Please Join Us in Boston, MA, at the Families Connecting with Families International Conference: Register Online Now to Save Money!

Susan LaVenture Dear NAPVI Members and FamilyConnect Friends,

We hope that you are making plans to join us in Boston, Massachusetts, from July 27- 29, 2012, for the Families Connecting with Families International Conference.

The National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) along with parents, organizations and schools for the blind has been organizing a phenomenal conference program for you and your family. The conference welcomes parents of children with visual impairments, blindness, and additional disabilities of all ages, including siblings and extended family and friends.

Online registration for the conference is open now.. We have extended the early registration rate to June 8, 2012. Go to the conference page to see information about the conference program and registration, as well as details about the special hotel rate.

Some highlights for the program include our keynote presenters; Marla Runyan, an Olympian Star who is visually impaired, Dr. Lois Smith, a renowned Boston Ophthalmologists and Paul Schroeder, Vice President of Public Policy of the American Foundation for the Blind.

The program also includes 32 workshops on a variety of topics of interest provided by parents and professional experts in the vision field. One of the most popular parts of the program is the “Eye Condition Networking Sessions” where parents will have the opportunity to meet other parents of children with similar eye conditions.

There will also be some pre-conference meetings on Friday during the day; NAPVI Affiliate Parent Leadership meeting, a special CVI seminar with Christine Roman, and focus groups opportunities for parents to give feedback to FamilyConnect on its social networking features, and to Bridge Multimedia for described and captioned media.

Through a special collaboration between Perkins School for the Blind, The College at Brockport-Camp Abilities, and The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), your school-age children and teens have an opportunity to experience and participate in blind specific sports and leisure activities. Graduate and undergraduate students studying to be adapted physical educators will lend new cutting-edge teaching techniques and energy to the weekend.

Adapted physical education teachers and physical therapists will help facilitate various sports and games and provide vast knowledge, enthusiasm, and recourses. This is an excellent opportunity for children and teens to learn about sports, meet athletes, and interact with professional athletes with visual impairments.

We will provide a variety of developmentally appropriate sports and leisure activities such as beep baseball, goalball, track and field events, rowing, horseback riding, and bocce. Physical therapist will run a gross motor and mobility room where children will play balance games and obstacle courses and more.

All games and activities will allow children of all ages and abilities to learn blind-specific sport skills, teamwork, and peer socialization. In addition, during the weekend events we are planning a teen social, including music, conversation, not to mention some great teen-approved snacks!

We hope that you decide to make the conference in Boston a part of your vacation plans this summer for you and your family!

Warm regards,

Susan Laventure, Executive Director
NAPVI