Centre for Augmentative and

Alternative Communication

University of Pretoria

Tel: (012) 420 2001 Fax: (012) 420 4389

www.up.ac.za/academic/caac

SSN 1018-2071

Interface promotes communica-tion for people with complex com-munication needs by supplement-ing existing communication with gestures, communication boards and assistive technology (thus, augmentative & alternative com-

munication)

Interface SA………...page 2

Branch news………...page 3

School news………….page 3

CAAC news………….page 5

User forum…………..page 8

For your diary………page 11

Interface

AUGUST 2008 INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—aUGUST 2008

I recently observed an interaction between a mother and her young daughter of about 3

years, that stayed with me. They were busy selecting various grocery items from the

SPAR shelves and the little one wanted to carry several of these to "help". As they

neared the till, the mother wanted to help her to put the items on the counter, however, the

little girl insisted that she wanted to do it by hersel f. Within no time, a small bottle of

strawberry jam lay shattered on the floor. Fortunately, the staff was most accommodat-

ing and helped to clean up.

As I approached my car, I saw the same two walking opposite me on the sidewalk, step-

ping down to go to their car... Guess what? This time it was the tomato sauce that bit the

dust... With a big smile on my face, I could-n’t help thinking how often our own warped

sense of "independence" gets us with our noses in the dust!

Erna Alant From the editor…

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every

man is a peece of the continent, a part of the maine…

John Donne, Devotions XVII

This quote, from a poem written over 400 years ago, serves as a beauti ful reminder

that, even in my fast-paced individualistic Western culture, I am not ‘entire of mysel f’,

but ‘part of the maine’- ‘interdependent’ rather than ‘independent’. We need others.

Others need us.

Empowerment starts with networking, con-

necting, knowing people who know people.

Interface has been actively spreading its wings to link with other disability organisa-

tions and potential partners - thanks to De-sirae Pillay, director of the National Inter-

face Committee (NIC) as well as other members of the NIC. Active steps have

been taken to put Interface on the map – as part of the main continent! We hope to give

you a taste of all the exciting activities that Interface has been up to in this issue. An-

other feature in this issue is a report back on the FOFA week held at the CAAC in May.

Once again, there was a strong focus on networking, building relationships and mak-

ing new friends – while having lots of fun as well! Read all about the news from the

schools where dedicated staff are making a difference to the lives of children. Martin’s

‘career tips for AAC users’ will be helpful to all young adults making moves towards

employment. Happy reading! Kerstin Tönsing

Interface Western Cape

Private Bag X1 8 #39 Rondebosch

7701 Tel: (021 ) 854 7758

Fax: 086 654 2807 E-mail: inter face.wc@ intekom.co.za

Interface Kwa Zulu Natal

P.O. Box 1995, Westville, 3630

30 Bever ley Dr, Westv ille. Tel: 082 464 311 2

082 4668254 E-mail: Ifacekzn@ saol.com

Interface Gauteng

Tel: 082 822 3694 (Michelle Aronson)

Email: maronson@myconnection.co.za

Interface South Africa

Room 13 (Gr ound Floor )

The Memor ial Inst itute Building , c/o Joubert Str eet ex t and Empire Road,

Braamfontein 2001

Postnet Suite 27 , Pr ivate Bag X1, Glenv ista,

2058 Tel: 082 822 5193

E-mail: des irae@ inter face-sa.or g.za

Interface National Newsletter

Interface

South Africa

INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008 PAGE 2

A s a parent of a child who

is a multi-modal commu-nicator, I am very passion-

ate about AAC. I was told that my daughter was trainable, not

educable. Since using PCS in 2004, Savannah now uses a computer inde-

pendently and has become motivated to speak. She is learning to read and

is becoming a participant in her own development.

However, I have never forgotten how frustrated I was with her first Speech

and Language therapist. I could not see what blowing bubbles and signing

for “more” would achieve with my child. I now know that the therapist

had no idea of my expectations nor of my inability to grasp her clever ideas

at the time. In addition to the speech and language programme, I was bom-

barded by physiotherapy and occupa-tional therapy programmes and never

understood the outcomes of any of them.

I just wanted my child to walk, talk

and write without all of the effort that it required! Nothing prepared me for

the very slow step by step journey. However, even though Savannah

achieved walking, the most reward-ing and painstaking journey as been

and still is her journey through the land of AAC.

Therefore, I am very happy to be the first ever National Co-ordinator of

Interface South Africa and to share my journey as a parent of a child who

uses AAC with you at the same time. One of the aims of Interface South

Africa is to support families of indi-viduals who use AAC as well as their

schools and communities, in addition to the individuals who use AAC. The

three months since my appointment have been, busy and ful filling in

meeting that aim.

It certainly makes a difference to

parents to hear from someone who is using AAC for their own child. I

have found that by also mediating between parents and

teachers/therapists, we have been able to bridge the divide between

the therapists and families who have needed our assistance.

Interface South Africa also aims to create awareness about the needs

and capabilities of individuals who use AAC. This is being achieved in

various ways. The first is the estab-lishment of an offi ce. We are now

housed at Room 13, The Memorial Institute Building, corner Empire

Road and Joubert Street Ext in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Un-

fortunately, we do not have a tele-phone line as yet but we hope that

Telkom will install the line before our next newsletter!!!

I must acknowledge our gratitude

to Jill Stacey of Autism South Af-rica who offered us space in the

building at very low rental. The building itself is home to many

other non-profit organisations and two schools, one for children with

ASD and one for children with vis-ual impairments. This has already

resulted in Interface South Africa creating awareness about the bene-

fit of AAC strategies to organisa-tions that do not traditionally serve

the needs of people with special needs such as Childline and the

Teddy Bear Clinic as well as those organisations for people with spe-

cial needs. Interface South Africa will host a workshop on “AAC with

children who have autism” in con-junction with our AGM on the 19

and 20th of September at the Inter-face KZN “AAC Resource and

Training Centre”.

We are excited to also be hosting a similar workshop in collaboration

with Autism South Africa. This will take place later this year at The

Memorial Institute Building in Jo-hannesburg. For more information

about these workshops, please con-tact me.

In April, I was fortunate to be in-vited by Jill Stacey to attend a

meeting with Mr. Hiroshi Kawa-mura, the President of the Daisy

Consortium.

The entire concept of Daisy looks revolu-

tionary. They aim to give people access to all printable material irrespective of

their disability and thus they created a multi-media software to do this!

I asked Mr. Kawamura i f DAISY would

include PCS and he said that the product will be open source and Mayer Johnson

or Sensory or any other AAC software company would be able to build their

product using DAISY.

Please visit the website at www.daisy.org. The organization has

seen phenomenal results with children with autism. Watch this space for more

information about DAISY in South Af-rica!

October is the ISAAC awareness event

and to ensure that our message reaches South Africa, the talk show Great Expec-

tations will be high lighting Interface South Africa and families of children

who use AAC.

The third function of Interface South Africa is to raise funds. This year we are

participating in Casual Day again so please contact me should you require

stickers. We are also in the investigation stage of creating a production about the

lives of individuals who use AAC and their families for live theatre.

We are looking for personal stories from

adults and children who use AAC, their families, teachers or therapists so that we

can begin writing the script. Again please forward your stories to me.

Lastly please see details of our slogan

competition that is attached. Make sure you enter soon!!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Desirae Pillay

National Coordinator: Interface South Africa

News from the

National Office

School

News

INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008 PAGE 3

Pathways Pretoria Danita Nel

w e offici ally opened the KZN AAC Resource Centre on the evening of the 27th

June, and the opening event was fol-lowed by our AGM.

The AAC Action Labs for the first

hal f of the year ended on the 27th June, having been very well re-

ceived. Facilitators, classroom assis-tants, therapists, and educators work-

ing directly with children at LSEN schools and special needs centres

have attended the Action Labs. It has been wonderful to have our own

venue that is permanently available and ready for workshops, with our

resource library accessible to partici-pants!

The KZN Branch has recently been

absolutely blessed by funding awards from Hulamin, The Victor Daitz

Foundation, and the National Lottery Trust Fund. The funding received

will enable us to purchase a wide range of resources for our library,

furniture and equipment for the AAC Resource Centre, and to provide ad-

ministrative support for our aware-ness and training programmes. These

donations will help immensely to make the KZN AAC Resource Cen-

tre fully operational, and Interface KZN is incredibly grateful to Hu-

lamin, The Victor Daitz Foundation and the National Lottery Trust Fund

for their support.

At our AGM, Saskia von Dongen, a Speech and Language Therapist

based at Headway; and Deborah King, Principal at Whizz Kidz Spe-

cial Needs Centre both volunteered to be on the Interface KZN Commit-

tee. We look forward to an exciting year of new developments and

growth. We are also proud to an-nounce that Dan Ngcobo submitted

stories to the “Many Stories – One Voice Writing Contest”. Two of

Interface KZN’s younger members, Matthew Jonck and Sam Byrne, also

submitted stories (co-written by Julie Gounder and Jackie McGregor re-

spectively) to the competition. Felicity Jonck

Interface KZN

A

Boccia Day that was held

at Frances Voorweg School on the 19 April

2008. Children of all abilities and disabilities participated including

some that were non verbal. Their use of gestures, sounds, words and

picture boards was fascinating to watch as they engaged with each

other in a very competitive and ten-sion filled morning. A very big thank

you to Mary Bornman, Susan and Bronwyn for their hard work and

dedication to their students as well as to Interface Johannesburg.

Then, on 22 May 2008, we hosted a

very different kind of event. We were privileged to have Prof. Juan

Bornman from the CAAC with us who gave an inspirational talk on

AAC and explained how everyone can communicate.

In addition, Felix Visagie shared his

experience of being an AAC user with us and showed us how it is possible to

have a great personality and a sense of humour (as well as gorgeous blue

eyes) while dealing with a disability. We thank Little Stars School for the

generous use of their facilities.

Frances Vorweg School was once again our host on the 14 June 2008

when Karen Grey and Desirae Pillay trained on scanning. Karen showed

the participants how she uses the Boardmaker Scanning facility to adapt

her son’s homework as well as to train him to achieving different access

skills. She also showed the use of switches and a joystick. The schools

that participated were Con Amore School, Frances Vorweg School, For-

est Town School, the Gateway School as well as a therapist in private prac-

tice. Celeste Mukheibir of Inclusive Solutions also joined us for the morn-

ing and showed everyone a little bit about the new version of Boardmaker.

For more information please contact either Desirae Pillay (0828225193) or

myself, Michelle Aronson (0828223694).

Michelle Aronson Interface Gauteng

Interface KZN Interface

Johannesburg is

finally up and

running!

PAGE 4 INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008

Pathways Roodepoort

W e are very excited to announce that we’ve moved to new premises on 1st May ’08 and are now renting a lovely house @ No. 6 Umgazi Ave,

Wilropark, Roodepoort. Being a stimulation centre for children with severe mental and physical impairments

means that we need space to implement the programs we carefully design for each child. Our new premises is a big

step up for us in helping our 20 precious charges reach for their highest potential. Naturally, you are all invited to

visit our facility during school terms and school hours, as our centre is not a residence for our children.

Please contact our Principal, Fay Bjornstad, on

0846853832, to establish which activities the children are busy with on which days and when it would be best for

you to experience our variety of interesting individuals for whom Pathways Roodepoort has been created. Consider

joining us on a day when we take them for their swimming lesson at the Swimming Academy in Helderkruin, or come

and help us when we take the children to SARDA in Ruimsig for horse riding for the disabled. We would love

to meet you.

The Ruimsig Gemeente focused their prayers and fundrais-ing abilities on Pathways Roodepoort throughout May and

as a result we have many more “ Friends of Pathways Roodepoort” who are helping us on an ongoing basis

now. We’d like to thank these special people for their con-sideration and much needed help, especially Sharon Pauer

who passionately brought our cause to the attention of Ruimsig Gemeente.

In June, we held our 2nd Pathways Roodepoort golf day at

Roodepoort Country Club and thanks to generous sponsors and our golfers it was a HIT for everyone involved. Much

fun, laughter and both good and bad golf as well as great prizes made for a colourful day. Thanks to the expert or-

ganizational skills of Sam Hanna, the golf day was a fan-tastic success for our Centre and our bank balance is look-

ing much healthier.

Our first newsletter, The Fairy Post, is out and you can find it on our website:

www.pathwaysroodepoort.org.za. Read more about us. Coral Print kindly sponsored the design and printing of

1000 beautiful newsletters for us to hand out.

This is a big milestone for us and we’re very excited to be able to share our news with you from the children’s per-

spective. Julie Botha

Founder 083 653 5655

I n January the Whizz Kidz family warmly wel-

comed me as their new Principal. I have great plans for the growth of Whizz Kidz including

greater parental and community involvement. I am passionate about the basi c right of every child to

receive an appropriate education and to achieve this realize the necessity of continuing education and em-

powerment of my staff.

Our staff education started with a day’s workshop with Margi Lilienfeld before schools opened, and in Febru-

ary the staff benefited from the expertise of Sonia Berry, an Occupational Therapist with post graduate

training in Sensory Integration.

Sensory integration issues affect many of our children including our children with physical disabilities as well

as many of our children with Autistic Spectrum Disor-der. Our class tutors and class assistants look forward

to learning more from Sonia on subsequent visits.

Kate Stenning, a Clinical

Psychologist/Behavior Therapist in Challenging

Behavior visited us from the U.K. and spent four

days doing in-context teaching of our staff

helping them to learn hands-on techniques to man-

age challenging and interfering behaviors. Sara Mtshali also attended a course on Positive Behavior Support in

the Classroom.

On Friday, 15th February, Whizz Kidz held a “ Sharks Day” to celebrat e the first offi cial International Super

14 game of the season. The children wore black and white and had their photos taken during the festivities.

The excitement levels of Tsepho and Darren,

two avid Sharks’ fans, reached fever pitch and

Darren told a long story about the Sharks using

his manual signs. A wonderful article ap-

peared in the May issue of the Sharks magazine.

We had a very success ful Golf day on the 25 April

2008 thanks to Freddie Batten.

Five of our staff members attended a seri es of 5 AAC Action Labs offered by Interface KZN. We certainly

learnt a lot. Thanks to Margi, Felicity as well as the guest speakers that they had invited to impart their

knowledge with us.

News from Whizz Kidz Special Needs Centre,

Pinetown

Our “Shar k” supporters

Kate and Michaela

INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008 PAGE 5

CAAC News

Semantic Compaction

Systems Award for 2007

Ilze Strauss, Masters in AAC stu-dent, receives the 2007 Semantic

Compaction Systems prize from Prof Erna Alant at a ceremony held

recently. This award is presented annually by the CAAC to the stu-

dent who submits the most out-standing research thesis in Aug-

mentative and Alternative Commu-nication. Ilze’s study investigated

the language organisation tech-niques employed by 4 year old

children who use AAC systems when locating vocabulary on a graphic display. Prof Erna

Alant and Dr Kitty Uys acted as supervisors. Alecia Samuels

On Thursday 22 May 2008 the whole school went to the

Animal Farm in Botha’s Hill. The children and staff fed the animals and watched a cow being milked. Some of them

tasted the milk with some trepidation. A few of the children and staff rode the horses and everybody enjoyed a ride in the

cart pulled by a tractor. Alpine Motors who provided the transport for the day deserve huge thanks.

From the 2 – 6 June some of our children and young adults attended a computer literacy course sponsored by QASA.

Kivashin turned out to be the star pupil. He downloaded a game that they had played on the course onto all our com-

puters at the Centre.

Our teenage group also received training in First Aid from the KwaZulu Private ambulance group on the 10th June.

Paul van Zieshout arrived in an ambulance fully equipped for an emergency. The teenagers learnt to plaster, bandage

and do CPR.

This term the children are looking forward to outings to uShaka Marine World to see the aquarium and dolphin show

as well as to a production of Aladdin at the Fulton School for the Deaf. Our website is up and running which is very excit-

ing. Website details: http:// www.whizz-kidz.co.za Deborah King

Principal: Whizz Kids Special Needs Centre

WHEEL CHAIR FRIENDLY HOLIDAY

ACCOMODATION

Holidays are synonymous with being happy, carefree and relaxed! However, all of that could turn into a nightmare if

one is in a wheelchair, and you land up somewhere that is totally inaccessible!

However, the following guesthouses carter speci fically for people in wheelchairs:

ANHA CASA guesthouse in Hermanus. Anna and Hardy

Niemand run this lovely guesthouse which is not only wheel-chair friendly, but which is also within walking distance too

the village centre, restaurants, craft markets and whale watching viewpoints in Hermanus.

Web: www.hermanusaccomodation.co.za/anhacasa E-mail: anhacasa@hermanus.co.za

Thyme and Again Bed and Breakfast in Graaff-Reinet.

With the guidance of The Wheelchair Travel Club, Brenda Pringle has created a place where everyone, can relax and

enjoy her warm Karoo hospitality. Web: www.thymeandagain.za.net

E-Mail: pringle@gam.co.za

Erica Guesthouse in Franschhoek. It is difficult not to fall under the spell of this guesthouse, which is only a 7 minute

walk from all the famous restaurants and shops in the Franschhoek valley (with its more than 30 vineyards!) The

wheelchair accessible rooms include large en-suite facilities and a walk-in shower.

Web: www.ericaguesthouse.co.za E-mail: info@ericaguesthouse.co.za

Juan Bornman

Go Talk ONE!Go Talk ONE!Go Talk ONE!Go Talk ONE! This light weight one option digi-

tal voice output functions like a ‘talking picture’, and is extremely

versatile. A few of these might be used to construct a schedule. Each

compartment of your schedule might be fitted with one, together

with together with photos, line drawings and objects. In this way,

you schedule has not only a visual and tactile modality, but an audi-

tory one as well. Children using a picture exchange system might be

introduced to voice output by placing their symbols on a few Go

Talk one’s. Strategic messages such as ‘open the door please’ or

please help me wash hands’ can be placed around the classroom.

Size: 5 X 11 X 0.5 cm Weight: Less than 50 g For importing: Contact I nc lu s ive So lu tions , 0117985562

Manufactured by Attain-ment Company http://www.attainmentcompany .com

PAGE 6 INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008

T he Fofa project spread its wings even more this

year with nine participants – including two la-dies!! This empowerment project for young

adults using AAC has run for the fourth year now, and was made possible this year thanks to the gener-

ous sponsorship of ITWeb. Three of the participants were ‘new on the block’, but were quickly shown the ropes by

the ‘old hands’, including where to buy the best and cheap-est lunches. Participants and their personal assistants stay

on campus for a week attending lectures, workshops and having fun. The theme running throughout Fofa is ‘daring

to dream’, whereby young adults with disabilities are en-couraged to dream, set goals, and plan how to achieve

them. Discussions on social networking form a major part of this process. Other programme highlights this year in-

cluded:

• Getting technology-wise, including how to care for

laptops and connecting to chat rooms via cell phones

• Guest lectures by AAC users who have made an im-

pact (Martin Pistorius, Civil Mills and Zach Joubert) A creative arts activity that ended in the making of per-

sonal bookmarks, which participants took home to use for publicity purposes.

Like last year, an outing to the movies at Hatfield cinemas

formed part of the social programme. Aft er last year’s mo-ments of panic, we are happy to report that the wheel chair

lift actually worked first time round!

Every year during the closing ceremony, the public is in-vited to listen to each of the participants giving a speech

using their AAC devices. This year we had over 60 guests, and the lecture hall was bursting at its seams! Family,

friends, campus personnel and persons from the press at-tended, and, like every year, the audience did not fail to

comment on the inspiration it brings to hear these young people with severe disabilities share their dreams and

achievements. For some participants, it is the first time they are able to have an audible voice to speak to an audi-

ence. When Tsholofelo Phiri, one of the new participants, was handed a laptop sponsored by the University for long

term use, she burst out in a shout of joy that touched many.

Herewith some extracts from the participants’ speeches:

France Mgenge: “ I think it is important to

work towards changing people’s attitudes. For me, to work on the positive, is to change

my attitude and tell myself that I must not stop trying. I will also change other people’s

minds by asking them if they need help with something I can manage. Maybe they will

ask me to help them again! By next year, I would also like to compose enough songs to make a CD; I

already have 7 songs so I just need 4 more. A year from now I see myself volunteering in a company where they

sell things. It’s time to see if I can manage something that I have never tried before. I think it will be exciting.

Francoise Retief: Judith Snow said: The

only disability is to have no relationships. But technology breaks the silence. I have

expanded my boundaries, by having acti-vated an email account at Hotmail, and I’m

going to communicate with lots of people. I will be able to send an sms to a friend using

the computer programme, and maybe start using mixit. I also put my profile on face book and will have a chat or

two with pen pals around the world.

Lebogang Sehako: When I came to Fofa for the first time in September 2005, I

didn’t know how to operate a computer and had no way of expressing myself, as I

didn’t have a communication device. At Fofa they installed self confidence in me.

I am currently studying a small business management course with Damelin College. I also serve as

a deputy chairperson on the Kgalagadi People With Dis-abilities organisation. This organisation engages govern-

ment departments, municipalities, private sectors and dif-ferent organizations to look at accessability of buildings

and accomodation in their employment policies to create equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Due to the

influence of the organisation, two people with disabilities have already been employed.

Lebogang told us that he joined the organisation on a toi-

toi to demonstrate for disability rights.

Levuyo Tyulu: I have learned from my friends that I can reach my dream by

participating in community activities. I’m going to find out about different

disability organisations that are avail-able in my community. I will see which

organisation I can join. Another goal is to learn how to read and write. I am

currently attending a rehabilitation unit where they teach me school activities. The reason that I want to learn how to

read and write is that I want to study how to use the com-puter and work in the offices. It will not be easy but I will

take one step at a time.

PAGE 7 INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008

Sindy Rebelo: This week at the Uni-

versity I learned how to use Etriloquist (a text-to-speech programme) and how

to use Juan to help me. We also be-came friends. I enjoyed listening to the

presentations by Civil, Zach and Martin because they encouraged me. When I

get back home, I will keep email con-tact with them. I also want to join an art group in Port Ed-

ward. Reason is to change people’s attitudes. When people know me, they are positive, because they know what I can

do. This was part of Sindy’s first ever speech.

Daniel Ncobo: I want to thank Fofa for

being one of my big steps that I’ve taken. Fofa has really played a big role in my

life. When you are a disabled person, it so hard to have an identity and I’m lucky that

I can say I'm an advocate for people living with disabilities. At this moment we are

sort of fighting with educators. We want to see disabled kids in what you'll call mainstream school. Kids that are

not disabled and those that are, should have the same ex-perience. Right now many kids are scared of a disabled

person and that creates marginalization. So I teach the teachers about disability and when they see a disabled per-

son giving them a presentation, it really gives them another side about disability.

Tsholofelo Phiri: What I learnt from

this week is to stand up for myself and let my voice be heard. The most im-

portant thing is that I must make new friends to meet my goals in life. When

I leave here today I am going to go to meetings in my community and stand

up for people with disabilities. My dream is to become a story writer. I want to show the

world what I am made of. Oprah is my role model because she has a very kind heart and she gives other people oppor-

tunity to reach their dreams.

Tom Fourie: I suffered a stroke at 28, and since than another four strokes. Be-

cause I’m voiceless, society thinks I’m senseless. I used to communicate using

pen and paper. Thanks to technology, I now have a Lightwriter. Futuristic goals

of mine are to live life to the full. Dr Goldblum (a speech therapist and friend

of mine) and I are planning to write my autobiography. I also dream of becoming a motivational speaker that has

everybody on their feet, like Angus Buchan in Greytown, for all people living with disabilities.

Felix Visagie: I got my computer and the

program at the Fofa week last year. It was such a surprise! The difference my com-

puter made for me is something I can’t find words for. It really makes me feel

more part of the ‘speaking world’. I use

my computer to speak to my family – and they understand

me much better. I think they also feel less cut off from me, now that they can hear my opinion about things. And be-

lieve me – I have an opinion! Before I had the computer they tended to speak to me as if I was a child, but now – I

am just ME. I can say what I think, want and try to moti-vate other people as far as possible. I use my computer to

talk in a support group every week and I think the people understand me and I can play an important role in the

group. Kerstin Tönsing

Tom chatting to some students

Tsonolo getting a ride

Luvuyo chatting to the bank manager to open a savings account.

Grid Mobile Did you know that The Grid

software pro-gram has a

baby brother in pocket size?

Grid Mobile is a communica-

tion software program that can be loaded on PDA’s or smartphones. Grids are designed on the computer, and

then loaded over to the phone or palm top computer. Inclusive Solutions in Johannesburg is working very hard

at the moment to explore suitable hardware for the Grid Mobile that is affordable and availabl e on the South Afri-

can market. Smartbox Assistive technologies does supply an ‘off-the-shel f’ version—the Grid Mobile loaded onto

a Cassiopeia PDA. However, this makes it more expen-sive. For more information contact Inclusive Solutions in

Johannesburg at 011 798 5562 or visit their website at www.inclusivesolutions.co.za.

Cindy and the girls having fun!

INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008 PAGE 8

The 2The 2The 2The 2ndndndnd Neville Neville Neville Neville

Cohen Memorial Cohen Memorial Cohen Memorial Cohen Memorial

Lecture: AAC: Lecture: AAC: Lecture: AAC: Lecture: AAC:

A bridge over A bridge over A bridge over A bridge over

troubled waters troubled waters troubled waters troubled waters Michal HartyMichal HartyMichal HartyMichal Harty

T he Centre for AAC was proud

to host a 2 day workshop Dr Pat Mirenda, from the 21-22

May 2008 entitled: Supporting success in students with severe disabili-

ties with little or no functional speech. Dr Pat Mirenda co-authored the well

known book, Augmentative and alterna-tive communication: Supporting children

and adults with complex communication needs.

The program began on the 21 May 2008

with the 2nd Neville Cohen Memorial Lecture where it was a privilege to listen

to Dr Mirenda present a lecture entitled AAC: A bridge over troubled waters. In

this lecture she likened AAC (communication) intervention to build-

ing bridges. Just as building bridges al-lows people in one place to link to other

people in another place, so AAC inter-vention should be about building rela-

tionships that will facilitate individual’s participation and contribution to society.

In order to achieve this, Dr Mirenda then went on to state 6 key principles which

people working in the field of severe disability and AAC should incorporate

into their intervention efforts. They are:

1. Involve AAC users in all decisions

2. Recognize the important roles of

communication partners and provide

relevant supports 3. Support and foster peoples’ abilities,

preferences, and priorities, taking into

account their skills, strengths, and chal-lenges 4. Maintain, expand, and strengthen

social networks and relationships 5. Realize practical outcomes that are

valued by individuals with LNFS and others Incorporate evidence-based practices in intervention These principles are based on an article published by Blackstone, Williams, &

Wilkins, (2007) in the AAC journal enti-tled: for those who are looking for more

information. She then went on to de-

scribe 6 strategies which can be used to

enforce these principles. They are

Strategy 1: Support self-det ermination Strategy 2: Share research

Strategy 3: Conduct meaningful assess-ments

Strategy 4: Establish collaborative part-nerships

Strategy 5: Eyes on the prize: relation-ships are the prize

Strategy 6: Examine practical outcomes in socially valid ways

Throughout the remainder of the day Dr

Mirenda addressed issues relating to inclusive education (the goals of inclu-

sive education; what are the require-ments for success ful inclusion). Day two

focussed on issues around providing communication supports for problem

behaviour: firstly the relationship be-tween communication, AAC and prob-

lem behaviour was explored; then as-sessment issues were discussed viz a viz

symbol assessment, and functional be-havioural assessment concepts; and fi-

nally Dr Mirenda shared with us some intervention strategies namely aug-

mented input (visual schedules, contin-gency maps) and output supports

(augmented choice making). All of this was wonderfully complemented by

video footage illustrating the concepts under discussion.

The lectures were thoroughly enjoyed by

all and many participants commented on the relevance of these issues not only

overseas, but also here in South Africa. Many participants went away encour-

aged and inspired to start documenting the process of inclusion in their own

schools in the hope of being able to share it with others in the future.

Tips on

career

development Martin Pistorius spoke to the FOFA

participants on career development. Here following some excerpts from his

speech.

Education: This is fundamental to your growth both as a person, and in your

career development. I’d say there are two aspects to education. Informal edu-

cation is basically learning by searching online, reading a book, or talking to

someone to find out how to do some-thing. Formal education is where you

register for a course and study. My entire career I’ve had to work and study at the

same time, which is really not easy, to put it mildly. But it’s extremely impor-

tant! So if it is at all possible, do both the informal and formal education.

Mentors: Mentors are people who take

the time to teach and help you. Try to find someone like that, who is willing to

help you. Speak to them, say you want to learn how to do x, whatever x is for

you and ask if you can talk to them, and if they will show you how to do things.

Ask questions: Ask questions. Really,

never be afraid to ask a question. It does-n't matter how stupid you feel in asking

it. I've often felt I'm going to make a fool of mysel f i f I ask that but ask anyway. I

would rather feel like and maybe even look like a fool for a moment, and gain

the answer and thus the knowledge than not to ask and remain a fool and not

know the answer for the rest of my life.

Dare to make mistakes: It's okay to make a mistake. This was one of the

hardest lessons I had to learn. I probably still struggle with this one. But really it's

okay. Everyone makes mistakes, EVE-RYONE! At the end of the day that's one

of the ways we learn. So when you do make one, reflect on what happened.

Think about what you did or didn't do and learn from it.

P 9

Dr Pat Mirenda

User Forum

INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008 PAGE 9

Clarify what you need to do: Another

thing is if you are unsure, ask. Often people are in such a hurry at work, they

oft en don't give you the information you need, and then you end up doing the

wrong thing. And this has nothing to do with having a disability, it's just good

practice at work. Rather spend 5 min-utes getting all the facts, and doing it

right the first time than spending 5 hours or 5 days or longer doing some-

thing, only to find out it was the wrong thing, and having to start again from

scratch.

Don’t be a token: In the work place nobody will feel sorry for you; all they

care about is that the job gets done. That sounds harsh I know, but that's reality.

However if you really stop and think about it, you wouldn't want it any other

way. You want to be treated like an equal. You never want to be a token.

Trust me, that is not a nice experience. I once had it happen to me that I was told

that they were just and I quote, baby sitting me. Gee thanks!

Face the challenges: One thing you

must realize you will work harder than normal people. It’s a Fact! Accept it,

and get over it. People will under esti-mate what you can do. They will dis-

criminate against you. Not everyone will know how to interact with you. It

can be really rough at times. That's just the way it is. But never give up. Its okay

to get disheartened, but don't give up. One of my favourite quotes goes like

this: “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the

end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow"”.

Know your capabilities: I think it’s

also important to know yourself and your limits. Know more or less what

you can and can't do. If you cannot do something, say so. I think for a person

with a disability that is not always the easiest thing to do. You might feel that,

by admitting that you can’t do it, you are proving people’s perceptions about

you correct. But that's only their percep-

tion. And it is better to say up front, “that's beyond my current capability”

than to try to do something you will most probably fail at anyway. But that

doesn't mean you just give up on that – if you tell people you can’t do some-

thing, tell them that you are willing to learn. That way you are being open and

honest, while at the same time creating an opportunity for you to grow and

learn should they be willing to help you to do so.

Take the opportunities that come

your way: Look for opportunities and when they come, take them even if you

are scared or unsure, go for it! Also be willing to go the extra mile. I often

came into work to help out on days when I wasn't supposed to. Also never

think any task is beneath you.

Friends: Another very important thing I can tell you is find someone you can

talk to, someone that you can share your feelings with. Trust me you will need it.

It might be a work colleague, a friend, your mom or dad, an uncle or even

someone like a minister at the church but you really do need someone, pref-

erably more than one person to help, support and encourage you.

Balance: Find a balance between work

and the other aspects of your li fe. It's so important. I've learnt this the hard way

and it's not a pleasant experience. What's worse, once you are so used to

living an unbalanced life it becomes extremely di fficult to break out of that

pattern and then you get all the stress related problems, and ultimately burn-

out, which is really not any fun.

Practi cal tips:

♦Prepare as much as you can before

hand. If there is a meeting and you know you need to give feedback, pre-

pare that before you get into the meet-ing. If you can, try to get an agenda

before the meeting, so you can read it and guess responses that might be

needed.

♦Try to be mindful of other people’s

time. It's so easy, for example, to go into someone's offi ce and then spend

5 minutes composing a message. If you can, compose the message before

hand. Or speak to the person and say, “ I know it takes me time to communi-

cate, can I e-mail you?” Talk to your

colleagues about

your communi-cation, and come

to an arrange-ment that suits

both of you.

♦I know this is an

obvious one,

dress professionally and appropri-ately, if you are going for an inter-

view or to give a speech dress appro-priately. And don't be scared to ask

what the dress code is

♦ Know your needs. You know what is

accessible and not for you. Make it your, and I stress this, your responsi-

bility, to make sure that wherever you have to go you will manage. I

know there will always be things you can not foresee or predict. But still

prepare as best you can. And most important: Don’t just assume that

others will check or know. Also ask speci fic questions like, are there

stairs? How many? How high? I know this might seem a bit like over

kill. But trust me there is accessible and accessible, and it’s up to you to

make sure its okay. Ask others to ask, and help you find out. But still

make it your responsibility.

♦ Plan ahead as much as you can. Like

if you need to go somewhere, how

does that affect your lift? If the meet-ing runs long then what? Should you

excuse yoursel f? Should you arrange that your lift picks you up an hour

later so you have an hour buffer time?

There are many challenges to being

employed, but despite all of them, it's wonderful. And you really do have a lot

to offer so I encourage you to dream, and go for it!

Martin Pistorius

AAC user

PAGE 10 INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008

Competition! Competition! Competition!

Interface South Africa

(024-102-NPO) is a non-profit, NGO that promotes the par-ticipation of adults and children who have

complex communication needs. A severe communication impairment often results in

social isolation and loneliness. As a result, most people with little or no functional

speech never reach their full potential or become productive members of society

unless provided with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) strate-

gies.

Now, that’s a mouthful!!

We want to add a slogan to our logo that

best describes the role of Interface South Africa, in just a few words. The winner or

winning school/centre/practice will receive a fantastic prize of AAC resources that include

song boards and low tech aids.

All you have to do to enter is e-mail de-sirae@interface-sa.org.za or fax

0865292255 with the following information:

Name of individual/ School/Centre or Practice

Postal Address Telephone and fax numbers

E-mail address Your suggested slogan for Interface

South Africa

Our National Executive Committee will review the entries and announce the

winner on 20 September 2008, at our Annual General Meeting to be held at

Interface Kwa-Zulu Natal.

For more details, contact: Desirae Pillay 082 822 5193 or de-

sirae@interface-sa.org.za or Daniel Ngcobo dan.ngcobo@gmail.com

We look forward to receiving your entry forms and hopefully make you our win-

ner!!

NuTs aBout NairoBi! Poppy Andronoliakis, an M AAC student, recently visited Kenya for a

school building project. Here is her report back: Jambo! Hello: From the heart of Kenya. Within an hour of landing

the character of Kenya was evident. People, hospitality, industry, cars, expanse, stalls, restaurants, warmth, potholes! - Vibrant Africa!

The task for the week was to identify a site and manage the project of helping a group of families realise their dream: to build a school for

their children with special needs. Nothing like a challenge to warm you up in winter! The adrenaline rush was on! And it was time to do some

out of the box thinking! A site was identified, teachers intervi ewed and a multidisciplinary team

sourced. Fortunately, good living in Kenya dictates that there must be a time for work and definitely a time for play! So in between all the

school visits, dodging the potholes and trying to figure out who has the right of way on the roads (for they play a cross between dodgem cars

and chicken on the roads in Kenya!) there was always time to chill, over a plate of bhajia (fri es with a morish difference) and hydrat e your-

self with a lemon and ginger spiced sugar cane juice! The task of building a new school in Kenya, like anywhere else is excit-

ing and involves much work. Our project is by no means complete and only in the embryonic stages and for the best part of three to four weeks

still on hold as Kenyan schools are on school holiday until September which marks the beginning of the year on the school calendar. During

my short stay there, it was evident how much goodwill there was to support a project of this nature. How much interest there was to study

further in the field of special needs, and “ total communication” which is what they know as AAC. The level being achieved in special needs and

in some instances with few resources was also impressive. Similarly to other countries within Africa, Kenya’s resources run along a continuum

of: those that have abundantly and those, that are definitely without. So at this point we are back in SA! Filing all the paper work, admiring

how well the ‘matatu’ (taxi drivers) conduct themselves here and won-dering how to best conduct our negotiations in September when school

reopens to take our dream to its first phase of reality? Till then we live and hope and believe that:

A dynamic life is always fired by vision If you can imagine it, you can achieve it.

If you dream it, you can become it.

By Dr. David Molapo Poppy Andronoliakis

How’s this for interdependence!

This picture was sent to me in a recent email. The caption next to it read:

Cashew, my 14-year old yellow Lab, is blind and deaf. Her best friend is Libby, 7, her seeing-eye cat. Libby steers Cashew

away from obstacles and leads her to her food. Every night she sleeps next to her. The only time they’ re apart is when we take

Cashew out for a walk. Without this cat, we know Cashew would be lost and very, very lonely indeed. It’s amazing but true: This is

one animal who knows what needs to be done and does it day in and day out for her friend.

Terry Burns, Middleburg, Pennsylvania.

CAAC Open Days

and

consultations

Do you want to find out

more about AAC? About devices? About resources

for the classroom or for home?

Why not come round to an open day at the Centre for

Augmentative and Alterna-

tive Communication (CAAC), at the University of

Pretoria (Lynnwood Road

entrance).

Parents, AAC users, educa-

tors or therapists can attend a free presentation by the

CAAC on services, re-

sources and activities. A demonstration can be given

on high and low tech com-

munication aids. Programs are tailored to your special

area of interest.

Open days take place on a

monthly basis, usually on the last Friday of the month,

from 9h00 -11h00. If you

would like to attend, please confirm with Liza Rossetti-

Siefe at (012 420 2001) in

order for us to individualise your program.

Apart from open days to

give a basic overview of

AAC and the Centre’s ser-vices, the CAAC also offers

consultations to persons with complex communica-

tion needs.

In order to schedule a con-

sultation, please contact Kerstin Tönsing (012 420

4729) or Liza Rossetti-Siefe

(012 420 2001).

INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER—AUGUST 2008 PAGE 11

For your diary For your diary…..

Course applications are open for the following courses

offered by the Centre for AAC:

Masters in AAC (Course coordinator: Prof Juan Bornman,

juna.bornman@up.ac.za)

Masters in Early Childhood Intervention (Course co-

ordinator: Dr Kitty Uys, kitty.uys@up.ac.za)

Honours in AAC (Course coordinator: Michal Harty,

michal.harty@up.ac.za)

PhD in AAC, Early Childhood Intervention and Severe Dis-

abilities (Course coordinator: Prof Erna Alant,

erna.alant@up.ac.za)

For further information you are welcome to contact the Centre

for AAC at 012 420 2001.

Pathways Pretoria is presenting an exciting workshop entitled

“Let's get out of the box”. The dates and times are as follows:

♦ 29 and 30 September – Kimberly

♦ 16 and 17 October – Pretoria

The workshop will cover the following topics: challenging behavior,

schedules and life skills, and will have a very practical slant. The cost is R225 per person per day. Please contact Danita on 082 578

9117 for more information.

The International Association for the Scientific Study of In-

tellectual Disability (IASSID) is hosting their 13th World Congress

under the title: “People with Intellectual Disabilities: Citizens in the World”. The congress will take place from the 25th to the 30th August 2008 at the

Cape Town International Convention Centre. Please visit the web at http://

www.uct-cmc.co.za/Conferences/conf-main.asp?

Conf_ID=56&Page=Home for further information.

Casual day stickers: Interface will be selling casual day stick-

ers in September as a form of fundraising. If you are willing and able to

help, please contact your nearest branch (see details on front page).

Interface Competition: Interface is hosting a competition!

Find us a new slogan and you could be the winner of some fantastic AAC

resources. See page 10 for the details.

INTERFACE NATIONAL NEWSLETTER — AUGUST 2008 PAGE 12