INSIGHT

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SPECIAL NEEDS LIBRARY OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA

The Special Needs Library of Northeast Georgia is a part of your public library and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, serving Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hancock, Hart, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Putnam, Rabun, Stephens, Walton and White counties. We do not endorse any product or service mentioned in this newsletter.

800-531-2063, 706-613-3655

Email: specialneedslibrary@athenslibrary.org

Staff: Stacey Chandler, Lavern Gordon, Claudia Markov, Pete Hayek

AUGUST 2005

Summer Reading Program

Our summer reading club for children ages preschool - seniors in high school will begin on June 1st. All of our younger readers should watch for a special summer reading club packet to arrive in the mail with details. We will monitor your reading through the months of June, July & August and will award a free tote bag for reading 12 books or more throughout the summer. Call with summer reading requirements for school assignments and don't forget to read some fun books for leisure reading too. The theme for this summer’s reading program is FUNtastik Reading!!

Blood Pressure Screenings

Provided weekly by Athens Regional Medical Center August: 3, 10, 17, 31 Wednesday, 12 noon, Free. Dates are subject to change; please call to confirm.

Braille Literacy Program

(For Persons who are 55 years and older) This program is sponsored by Project Independent, A Touch of Braille and VISTAS Center.

They are looking for 6 highly motivated blind and/or visually impaired individuals who have a burning desire to learn and use Braille in their daily communication. If you think this is for you, contact VISTAS Center at (706) 583-8001. Class will begin on August 9. *Persons who are Vocational Rehabilitation clients are also welcome.

JAWS Computer Class

(For persons who are 55 years and older) This program is sponsored by Project Independent and VISTAS Center. VISTAS is offering a 30-hour introductory class in JAWS. This is an opportunity to gain firsthand experience with a screen reader. This program reads text and allows a person who is blind and/or visually impaired to use the computer independently. They invite persons who are blind/visually impaired to come and be a part of this experience.

They are looking for 6 highly motivated blind and/or visually impaired individuals who have a burning desire to learn to use the computer in their daily communication. If you think this is for you, contact VISTAS Center at (706) 583-8001. Classes begin August 8, 2005.

Special Accessories and Playback Machines

Amplifier: for persons with a significant hearing loss, the sound is boosted to a level that can cause permanent hearing loss to persons with normal hearing. This requires a separate application with medical certification.

Breath Switch: for persons with little or no use of their extremities, must be used with remote control unit

Extension Levers: for persons who have difficulty manipulating the key controls on a standard cassette machine, attaches to the key controls of the cassette machine

Headphones: issued only to readers who require them for reading talking books where loudspeakers are not permitted, as in nursing homes and hospitals

Pillow Speaker: for persons who are confined to bed, is placed under the reader’s pillow and is normally heard only by the reader

Remote Control Unit: for persons confined to bed or with difficulty in mobility turns playback equipment on and off but will not control other functions such as volume and speed. This requires a separate application.

Please contact the Special Needs Library for the procedures for obtaining these accessories.

Dog Days

There is no better way to spend the dog days of summer than with a good book. We hope you will enjoy this list of books compiled by Reader Advisor Susan Higgins and perhaps you will find the perfect read for a dog day afternoon.