Archive for February, 2010

Including Deaf Children At Preschool – Part Two

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

This post continues the piece, Including Deaf Children At Preschool (Part One). A key question was put to the mum & creche manager:
How did you identify the potential challenges you (mum & creche) might meet during Charlie’s early days there?
(The Mum)
Once Charlie’s deafness was confirmed, we understood that communication methods had to be adjusted. He [...]

IDK Wins At Ireland’s eGovernment Awards 2010

Friday, February 19th, 2010

At the eighth annual Ireland’s eGovernment Awards ceremony today in Dublin, IDK beat off stiff competition to win the Education category.
The awards, presented in association with Eircom, aim to “raise awareness and recognise the innovators, developers, forward thinkers and experts who are pioneering the changes happening in how the Irish Government delivers services to its [...]

The Value Of SMS Texting To Deaf Youngsters

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

At Griffith College, Cork, SMS texts are used to advise students of cancelled classes. Texting is a simple and often free method of communication that is available to anyone with a mobile phone. And these users range from young kids given phones by parents just in case of an emergency, to the elderly who may [...]

Including Deaf Children At Preschool – Part One

Monday, February 15th, 2010

This spring, the Irish government rolls out its free preschool year for all children born between February 2, 2005 to June 30, 2006 (with exemptions for children with special needs). The Early Child Care & Education (ECCE) initiative, which is open to all preschools in Ireland, is profiled on IDK.
IDK will this week [...]

Teacher Question: Sourcing A Soundfield System

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

A teacher recently asked IDK how to source a soundfield system for a child at their school. The system needed to be movable between classrooms.
Our first response was to ask if the school has any contact with the Visiting Teacher service for deaf students at the Department of Education (DES). If yes, the visiting teacher [...]

IDK & Special Stories on TV3’s Ireland:AM Show

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

TV3’s Ireland:AM team invited Caroline Carswell from IDK, and Kate Gaynor from Special Stories, into the studio to talk about their “Birthday For Ben” book after Special Stories received a Moonbeam award in the US during late 2009. The video clip of the interview is online at the TV3 website.
Subtitled video clips are also available [...]

Schools ‘Must Change Their Attitude To Disability’

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Ann Heelan, executive director of AHEAD (Association for Higher Education Access and Disability), recently had an excellent piece in The Irish Times.
A key point in the article states:
” Children with disabilities can learn as much as other children when given the right tools and the right learning environment. Technology can make a significant difference and [...]