Category Archives: New technologies

Will cheap be cheerful for those who need communication aids?

disability, New technologies, Politics, software, special needs, training, ,

The impact of iPads and Androids on the world of AAC was the big theme for the Communication Matters annual conference at the University of Leeds last week.

Communication aids which can play back pre-recorded speech or generate synthetic speech have revolutionised the lives of many of the 300,000 children and adults in the UK who will need Augmentative and Alternative Communication at some point in their lives.

ipad aacMany people who need AAC have severe and permanent physical disabilities from birth as a result of conditions such as cerebral palsy. Others have degenerative conditions which leave them unable to speak.

It is a disgrace that in a wealthy country such as Great Britain children and adults are being left without the power of speech simply to save money.

One solution is to find cheaper alternatives to the specialist aids. In recent times, companies have started to develop apps which will work with iPhones, iPads, Androids and other tablet devices.

Good news you might think.  The trouble is that the users need support, training for themselves and their carers, robust devices which will bounce off pavements and ongoing research and development to make the next generation of communication aids the best that they can be. Buying a tablet online and downloading an app does not even begin to address these problems.

Catherine Harris, Chair of Communication Matters, summed up the dilemma saying: “It is an exciting time for the sector. Developments in adapting technology have increased the range of options for people and the growth of access methods, such as eye gaze, provide people with alternative ways to use their equipment. However, these developments need underpinning by comprehensive assessment, funding of equipment and longer term support services if they are going to be really effective.’

Celebrated voice calls out for new legislation for disabled people

disability, New technologies, Politics, special needs, , ,

He has done stand up for Comic Relief, trekked across a desert in northern Kenya and is one of the best known voices on Radio 4. But Peter White MBE, Disability Affairs Correspondent for the BBC, was not an early adopter of technology.

Peter White speaking at BATA AGM in London
Peter White MBE, Disability Affairs Correspondent BBC

‘I am not a computer expert and not an especially good problem solver,’ he told a packed audience at the annual general meeting of the British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) in London. Like many others he was slow to embrace technology which he attributed to an understandable and all too common ‘fear of the new’.

However as a blind Braille user he was also exceptionally adept with old technology. Despite the cumbersome nature of the Perkins Brailler, he succeeded in the competitive world of media. producing and reading his own scripts. ‘I was a fast Braille reader and won awards,’ he said. ‘In fact, I was praised by TS Eliot and patted on the head by the Queen Mother.’

What converted him to computers was the increasing realisation that he was not a ‘good colleague.’ He could not collaborate with sighted people at the BBC because they could not read Braille and he could not see print. They needed to find a format which would work for both blind and sighted writers. Fortunately a technology enthusiast took him in hand and pointed out that he was missing out on a lot of good books if he just relied on Braille.

Early attempts to use the technology were not always plain sailing, Fifteen minutes before going on air for his In Touch programme, the Braille Embosser linked to a printer ate his script and he had to improvise. On another occasion his script was printed out in Grade 1 Braille. ‘It is very difficult to adapt if you have if not read it for 30 years,’ he recalled, ‘so I used a mixture of reading and desperate ad libbing: not an ideal combination if you are trying to explain the complexities of the benefit system.’

Despite being a convert to technology, Peter is concerned that new developments leave disabled people behind. Access to the digital world is as important as the right to text books or to equipment. The Equalities Act and Disability Discrimination Act have given disabled people physical access to buildings but he is calling for legislation to compel manufacturers to provide equal access to their products and services.

BATA supports this stance. With members drawn from charities, commercial organisations and specialist schools, BATA  provides expert and informed opinion and  impartial advice to government departments and agencies. They are calling on government to improve the availability of communications aids and assistive technology in schools.

‘As I get older I get more enthusiastic about the potential of technology.’ said Peter. ‘Speed of development must not leave blind people behind. New vistas have opened. It is crucial these opportunities are not snatched way.’

‘Technology, Special Needs and Disability ‘- Peter White MBE ,Disability Correspondent, BBC was sponsored by BATA member Noel Duffy from Dolphin Computer Access

Shout Out for Voices

BETT, disability, New technologies, software, special needs, youth and community

I have always loathed the voices on speech synthesis. I know disabled kids who think it is a laugh to sound like a Dalek but I think it’s sad and particularly depressing for adults who might have all their materials for a degree course read out in a robotic voice. But voices are getting better and I have two good news stories

First JISC TechDis commissioned CereProc to create Jack and Jess, two new high-quality voices that can be used with text-to-speech tools. The big story is TechDis has managed to obtain a wonderful licensing agreement so that all staff and learners in publicly funded post-16 education in England should be eligible to download the voices free of charge.

That means that if you are studying in Adult & Community Learning; Further Education; Higher Education; Offender Learning; Sixth Form Colleges; Specialist Colleges; UK Online Centres; Voluntary Sector; and Work-based Learning you won’t pay a penny. Ask at your education centre or college now.

Alistair McNaught, Senior Adviser at JISC TechDis is excited about the prospect of real voices for the estimated 4.5 learners out there who could benefit. ‘Now hundreds of thousands of print impaired learners have a decent voice to listen to while they are studying and won’t be embarrassed if they want to access talking materials while they are out walking or doing household chores. The stigma about using such software tools vanishes. This will have a massive impact on their productivity and confidence.’
Click here for more information

Voices for children
It’s not just adult voices which are improving. Rosie and Harry were shortlisted for the BETT ICT Special Educational Needs Solutions 2013. 74,000 children and teens in England cannot speak for themselves and need a voice for their assistive technology. Rosie and Harry are the first English voices for children. Acapela Group and AssistiveWare best known for former BETT winner Proloquo2Go have pioneered the development of these voices which in time will become available in other products too.

Harry sounds pretty normal but Rosie is definitely Home Counties which means girls will sound more like Hermione from Harry Potter than Lisa Simpson. More news here.

Anna Reeves, National AAC Coordinator for England
Anna Reeves, National AAC Coordinator for England

Anna Reeves, National AAC Coordinator for England said, ‘These new voices will further transform the lives of children who cannot speak and the lives of those around them. It may be the very first time that families hear their own children speak with a child’s voice – you can’t put a price on that.’

Caroline Wright, BESA and the House of Lords

awards, BETT, New technologies, Politics, software, ,
Caroline Wright of BESA
Caroline Wright of BESA

Tonight I am meeting Caroline Wright face to face. I interviewed her for Merlin John Online 
We have emailed and talked on the phone so much that I feel as if I know her quite well but in fact we met just once – very briefly – at the farewell do for Ray Barker.

Caroline is not the new Ray. Nor is she a replacement. One thing I have learnt is that as the new director at BESA Caroline will put her own stamp on the organisation. She has a formidable pedigree with extensive overseas experience which will be of great benefit to the UK software community but she also has great charm

Most importantly she has a very clear set of values: ‘Education matters and is always likely to be featured in the first few pages of a newspaper because it is relevant to most of the population. We have all had an education and we nearly all know someone who is having one now. The role as a director at BESA ticks every box for me. I love education and this job lets me be part of a team and puts me back at the heart of strategy and delivery.’

Tonught I shall enjoy being BESA’s guest at their annual House of Lords reception.

Banning calculators is not the answer!

New technologies, Politics, ,

Education and Childcare Minister Elizabeth Truss has announced that calculators will be banned in maths tests for 11-year-olds from 2014. She claims that children are over-reliant on calculators and miss the rigorous grounding in mental and written arithmetic, “By banning calculators in the maths test, we will reduce the dependency on them in the classroom for the most basic sums.”

There are so many reasons why children should be allowed to use calculators. They let pupils explore data, spot patterns and number crunch fast and accurately. They help pupils develop a sense of what is a plausible answer. If left to their own devices, many children, especially those with dyscalculia, will struggle to do 3 or 4 questions. With a calculator they can do a whole page and start to build a feeling for what is a sensible answer. Calculators can be used to check answers too so pupils who have done a calculation in their head or on paper can try a bit of self-checking and become more independent learners.

Pupils need to learn estimating skills and a problem solving approach. These are the foundation of mathematical thinking whereas the four rules are numeracy. Interestingly, Ms Truss talks about ‘sums’ which immediately shows her ignorance. Sum only covers addition and I doubt that children are just adding up day after day.

Years ago I was asked to run a class on using calculators in an FE college because children were leaving school without this skill and employers, especially in the building trade, needed young people who were confident users of this very basic piece of technology. Similarly there have been a number of Trade Union courses on using a calculator to work out percentage increases, members’ pensions and other benefits. I wonder if the government does all its calculations on paper? Maybe this is why so many of their statistics are so suspect.

Financial expert Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com  has said, ‘We’re a financially illiterate nation with a massive personal debt problem, about to treble student loans.’

So when we are faced with large scale poverty and unprecedented levels of debt, the government suggests we should stop young people being ‘over-reliant on calculators.’  They have to be joking!

Sing Up helps children find their voice

disability, New technologies, software, special needs

Stephen Robinson is a music trained teacher who works at Green Park Special School in Wolverhampton. It is an all age special school for pupils aged 3-19 with severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties and those with autistic spectrum conditions. Here, and in his previous post at Beaufort School in Birmingham, he has used music extensively, as a means of developing communication skills, of adding an extra dimension to curriculum topics and also as a subject in its own right.

 

Stephen first saw Sing Up in a magazine and went online to see if it was as good as it looked. Sing Up is an online resource which has a song bank with over 500 songs cross referenced to curriculum targets and different theme. There is lots of help for teachers too including training and personalised support. The initial good impressions were reinforced when he attended a day organised by Sound Futures organisation. These training days feature classroom practitioners and artists who have been involved in projects with pupils who have a range of special needs.

 

Sing Up is a really flexible and versatile tool. It is online so teachers can use it anywhere that they have Internet access: in class, the hall, clubs, at home. There are plenty of different backing tracks which can be useful if a teacher is not especially musical or if there are no facilities for making music.

 

In theory, any school could put together a bank of music resources. Stephen thinks this would be a false economy as it would be a very time-consuming process and the end result would not be as comprehensive. Sing Up has been designed by music specialists and introduces pupils to different rhythms and tempos and the musical culture of different countries.

 

It is an ideal resource for special schools. There are suggestions for classroom activities and videos of songs with demonstrations of Makaton signs which teachers can copy. There are lesson plans as well as grids for communication aids so pupils who need assistive technology can join in too. The variety of information on the site means that staff can make sure they have suitable content for pupils with a wide range of needs.

 

When Stephen was working at Beaufort School he ran a club called Everybody Sings. This was an inclusive club. Some pupils would sign, others would sing; some would use percussion instruments, others would join in via assistive technology. The important thing was that children could all make music together in a way that worked for them.

 

Some pupils with communication difficulties come into their own if they are given a microphone. It seems to unlock their ability to vocalise and helps them to verbalise. Reuben had limited verbal skills. He went through a phase as an elective mute but an African call and response song unlocked his speech so that he began to say different words and sing in the right pitch. Soon he was trying to express ideas in increasingly developed sentences.

 

Children with communication aids can join in and become the leader. They can record a line or use a communication device with a switch and speech output to deliver key lyrics. Stephen recalled an occasion when a large group of children were singing A sailor went to sea, sea, sea in assembly. The children with communication aids were responsible for the refrain and really enjoyed their moment of power as they made the others wait for the See See See!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dyslexia Behind Bars

disability, Literacy, New technologies

Jackie Hewitt-Main is the driving force behind a remarkable project which might just revolutionise education in prisons in the UK.

Her project, based initially in Chelmsford Prison, has shown that up to 53% of prisoners may have dyslexia and that 21% have suffered a head injury which could have affected their behaviour. She has pioneered a cost-effective approach to help prisoners learn to read and write and there are clear signs that it could lead to a dramatic drop in re-offending rates.

Terry had been in and out of prison more than 40 times and was self-harming. He was totally frustrated with his inability to read and write and the fact that this was holding him back in a world where jobs, benefits and many social activities require good literacy skills.

He was assessed using Lexion software, a Swedish program which tests for a whole battery of skills and then provides carefully targeted exercises to build knowledge and confidence. He has made great progress and is now one of the prison mentors.

Jackie has adopted a grass roots approach. Learning doesn’t necessarily take place in a classroom because this is not a natural environment for those who have struggled and failed at school. She introduces learners to visual and tactile approaches and helps them find their own learning style.

“I was 40 when I found I had dyslexia,” said Jackie. ” I realise that my learning disabilities have been a big problem in my life. Many of the prisoners I met in my dyslexia and mentoring project at Chelmsford, including those with the most challenging behaviours, showed such great transformation and went on to help others with the knowledge they had gained.”

It is a shame that much of the publicity surrounding prisons this month centres on Gordon Ramsay – a man who can bully for England- and there is so little mention of the good work in prisons which can help offenders to turn their live around.

Dyslexia Behind Bars: Final Report of a Pioneering Teaching and Mentoring Project at Chelmsford Prison – 4 Years on by Jackie Hewitt-Main (Paperback – Jun 2012) can be bought on Amazon

Texthelp’s award winning software helps the Fire Brigade

disability, New technologies, Politics, software, , ,

I am just back from a week in Boston and Chicago. I was amazed at the number of fire engines I saw and wondered if we were about to have a second Great Fire of Chicago but Jimmy, the 77 year old taxi driver and self-appointed guide to the city, told me that in the USA fire engines don’t just put out fires, they often act as paramedics too.

When I thought about it , the same thing is happening here. If ambulances are busy in rural areas, often a fire engine will be dispatched and they have always cleaned up after road traffic accidents.

So I was very interested to discover that Texthelp, a company well known for its Read and Write Gold software, is working with the Fire Brigade Union (FBU). Texthelp has long been used in schools, especially secondary schools, and has proved its worth with young people who have problems with reading, writing and the research necessary for compiling projects and revision for exams. But why the FBU?

The answer is that they are now subject to the strictures of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA . They used to be exempt, along with police and prison officers and people who work on board ships, aircraft or hovercraft.

These days firefighters need a lot of training to keep up to date with new procedures. They have to be experts in fire fighting techniques, hazardous chemicals, first aid, dealing with trauma and using breathing apparatus correctly. Modern firefighters also needs IT skills for the administration they have to do such as logging incidents and writing reports.

Trevor Shanahan of the FBU was aware that a number of fire fighters were anxious about their literacy levels and would welcome some help . He had heard about Read&Write GOLD through other unions and invited the company to show what they could offer.

Read&Write GOLD is now used both on the service’s computers and on home computers too. It works with common programs such as Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, and Adobe Reader. It will read text out loud so firefighters can upload training materials and listen to them instead of straining to read them and only get half the message. It is very versatile and is ideal for users with dyslexia as all the settings can be tweaked. Among other functions, Texthelp has an inbuilt dictionary, word prediction and a homophone checker for those common similar sounding words.

Now when I give way to a fire engine, I am much more aware of the hours of behind the scenes training and admin which keep fire fighters on the road. Thanks to Texthelp, those with dyslexia are now a little more confident and competent and that has to be good news for all of us.

Read All About It with Symbol Support

disability, Literacy, New technologies, software, special needs, youth and community,

With the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee coming up, there has never been a better time to get young people interested in the news. But what if your children are not good readers? They may end up confined to the TV news which is so transitory that children cannot grasp it, let alone recall it.

News-2-You (http://www.news-2-you.co.uk/) is an online newspaper aimed at pupils who need extra support for literacy. It has been created by special needs company Inclusive Technology, comes out fortnightly and costs just £99 for a single licence. It has speech and symbol support and brings over 200 pages of current affairs, features, activities and stories into the classroom.

Teachers can access News-2-You on an interactive whiteboard for whole class work or print it out for individuals. It has four levels of difficulty. The Simplified version gives a basic overview of the week’s key story topic with SymbolStix supported text. This is ideal for young people with learning disabilities who cannot access conventional print. There are three higher levels so pupils can progress.

In addition to the differentiated levels, there is also a text only version and all levels have a ‘speaking edition’. This means that the students follow the text as it is read aloud. Each word is highlighted as it is spoken.

Each edition features the story of the week which is the focus for a host of activities too. Recent topics including the Frozen Planet, Sports Relief Week, Animal Record Breakers and Star Wars – The Phantom Menace. It also has a World new section which has 2 or 3 substantial articles per fortnight and uses Google Maps to show where each story is taking place.

It is packed full of activities including worksheets for comprehension and literacy activities. But News-2-You is not all about the serious stuff. There is always a joke, a recipe for cookery lessons and some games.

Requiem for a trail blazer

disability, New technologies, Politics, software, , ,

The Oxford ACE Centre is to close this summer unless there is a change in government policy or an investor comes forward. The ACE Centre Oxford was a pioneer in assistive technology for children and young people who need computer support to help them speak, study and lead their lives with dignity.

A girl being assessed for a communication aid at the Oxford ACE centre
If Oxford ACE closes, who will help her?

Oxford ACE has been in the forefront of research, developmental projects, assessments and technology provision since it was set up under a Tory government 28 years ago.

Many young people have benefited from their expertise. One example is Alice who is now 19. She was born with athetoid cerebral palsy. She was a very bright girl but when she started school she could not a pencil or make herself understood. When Alice was six years old she received her first computer. Even so, typing was laborious. She typed very slowly, using just her left hand.

When Alice started her GCSEs she was assessed by the Oxford ACE Centre to see what technology she would need to fulfil her academic potential. She got a laptop with Internet access and voice recognition. This marked a turning point as she could produce work much more quickly and accurately and found the whole process of composition much less tiring. Now she no longer needed a scribe so the school saved money too. Alice is now studying for a degree in Environmental Sciences.

The Oxford ACE Centre was the first organisation of its kind in England and set a very high standard. Its research always focused on the leading edge technologies, most recently eye gaze technology for those who cannot use their hands to navigate a mouse.

former head of inclusion at Becta
Becta was a victim of governemtn cuts, now Oxford ACE

Chris Stevens, formerly Head of Inclusion at Becta, itself a victim of government cuts, commented, “This is very sad news. Oxford ACE was a trail blazer and set very high standards with its assessments and research. It made such a difference to the lives of so many young people. I worry that the next generation of youngsters with disabilities will not get the same rigorous assessments and decisions about technology support will be made purely on the basis of cost”

Oxford ACE