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Popular topic: Adaptation
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Asperger’s college opens in Wales
September 6th, 2010
Posted by Ben Jones
The first college to provide specialist support for young people with Asperger's syndrome in Wales has opened.
Aimed at 16 to 25-year-olds, Priory Coleg Wales is located in Pontypool, Torfaen and opened its doors for the first time on Wednesday (1 September).
The college was set up in partnership with Coleg Gwent and aims to meet the social, academic and emotional needs of people with Asperger's, maximising their career options and independence.
According to BBC News, it will initially cater for ten students, expanding to 50 or 60 in the future.
National co-ordinator Shirley Parsley told the news source: “We hope it will go some way towards providing much needed person-centred support for young people with Asperger syndrome locally.”
The college will provide one to three-year intensive learning and independence programmes, as well as tailored academic and vocational courses.
It was recently welcomed by National Autistic Society head of external affairs Amanda Batten, who praised the college for its focus on easing the transition between school and adult life.
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Disabled engineer designs devices for disabled children
August 25th, 2010
Posted by James Lahey
A computer engineer from Canada has developed a number of new technologies to assist children with disabilities.
Eric Wan has been paralysed from the shoulders down since the age of 18, when he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis.
But, as Winnipeg Free Press reports, the computer engineer has focused his attention on using technology to assist other disabled people, particularly children.
Mr Wan has created the Virtual Music Instrument, which allows disabled people to compose music through specialised software by movements of the head.
The device was developed at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and was born out of his own love of music.
“It was really interesting applying my skills in making software or electronic gadgets that enabled people to be able to do more and improve their quality of life,” Mr Wan told the news source.
Other projects developed by Mr Wan include iPod localisation, which allows individuals who require the use of a ventilator to walk around freely, and a device that detects swallowing safety.
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is Canada's largest children's rehabilitation teaching hospital and is operated by the University of Toronto.
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Fos to make complaints process easier for disabled consumers
June 12th, 2010
Posted by Charlie Powell-Brett
The Financial Ombudsman Service (Fos) is set to collaborate with a number of major charities to make its complaint service more accessible for disabled people.
According to the Financial Times, the organisation will work with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, the Autistic Society, the Samaritans, Mind, Citizens Advice and Dyslexia Awareness from September.
The scheme aims to help Fos staff understand the communication needs of all of its customers in order to provide a better service.
Caroline Mitchell, lead investment ombudsman and smaller business champion, told the newspaper that the service already provides information in a range of formats such as large print.
“If an independent financial adviser tells us that their client has different communication needs we will do our best to help. They can either let our front-line complaints staff know or go to the accessibility pages of our website,” she added.
The organisation’s website features video clips and audio files that explain its layout and basic functionality to users with impairments.
Fos also hopes to raise awareness of the need for financial businesses to provide information in accessible formats, since many of its complaints occur as a result of poor communication between firms and consumers.
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Father creates iPhone app for disabled daughter
May 11th, 2010
Posted by Frances Sullivan.
A father has developed an application for Apple’s iPhone that allows him to communicate with his disabled daughter.
Martin Brooks, 42, developed the software after he discovered there was not a suitable communications solution for five-year-old Mia, who was born with cerebral palsy.
Entitled iComm, the app allows Mia to interact with pictures of everyday objects and themes, while users can also load their own photos and audio clips onto the phone for added personalisation.
The software has so far been downloaded by 1,300 users across the world, some of whom have contacted Mr Brooks to thank him personally.
The Hertfordshire man commented that iComm has “given [Mia] a voice for the first time”.
“Mia is cognitively alert but unable to communicate and I was afraid that as she grew she was not going to be able to tell us what she wanted,” he stated.
The application is priced at £1.79 and is available via Mr Brooks’ website, Mia’s Apps.
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Volunteers ‘work to improve communication’
April 21st, 2010
Posted by James Lahey.
Medical students at the University of Bristol are to be helped by young disabled people in the city to improve communication skills among the future professionals.
A week-long course held at the higher education establishment will see members of Young and Free, which helps disabled people in Bristol to socialise with non-disabled peers, to teach the students about how to positively interact with teens with physical and sensory difficulties.
Ligia Farrow, one of the volunteers at the organisation, said that the disabled youngsters are uniquely placed to offer insight to those who will go on to work within Bristol’s health services.
“These workshops will give them the opportunity to have their voices heard by the very people who can really make a difference,” she explained.
University of Wisconsin professor Gregg Vanderheiden recently told AFP that Apple’s new iPad multimedia device could provide an alternative to costly communication aids for disabled people.
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New iPad ‘could have real benefit for disabled people’
April 19th, 2010
Posted by James Lahey.
Apple’s new iPad multimedia device could have wide-ranging implications for disabled users, it has been stated.
The device will primarily be used as an entertainment platform but could also help individuals affected by a number of mental and physical disabilities, a professor at the University of Wisconsin has argued.
According to AFP, Gregg Vanderheiden believes the iPad could help people who have recently lost their mobility following a stroke, replacing costly communications aids.
Prof Vanderheiden told the news source: “Say you have somebody who’s had a stroke, for example, and they wake up and they can’t communicate.
“Instead of buying a $5,000 communications aid you take out your iPad and download an app and - bam! - they can communicate.”
He noted it could also help people with spinal cord injuries, ALS or cerebral palsy.
An app called Proloquo2Go has already been adapted for the iPad, enabling users to utilise symbols to represent phrases or convert text into natural sounding speech.
The app also boasts powerful automatic conjugations and a default vocabulary of over 7,000 items.
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Govt to invest £165m in home adaptations
April 6th, 2010
Posted by Charlie Powell-Brett.
The government is to invest a total of £165 million in making the homes of disabled people more accessible and comfortable.
Announcing the disabled facilities grant programme last week, communities minister Lord McKenzie said 40,000 individuals would benefit from the initiative.
The money will be spent on vital adaptations such as ramps, door widening and improved lighting.
According to Lord McKenzie, the investment is seven per cent higher than in 2009-10.
Jonathan Shaw, minister for disabled people, said: “Thousands of disabled people will have more choice over how funding, such as the disabled facilities grant, can help them live independently in their own homes.”
“Disabled people are the experts in their own lives,” Mr Shaw added.
The local authorities set to receive the largest grants include Manchester (£2.7 million), Liverpool (£2.3 million) and Wigan (£1.4 million).
Some 8.6 million people in the UK are registered as disabled, according to figures from the Disability Rights Commission.
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RNID appoints new director
March 22nd, 2010
Posted by James Lahey.
The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) has announced the appointment of a new managing director of external engagement.
Sherine Krause has previous experience as director of fundraising and marketing at the MS Society and has also worked at the Royal Opera House and Trinity Hospice.
Ms Krause will be in charge of the charity’s fundraising, policy and public research, as well as implementing a new external engagement strategy.
RNID chief executive Jackie Ballard praised the new director’s “rich and highly relevant experience” and said the post was created in order to engage more of the public.
Ms Krause commented: “I look forward to developing new approaches to raising the profile of issues affecting deaf people in the UK and engaging with new audiences to educate everyone about hearing loss and hearing health.”
The RNID will celebrate its 100th year of operation in 2011.
It grew out of the National Bureau for Promoting the General Welfare of the Deaf, created by deaf merchant banker Leo Bonn in 1911.
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IBM researches mobile web accessibility
March 12th, 2010
Posted by Ben Jones.
Technology company IBM has started a new research project that aims to create mobile devices for disabled and elderly users.
According to the firm, it hopes to develop technology that allows blind, deaf, elderly and illiterate users to get more involved in using the internet independently.
Researchers in Japan and India are considering methods of bringing day-to-day information to people with impairments through IBM’s mobile devices.
A company representative based in Japan said: “Our results will help us to offer affordable services for broad segments of the population who are still cut off from central sources of information.
“We focus on mobile devices that have a tremendous potential as a tool for people.”
The research is part of the Open Collaborative Research initiative and will eventually create open source computer programs that are freely accessible to businesses, governments and charities.
In related news, IBM has already developed a system in India that allows blind and visually impaired users to access websites.
The Spoken Web project is geared towards offering a service that recites website features and information over a phone line in an interconnected fashion similar to the internet.
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Capability director heads wheelchair standards group
February 10th, 2010
Posted by Imogen Welsh.
The director of external affairs at disability network Capability Scotland will chair a new wheelchair standards group.
The Wheelchair and Seating Services Standards and Eligibility group is part of the Scottish government’s wheelchair and seating services (WSS) modernisation project and will assess the services in the country with a view to ensuring they reach a high standard.
It will also review WSS eligibility and develop a quality rating system, Capability Scotland notes.
Mr Hamer said: “By developing standards at a national level we can ensure that everyone in Scotland receives the same high quality service, no matter where they live.
“We will be working to create a robust set of national standards which will provide a strong framework.”
Other members of the group include NHS, government and voluntary sector representatives, as well as Dr Mike Dolan as clinical advisor.
Wheelchair and seating services have already been awarded an additional £7 million for 2010-11, the Scottish government notes.
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