The National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision

The National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision will present a State of the Science (SOS) Conference on Employment for Individuals with Blindness and Other Visual Impairments at the 2019 American Foundation for the Blind Leadership Conference. The conference will include the following research presentations and interactive sessions focused on improving employment for individuals with blindness and other visual impairments:

1. 4to24: Development of an App to Help Parents and Youth Focus on Employment

2. Effectiveness of a Job Search Intervention for Youth with Visual Impairments

3. An Experiment to Evaluate Approaches to a First Meeting between a VR Professional and an Employer

4. Effectiveness of a Business Development Training for Rehabilitation Counselors for the Blind

5. What We Know About Job Retention and Career Advancement

6. What We've Learned about Employment for Individuals with Deaf-Blindness (tentative)

7. New and Emerging Technology to Improve Workplace Accessibility (tentative)

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

The SOS Conference is an excellent opportunity for professionals to learn about the latest research and products available to help their consumers obtain employment. We will be sponsoring up to 20 VR agency professionals to attend the conference. Details are below.

What: Scholarship for attendance at the conference (registration and hotel fees)

When: February 28 and March 1, 2019

Where: Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA

Who: Supervisors, training personnel, or administrators of VR agencies (or other staff designated by the agency director); limited to one person from each agency

Expectations for participating VR agency professionals:

• Attend all SOS concurrent sessions sponsored by the NRTC and the general sessions sponsored by AFB

• Participate in a discussion group on the afternoon of March 1

• Complete an online survey after the conference and one follow-up survey later in the year

• Share information obtained during the conference with other VR agency staff members

To obtain additional information, please visit the SOS Scholarship Application. Priority will be given to applications that are received by November 15.