Date/Time
Date(s) - 06/02/2006 - 10/02/2006
All Day

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