Events

Organised by the Society for the Physically Disabled, the two-day Assistive Technology Workshop will introduce the various accessibility & mobility technologies and applications that can be adapted and used at home, work and for leisure. The workshop will focus on practical approaches and tips on using these technologies.

This interactive workshop will include experienced AT practitioners from Australia, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia who will share insights on their personal experiences and practical approaches to resolving challenges. Participants will include therapists, practitioners, researches, students and our clients.

Key representatives of selected AT vendors/manufacturers will also be represented, with scheduled hands-on demonstration sessions for participants to learn how to operate the products.

Don’t miss this opportunity to participate and upgrade your AT skill and knowledge through industry expertise. Seats are limited so register early to avoid disappointment.

Workshop Fees:

The Amazing Wheelchair Race is a fun-filled race consisting of games and activities, with the MRT as the main mode of transport from one point to the next. Eighty participants from JCs and tertiary institutions are to pair up and navigate their way through a series of challenges with a catch – one of them must be on a wheelchair throughout the race! Inventiveness, creativity and a learning attitude will get you ahead! Winners stand to win up to $1000 in prize money.

Objectives

The race hopes to increase awareness about the daily challenges faced by people with physical disabilities in Singapore. Through the race, it is hoped that participants and the public will be more informed about the accessibility and transport issues they face, and make effort to integrate them as part of the community.

The Amazing Wheelchair Race is a joint collaboration by The Society for the Physically Disabled and Nanyang Technological University’s Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Club.

Objective

The workshop aims to help you have a better understanding about students with physical disability who are studying in mainstream school.  The workshop further illustrates the support these students require to achieve their fullest potential.

The highlights of the workshop:

• Overview of Singapore’s system of supporting students with physical disability

  

• The Western Australia’s experience on inclusion

  

• Harnessing on Assistive Technology for learning and access to IT

  

• Tips on adaptation strategies in physical education and outdoor activities

  

• Overcoming physical barriers

  

• Sharing of personal experience by a university student with disability and a caregiver

  

• A school’s experience

Who should attend:

All mainstream educators from pre- schools and university who wish to learn and understand how to support students with physical disability effectively.

Registration and lunch reception starts at 12.30pm, the AGM at 1.30pm. For enquiries, You may also fax or send us your enquiries or confirmation of your attendance at 6323 7008 or Society for the Physically Disabled, No. 2 Peng Nguan Street, SPD Ability Centre, Singapore 168955.

Looking to give of your time and effort to a worthy cause? SPD’s annual Flag Day is coming up in July 2006 and volunteers would be needed to help raise funds for our beneficiaries who come to SPD for rehabilitation and training. Our programmes and services include education and social service support, rehabilitation, employment, vocational training and assistive technology consultation, amongst others.

Time slots: Shift 1 (10am to 3pm)  
                 Shift 2 (12nn to 5pm)        
                 Shift 3 (2pm to 6pm) 

Locations: Island-wide 

Let your imagination run wild with the designs on display and find out how dynamic works of digital art – displayed on their own or applied on a variety of lifestyle products – can further enhance and colour your life.

Digital Diversity – Art of the Metropolis, DASE’s debut exhibition, is a celebration of diversity and creativity, a discovery of the ways in which digital art can be used to reflect influences of Metropolitan culture in their applications on merchandise of daily use.

The exhibition is also an effort to support and raise awareness for physically challenged but artistically talented artists – all artworks on exhibit are created by artists from SPD.

This exhibition is held in conjunction with the National Library’s Month for The Arts as an effort to promote awareness and appreciation for digital art and its versatility as a cross-genre art medium.

The DASE exhibition will be launched on 23 June 2006. Artworks will be on display for public viewing till 2 July.

For more information, visit the DASE website at http://dase.com.sg/events.htm. 

At the Robotics workshop, learn how to build robots and programme it to move in a variety of ways. Students will learn how to construct and build secure robots using the LEGO mindstorms set, and will be introduced to basic Robolab programming. By the end of the workshop, students will be able to programme their robot to move forwards and backwards, and also know the methods to turn it around. Infra-red transmission will also be covered.

SPD is jointly organizing two workshops on Sensory Modulation with Dynamics OTC Pte Ltd – a therapy centre for kids, and Zee School – a preschool and kindergarten that provides inclusive education program. Targeting parents, educators, therapists, psychologists and medical professional, the workshops will be conducted by visiting experts Dr. Orit Goldenberg Bart and Mrs Gila Rabinovich from Israel who have extensive experience and specialize in working with infants and premature babies in pediatric rehabilitation setting.

We would like to seek your assistance to disseminate the course information to your staff and parents who may benefit from this course.

Workshop for Professionals:

Title : Solving the Sensory Modulation Riddle: Beyond Sensory Integration
Date : 30 – 31 March 2006 (Thursday and Friday)
Time : 9.00am – 5.15pm

Workshop for Parents and Teachers:

Title : Solving the Sensory Modulation Riddle: Beyond Sensory Integration
Date : 1 April 2006 (Saturday)
Time : 2.00pm – 5.00pm

To find out more information about our work with children and youth with special needs, visit our websites at
Dynamics OTC Pte Ltd : www.dynamics.com.sg
Zee School : www.telc.com.sg

In every barrier-free environment, there would inevitably be uneven surfaces, slopes and gaps that cannot be totally eradicated. Our plans for a barrier-free environment can be augmented by the Wheelchair Enabler, a modular device that allows wheelchair users to overcome barriers in the environment independently. The launch of the Wheelchair Enabler Invention Competition will see students and other members of the public invited to submit their inventions that can help give wheelchair users greater accessibility. WBL Corporation Ltd’s Wearnes Centennial-SPD Fund will also be launched at the event. The fund will be used for various technological initiatives of the Specialised Assistive Technology Centre.

Building Bridges for Effective Communication!

The Bridge School is an educational program dedicated to ensuring that children with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of augmentative & alternative means of communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT) applications. Bridge School has established an outreach program to share what is developed at the school with parents, professionals and users of AAC/AT across the world.

What:

The Bridge School team will be visiting Singapore from the 6th to the 10th of February 2006. During that time they will be conducting a series of workshops on AAC and how to empower a wide range of people to communicate effectively.

How much:

Module: SGD20.00 per module 
1 Full Day: SGD50.00 
3 Full Days: SGD100.00
5 Full Days: SGD150.00

VCF is applicable for a minimum of 1 Full Day workshop 

– up to 70% VCF for Singaporeans and PRs (pending approval)
– up to 50% VCF for non-Singaporean (pending approval)

More about the presenters

Sarah Blackstone is President and CEO of Augmentative Communication, Inc., Monterey, CA. A Speech Language Pathologist by profession she has spent many years in the field of AAC, working with both adults and children. Besides clinical practice, her experience also includes research, mentoring and pioneering in the area of AAC. She has served on the Management Team, AAC-Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centre, Board of Directors, United States Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC) and the Board of Directors, The Bridge School, Research Program Liaison. Sarah has published numerous papers; won several distinguished awards, and has conducted many workshops, both regionally and internationally.

Anne Warrick has approximately 40 years of experience working as a Speech Language Pathologist with people with disabilities. She most recently worked at the Hugh MacMillan Children’s Centre, Toronto, Ontario. Her passion for AAC has taken her to countries where AAC is still emerging such as India, Ukraine, Poland and the Marshall Islands. She was the recipient of International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) President’s Award, 1996. She is the author of Communication without Speech, which is part of a publication series by ISAAC.

Kristen Gray is Outreach Programme Manager at the Bridge School. She has worked in a wide variety of settings including educational, medical, private practice and most recently at the Bridge School. She has clinical, hands-on experience with children with a wide range of disabilities including cerebral palsy, metabolic disorders, autism, cognitive delays and chromosomal disorders. As Bridge School Outreach Manager, Kristen coordinates many outreach programmes including the annual Building Bridges Camp, a camp for children who use AAC. Kristen has numerous publications, papers and presentations both internationally and regionally. Her presentations will focus on strategies and tools to make curriculum meaningful for people who use AAC.

Vicki Casella is Executive Director at the BRIDGE SCHOOL. She is also Professor (Emeritus) at the Dept. of Special Education, San Francisco State University. In San Francisco State University she has served in various capacities including as the Director, Center for Enhancement of Teaching and as Coordinator of Technology in Special Education. Her presentations will focus on early/ emerging communication, language, literacy and AAC

Sarah Yong is Senior Speech Therapist at the Specialised Assistive Technology Centre, Society for the Physically Disabled, Singapore. In September 2002, she was awarded the Bridge School/ ISAAC International Teacher in Residence Scholarship, where she spent a year enhancing her knowledge of AAC at the BRIDGE SCHOOL as well as networking with various experts in the field.

Prior to joining the Specialised ATC, Sarah worked for 8 years at a rehabilitation hospital, where she was instrumental in developing its AAC services. Her roles at the Specialised ATC include enabling individuals with complex communication needs to express themselves through both low tech and high tech AAC solutions. Together with the team, she also participates in public education, and research development in the area of AT/AAC. More recently, she has also played an active role in developing AAC in countries where the field is still emerging. She is current co-chair of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) Emerging AAC Nations Committee.

Workshop Schedules