Erica Nelson discusses her exhibit at the Disabilities Awareness Fair Tuesday with an interested visitor. The organization, Parents Advocating for Their Child's Happiness, is a volunteer support group for parents. Earle Dodd | Williston Herald
Disability Awareness Fair Tuesday at Williston State College.
Turnout was light, but organizers and advocates said it is a start toward increasing public awareness about how people with disabilities are employable with minor modifications, and informing people about programs available for those with disabilities.
"We really are very pleased. This is the first we've had. There are 28 people who turned out for booths. We've had ongoing speakers all day long today. I think it's been going really well," said Janelle Olson, chairperson of the Awareness Committee for CEAD.
"People have had the opportunity to network with other booth people. We've had some good presenters. I think it's a good opportunity for people to get information," Olson commented. She said organizers wanted a strong program to raise awareness about disability issues in October during Disabilities Awareness Month. "We started out with the Sunnyside Breakfast on Oct. 2, we had our balloon launch, and now we're having this activity." Steve Peterson, representing the Minot State University Centers of Excellence Remote Realtime Online Captioning program, was among the 28 booths present. The service transcribes live events, using distance technology for people with disabilities, particularly those who are hearing impaired or deaf. "It could be for someone with a learning disability," he added.
"We have software that we work with that uses the Internet to connect to and capture the audio in a room. It goes through a computer, through the public Internet through a transcriber, back to the Internet and then back to the user. We also give them a transcript of what what was said. They can print it out immediately in real-time text, but we also give them an edited text," he said.
Skip Miller was representing the National Alliance of Mental Illness.
"We are a self-support and advocacy group. We give educational presentations. We help with legislative guidelines. It's a support group," she explained. She said the group helps those with mental illness get through different phases of the illness, and they work with family members to help everyone get through the challenges. She said these programs help the family members understand and cope.
She said job coaches are available to help these clients monitor and ensure they are completing tasks required of them.
"The key is awareness,"Olson said. "People with disabilities need to be seen as people who have abilities first. There are a lot of folks who really, really want to work. With the local (job) climate, I know there are employers looking for workers. Here we are, and we want to be working."
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