General Information
Thank you for your interest in California State University, Northridge Center on Disabilities' 24th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference.
This event will be held in Los Angeles, CA from March 16-21, 2009. Visit our web site regularly for information updates on the activities at the Center on Disabilities including, our Training Programs (ATACP), Student Services news, and how you can contribute to our Annual Student Scholarship Awards Ceremony at www.csun.edu/cod.
Table of Contents
- Who Should Attend
- Conference Schedule
- Conference Fees
- Pre-Conference Days
- General Conference Days
- Speakers
- Exhibit Days
- Advertising/Literature Distribution
- Discounts
- Scholarships
- Hotel Information
- Information in Alternative Formats
- Parking At the Hotels
- Hotel Shuttle Service
- Shuttle Vans
- Room Temperature
- Headset
- Official Language
Who Should Attend?
- Persons with disabilities and family members
- Special education teachers
- University professors and researchers
- Occupational and physical therapists
- Alternative & Augmentative Communication clinicians
- Manufacturers, distributors, and developers
- Community agency personnel
- Government policy makers
- Private and public rehabilitation service providers
- Rehabilitation engineers
- Assistive Technology practitioners and suppliers
- Speech and Language clinicians
- Human Resource specialists
- The general public
TENTATIVE Conference Schedule
Sunday, March 15, 2009
- Pre-Conference Registration 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Monday, March 16, 2009
- Pre-Conference Registration 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Full-Day Pre-Conference Workshops 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
- Pre-Conference Workshops Half-Day 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
- Lunch Break 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
- Pre-Conference Workshops Half-Day 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
- Registration 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
- Full-Day Pre-Conference Workshops 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
- Pre-Conference Workshops Half-Day 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
- Lunch Break 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
- Pre-Conference Workshops Half-Day 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
- Keynote Address 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
- Registration 6:30 AM - 4:30 PM
- General Sessions 8:00 AM - 5:20 PM
- Opening of Exhibit Halls 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Lunch Break 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
Thursday, March 19, 2009
- Registration 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM
- General Sessions 8:00 AM - 5:20 PM
- Exhibit Halls 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
- Lunch Break 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
Friday, March 20, 2009
- Registration 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM
- General Sessions 8:00 AM - 5:20 PM
- Exhibit Halls 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
- Lunch Break 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
Saturday, March 21, 2009
- Registration 7:30 AM - 1:00 PM
- General Sessions 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM
- Exhibit Halls 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM
- Conference Adjourns 1:00 PM
Conference Fees
Speaker Registration
Cancellation Request must be made in writing & received by February 9, 2009. A $75 processing fee will be assessed. There will be no refunds after February 9, 2009.
(NOTE: Speakers must register by February 20, 2009 - there will be no on-site speaker registration).
- Early Bird: $375 (by February 2, 2009)
- Regular: $425 (by February 20, 2009)
General Conference Registration
Cancellation Request must be made in writing & received by February 20, 2009. A $50 processing fee will be accessed. There will be no refunds after February 20, 2009. All no-shows will be charged the full amount.
- Early Bird: $450 (by February 2, 2009)
- Regular: $500 (after February 2, 2009)
- Late: $545 (after February 20, 2009 & On-Site)
One-Day Conference Registration
Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
- Early Bird: $280 (by February 2, 2009)
- Regular: $320 (after February 2, 2009)
- Late: $350 (after February 20, 2009 & On-Site)
Saturday
- Early Bird: $200 (by February 2, 2009)
- Regular: $240 (after February 2, 2009)
- Late: $260 (after February 20, 2009 & On-Site)
Pre-Conference Registration
One-Day
- Early Bird: $275 (by February 2, 2009)
- Regular: $300 (after February 2, 2009)
- Late: $350 (after February 20, 2009 & On-Site)
Half-Day
- Early Bird: $185 (by February 2, 2009)
- Regular: $210 (after February 2, 2009)
- Late: $260 (after February 20, 2009 & On-Site)
Pre-Conference Days
Pre-Conference Workshops will be offered on Monday, March 16, 2009 and Tuesday, March 17, 2009 for Full-Day and Half-Day Sessions. These workshops are designed to give in-depth training on specific topics.
General Conference Days
The general conference begins on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 and continues through Saturday, March 21, 2009. Throughout these four days, more than 300 sessions will be presented and over 150 exhibits will be displayed.
Speakers
For those interested in giving a presentation during the General Sessions, the Call For Papers is now closed.
Exhibit Days
The exhibit halls will be open Wednesday, March 18, 2009 through Saturday, March 21, 2009. Exhibit Halls are free and the hours are as follows:
- Wednesday, March 18, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Thursday, March 19, 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
- Friday, March 20, 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
- Saturday, March 21, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM
To view the 2009 Directory of Exhibitors by Company Name, please visit the Exhibitorswebsite.
Advertising/Literature Distribution
Each registered conference attendee will receive a tote bag containing conference materials and your advertisement can be printed in our conference program and/or inserted into attendee tote bag. Please send your request to: conference@csun.edu
Discounts
Student Discounts
Full-time students are offered a 50% discount when a Registration Form is accompanied by verification of current enrollment. (class schedule or letter form registrar). Payment in full must accompany the Registration Form.
CSU Discounts
CSU Faculty and Staff are offered a 50% discount; payment in full must accompany the Registration Form
Scholarships
Applications for scholarships are no longer being accepted. Those selected for scholarships will be contacted soon.
International Participants
For those needing an official letter of invitation to obtain a visa, we strongly suggest requesting the letter at least 180 days in advance of the conference. Before applying, be sure to contact your nearest Embassy to obtain information about documents required for a visa application.
Due to the large number of national and international participants who attend and contribute to the conference each year, we regret that we are unable to provide any assistance in locating sponsors and booking travel arrangements.
Please note: Individuals receiving letters are responsible for their own expenses and arrangements ( registration fees, hotel accommodations, meals, travel, transportation, personal care attendants, etc.).
Due to organizational capacity restraints we are only able to send one letter directly to participants. We are unable to process letters directly to the Embassy. All requests must be made in writing by January 16, 2009. Any requests received after this date cannot be processed.
E-mail request to: conference@csun.edu
Hotel Information
The official hotels of the conference are the Los Angeles Airport Marriott and Renaissance Montura Hotels. It is suggested that reservations be made early to secure a room. The hotels will honor the discounted conference rate until February 20, 2009, provided there are rooms available within the CSUN room block. Please refer to CSUN Center on Disabilities when making reservations.
Los Angeles Airport Marriott
5855 West Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
310/641-5700 (V)
310/337-5358 (Fax)
800/228-9290 (V)
800/228-7014 (TTY)
Rooms: $135 discounted conference rates, single or double occupancy.
Renaissance Montura Hotel Los Angeles
9620 Airport Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
310/337-2800 (V)
310/261-6618 (Fax)
Rooms: $141 discounted conference rates, single or double occupancy.
Please let the hotel know of any special accommodations needed at the time the reservation is made. All hotels offer free accessible shuttle bus service between LAX airline terminals and the hotel.
Information in Alternative Formats
The Center on Disabilities' conference materials are available in alternative formats including Braille, Large Print, Disk (ASCII), and CD (DAISY). Sign Language Interpreting Services and Assistive Listening Devices are also available. Please check the appropriate box on the preregistration form to indicate your needs. Please note: Speakers and exhibitors are responsible for providing their own handouts and promotional materials in alternative formats.
The deadline to request Alternate Format conference materials is February 20, 2009. Please indicate this request in your conference registration by this date to ensure you receive the materials you need for the conference. If you have already registered and need to make a change to your alternate format needs, access your Notebook for our event and select View Event Options. The Notebook can be found at:
https://csunconference.org/index.cfm?EID=80000144&p=0&page=Login
Parking at the Hotels
Please check back soon for information on parking at the hotels.
Hotel Shuttle Service
All hotels offer free accessible shuttle bus service between LAX airline terminals and the hotel. To arrange for an accessible airport shuttle van use one of the phones at the hotel accommodation phone banks, located in the baggage claim area.
Renaissance, contact (310) 337-2800
Marriott, contact (310) 337-5385
Shuttle Vans
During conference hours, an accessible shuttle service is available at the entrance of the Marriott and Renaissance for those who need assistance in commuting between the two conference sites.
Room Temperature
Temperatures in session rooms vary. For comfort, it is recommended that layered clothing be worn.
Headset
It is recommended that you bring your favorite headset to gain access to audio output on computers in the Computer Labs.
Official Language
We appreciate the extensive participation of the international community in this conference. The official language of the conference is English.