In 2009, the International Seating Symposium (ISS) marks 25 years of assistive technology education and networking, as rehab professionals from around the world gather in Orlando, Fla.

The University of Pittsburgh is presenting the event at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel, March 12-14. Pre-conference workshops – on the fundamentals of wheeled mobility & seating, funding & policy, manual chairs, pediatrics, bariatrics and lymphedema management — take place March 10-11.

More than 100 instructional courses, paper presentations and poster presentations are scheduled. An international assistive technology exhibit hall will feature more than 70 manufacturers. Jean Minkel will deliver the keynote address.

An ISS 25th anniversary celebration will feature comedian and U.S. Paralympic soccer player Josh Blue, named NBC’s Last Comic Standing for season 4. “What I do with disability,” says Blue, who has cerebral palsy, “is sort of the grass-roots way of getting it out there and making it mainstream and making it more of a comfortable thing… My opinion is that everybody’s disabled, whether you admit it or not.”

Go to www.iss.pitt.edu to view details about the event and to register. Attendees who register by Jan. 15 qualify for early-bird pricing.