2007 Family Conference

Dear Families of Children with Visual Impairments:

We hope that you are making plans to join us in Omaha, Nebraska, from July 13 to 15, 2007, for this year's Families Connecting with Families in the Heartland of America Conference.

American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI), and The Seeing Eye, Inc. are pleased to be cosponsoring this event. This will be an exciting time for families and professionals alike.

This conference is designed to meet many goals that support the growth and lifelong skills needed by children and youths with visual impairments. It will cover all aspects of raising and educating a child with a visual impairment. The conference will be important for the families of children who are deaf-blind, blind or visually impaired, or multiply disabled, and the professionals who work with them.

The conference will include outstanding panel discussions and workshops given by talented leaders in education, psychology, social services, and medicine. The activities and workshops will target families, infants and toddlers, schoolchildren, and youth to age 22 years. You will have many opportunities to meet and learn from other families and professionals. Each day our keynote speakers will salute the family/community/professional partnership. They include Carl R. Augusto, president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind; Mike May, president and CEO of the Sendero Group, a developer and producer of talking GPS; and Dr. Linda Lawrence, a pediatric ophthalmologist who specializes in assessment and intervention for visually impaired children with special needs.

The exhibit hall will be filled with local and national vendors. To showcase vendors' products and materials, the conference opens on Friday at 3:00 p.m. for special sessions by vendors. Attendees will have ample time throughout the weekend to meet the vendors and discuss their products and resources.

Numerous fun activities are planned for the children. One outstanding adventure will be on Saturday, July 14. Children ages 4-18 will have the opportunity to attend a special program at the world renowned Henry Doorly Zoo for a unique look at the world's animals. Lunch will be provided.

For Saturday night, the conference planning committee has planned an unforgettable, authentic pioneer-style family cookout with campfires, music, and stories of the Wild West. The pioneer evening will be held at the Iowa School for the Deaf, once the mustering grounds for the Mormon Militia during their westward migration. A barbeque dinner will be served indoors, complemented by fresh corn on the cob, drinks, and ice-cold watermelon. Following the meal there will be a pioneer music hoe-down featuring two of Nebraska's favorite ol' time musicians. The evening program will end as the sun sinks slowly over the plains.

Courtesy of the Kansas State School for the Blind Pioneer Trail Drive

The registration cost for the weekend conference includes extensive opportunities to gain new educational information for your child's school and community programs, network with other parents and professionals in the field of blindness and visual impairments, and enjoy unique family-fun activities. The weekend fun includes four meals and the opening reception on Friday night. The early bird price is $75.00 for adults (19 years old and older) and $25.00 for children (4-18 years of age) and children under three may attend free of charge. After May 30, 2007, the price will be $100 (19 and older) and $35.00 (4-18 years of age) and children under three may still attend free of charge.

We are fortunate to have an outstanding planning committee helping to organize the July event. The sponsors salute their work and creative ideas.

Sincerely yours,

Judy Deuschle
Director of Student Services
The Seeing Eye, Inc.

Susan LaVenture
Executive Director
NAPVI

Mary Ann Siller, M.Ed.
National Project Manager, Professional Development
AFB