HEALTH
Disabilities conferees will hear tennis champ
Roger Crawford, who was born with four impaired limbs and became a tennis champion, will be a keynote speaker at the 22nd Annual Pacific Room Conference on Disabilities March 13-15 at the Sheraton Waikiki.
Award-winning author Lois-Ann Yamanaka and Dr. Michael Mayer, executive director of the Institute on Complex Disabilities, also will give keynote addresses, the University of Hawaii announced.
More than 800 participants from at least 18 countries, including people with disabilities, family members, researchers, educators, service providers, policy-makers and national professionals, are expected to attend the meetings, the university said.
The conference is sponsored by the Center on Disability Studies, a College of Education unit at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
Crawford has been giving inspirational talks for more than 20 years. Sports Illustrated has called him "one of the most accomplished physically challenged athletes in the world," according to Eagles Talent Connection Inc.
He is the author of "Playing from the Heart," an autobiography, and "How High Can You Bounce."
Yamanaka is the author of a book of poetry, "Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre," and many novels and children's books, including "Blu's Hanging" and "Name Me Nobody."
Her literary awards include the Pushcart Prize XVIII and XIX, a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship and the Asian American Studies National Book Award.
Mayer, internationally known speaker, trainer and consultant, directs the Institute on Complex Disabilities, which supports research and education for people with complex service and support needs. The institute also supports a professional network to achieve its goals.
He has worked with more than 400 local, state and national agencies and organizations and trained more than 40,000 people in the United States, Canada, Middle East, Pacific Rim, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Besides the keynote addresses, sessions will cover health services for people with disabilities, community inclusion, education, early childhood and employment.
Summits also will be held before and after the conference on autism spectrum disorders and expanding work-force opportunities for people with disabilities.
For more information and details on how to register, see www.pacrim.hawaii.edu.