25th Annual National APSE Conference

Ces Coulson discusses the benefits of attending the APSE National Conference

Early Bird Registration ends on March 28, 2014 

Register online here  

Highlights from the 2013 APSE National Conference & APSE's 25th Anniversary!

Download the APSE National Conference Brochure

The National APSE Conference offers up to 14 hours of credit for participants attending all sessions.  CEU and CRC Credits will be available.

THAT'S (not just) ENTERTAINMENT!

Ray Bradford, nationally recognized advocate for diversity and access within film and television, will highlight the impact popular media has on disability issues.  For advocates, entertainment that inaccurately portrays people with disabilities, or omits them altogether, hinders whatever progress is made on other fronts.  Ray will share strategies on what you can do to affect real change.

Objectives:

• Break down the perception that film, television, radio and digital entertainment doesn't impact people's lives.
• Share current examples of how some popular television and film productions may be promoting disability story lines (good news!), while at the same time obstructing and hindering employment of performers with disabilities (bad news!).
• Highlight the virtual absence of qualified broadcasters with disabilities within national and local news programs, and how this extends to the coverage of disability issues.
• How advocates are creating new paradigms of coalition-building to bring about change.
• Provide conference attendees with tools to be part of the change, and become proactive consumers of entertainment media.

Employment First: Time to Get Real

The last few years have seen enormous growth in the concept of Employment First. Employment First efforts are underway in the vast majority of states, and over half the states have some type of Employment First policy. Employment First is even receiving attention at the international level. But is all of this focus on Employment First getting us any closer to making a serious dent in the lack of labor force participation by people with disabilities? And are too many of these efforts nothing more than smoke and mirrors? During his talk to open the annual APSE World Caf�, David Hoff will provide a candid assessment of where we are at in terms of Employment First- and where we go from here in order to deliver on the promise of Employment First. During the presentation David will also challenge audience members to consider their own views of employment of people with significant disabilities, and how oftentimes our own day-to-day actions as individuals, service providers, and systems, are counter to the Employment First philosophy. This is sure to be a presentation that is both engaging and thought provoking, setting the stage for conference attendees to share their own ideas on moving forward on making Employment First a reality.  

• Ask about staying before and/or after the conference to extend your trip.