Craft an "experience"
Flexible times to facilitate local attendance

Some issues and ideas

Demonstrating the value of assistive technology
Cost/benefit analysis
Impact of assistive technology – quality of life
More research on real clinical practice
Solution development with our regional partners (Asia/Pacific)

We need you

Help craft good presentations and workshops by contributing your feedback and ideas
Encourage/support consumers to truly participate
Help get sponsorship
Participate and encourage others to come

Following the outstanding success of the 2006 Conference held recently in Perth, we encourage you to:

Sign up to ARATA and stay current
Bookmark this page for future updates and announcements
Reserve these dates in your diary now

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Proceedings from past conferences

The presentations and indepth workshops at previous ARATA conferences have all been packed with new ideas and techniques in the delivery of assistive technology solutions across the main Special Interest Group areas. ARATA is making a sampling of these resources available to those who couldn't attend and as a taster of big things to come in 2008! Abstracts and papers are now online for the 2006 conference and over time we'll be releasing podcasts from key sessions at this event.

Connecting People and Community Through Technology: 2006 conference papers
Technology: Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday: 2004 conference papers