Archive for November, 2009
« Previous Entries“Through Sophie’s Eyes” – Deaf Children Do Dance
Monday, November 30th, 2009Traditionally, deaf or hard of hearing people were not taught to dance on the basis that if they couldn’t hear the music, how could the rhythm be kept?
A new children’s book aims to change this. Bristol author Catherine Gibson was driven by her own experience to write a book: “Through Sophie’s Eyes,” the story of [...]
Hands On – November 29th at 12:50pm on RTE 1
Thursday, November 26th, 2009Every week, two deaf babies are born in Ireland. When a child is diagnosed as being deaf, parents must make decisions about what is best for their education, communication, language acquisition, social skills and identity.
This can be a difficult process, one that many parents report can be made harder by a lack of information and [...]
December 5th Creative Play Sessions – UPDATE
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009Update: Owing to the volume of seasonal festivities on Saturday, December 5th, IDK and Helium are postponing the sessions until late January. We apologise for any inconvenience.
On December 5 2009, IDK and Helium will host another Learning Language is Fun! creative play session at the RuaRed arts centre in Tallaght, Dublin. Helium artist, Margot Jones, [...]
Inclusive Reading of “Ben” Book At County Library
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Students from Tallaght’s Scoil Colmcille and Sacred Heart National School gathered at County Library for a reading of “A Birthday for Ben” on the Tuesday morning of November 10th.
During this interactive session the book was read by Elizabeth and signed by Christopher. At various stages, the kids stopped to learn the signs of key words [...]
Lamh – The Manual Language Explained
Thursday, November 19th, 2009After receiving several queries about Lamh, the manual language, we asked Mary Cullen, Lamh Development Officer, a few questions.
What is Lámh?
Lámh is the accepted manual sign system used by children and adults with intellectual disability in Ireland. Some people use Lámh as their main way of communicating while others use Lámh together with speech and [...]
Interview With DS3 Project Officer, Emma Clarke
Monday, November 16th, 2009Miriam Walsh, IDK´s journalist intern, recently met Emma Clarke, project officer of Trinity College Dublin´s Deaf Support at Third-Level (DS3) project to find out what supports students can use.
Starting college is never easy. Sometimes none of your friends are at the same college and you may be far away from home. Being deaf or hard of hearing [...]
Lip-Reading Training Benefits From Technology
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009A new study by the University of East Anglia (UEA) suggests computers are now better at lip-reading than humans.
The performance of a computer based lip-reading system was compared to that of 19 human lip-readers. Results showed the computerised system was over 50% better at recognition than the humans completing the same task.
Simultaneously, the study found [...]
Sign Language In Schools Benefits All Students
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009Ballymahon Convent of Mercy Secondary School is breaking ground in deaf education in the midlands with a new deaf unit, which is currently educating two young girls in the mainstream system.
An initiative of Eileen O’Donovan (graduate in Deaf Studies at Trinity College Dublin), the unit was set up in September 2008 and supports several deaf [...]
How The “Ben” Book Affected One Young Reader
Friday, November 6th, 2009Some feedback from a mum about the “Ben” book really made us smile. We think you’ll enjoy reading it, too!
” Dear Caroline,
I hope sales of “A Birthday for Ben” are going well. It is one of Christopher’s favourite books and I thought you’d like to know the impression it’s having on him.
He’s obsessed at the [...]
Bio for Karen Quirke, illustrator of “Ben” Book
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Here’s a short bio for Karen Quirke, whose illustrations feature in the IDK children’s book, “A Birthday For Ben“, and in IDK’s 2010 calendar.
Karen Quirke was born in Dublin, Ireland and currently lives in Malahide, Co. Dublin. She was educated at St Mary’s School for Deaf Girls in Cabra, Dublin, Roslyn Park College and Killester [...]