CAN Easter Camp

CAN is running an easter camp again this year for our ASD children in mainstream school and their siblings.

Clay Animation

Dates: 8th, 9th & 10th April 2010
Two age groups: 7yrs - 10yrs & 11yrs - 16yrs
Venue: Scoil Mhuire 10.30am - 3pm

Anyone interested please contact Frederike 087 0505744

Night out for World Autism Awareness Day!

World Autism Awareness Day this year falls on April 2nd, and to mark the occasion, Cottage Autism Network is holding a social night for all members and non members.  All too often, meetings are filled with talk of finance and grants etc., and leaves little time for socalising and getting to know each other properly.  We would like to invite all to join us for a night of fun, come raise a glass, have a few nibbles and just chat for a while.

Venue            The Bailey, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford

Date               Friday 26th March

Time               8.30pm til the early hours....

March CAN Meeting

The next CAN meeting is scheduled for the 9th March.

Time: 8pm
Venue:  Spencer Room, Riverside Hotel, Enniscorthy

Guest Speaker on the night is Micheal Dunbar, Principal of St. Patrick Special School Enniscorthy.

New members welcome, hope to see you all there



Would also like to remind everyone to keep voting in the AIB Better Ireland Grant!  Time is running out and all votes greatfully received.  Text  ENNISCORTHY followed by a space followed by A to 51303 (standard SMS rates apply).  Alternatively you can vote free of charge by logging onto betterireland.ie select Enniscorthy branch and chose group A.

AIB Better Ireland Grant - Get Voting :)

Hi all

Please help St Senans ASD unit to get AIB better ireland grant for occupation therapy equipement by texting as many times as you can .......

Text:  ENNISCORTHY followed by a space followed by A to 51303 (standard SMS rates apply)

 

Voting open until 15th March

or

Vote free online

 

Online: Click on betterireland.ie select Enniscorthy branch and chose group A.

 

 

Thanks a millon

 

Contract signed for new CBS classrooms

WEXFORD CBS secondary school pupils will no longer have to endure drafty, dilapidated conditions in a prefab, after contracts were signed with Wellingtonbridge-based construction company J&J Bennett for new accommodation at the school recently.

Funding has been freed up for one main stream classroom, a technical graphics room and a career guidance office at the Thomas St. school, which has been run in various shapes and forms by the Christian Brothers for over one hundred years.

Principal Michael McMahon told the Wexford Echo: “We had such problems capacity wise, I applied for two temporary classrooms last summer. It will get us out of a hovel as we had a very dilapidated pre-fab.”

Mr. McMahon said a major redevelopment of the school is also planned, with Wexford CBS at the top of the list locally for major works to be carried out.

The development, (agreed with the Department of Education in 2007), was to increase the capacity of the school to 550, but Mr. McMahon said there will be over that number of students in the school come September.

Presently there is a long waiting list for places in the school, including autistic school places and there is not a seat free.

Also some of the classes have upwards of 30 pupils.

It was initially proposed by the Department of Education to but temporary accommodation, but the school board said they would prefer to use the money to go towards permanent classrooms, which will stand the test of time, while replacing the old pre-fab.

Mr. McMahon said the pre-fab is in very poor shape and could become a health and safety concern in the near future.

Work begins on the classrooms and office this week, meaning Wexford CBS will be able to cater for its growing numbers.

He said the decision to build permanent classrooms (which will cost €300,000), was based on the fact it is cheaper to build now so it offers value for money. School funding will pay some of the cost of the new rooms. “It will also bring employment to the area.”

He said renting pre-fabs is no longer an option “after all the hoo-ha about pre-fabs last year”.

“You have to either buy them or not. What we are building is a stopgap. We hope to build a new gym and be able to provide substantial accommodation in the proposed new building.

Currently our gym space is used by 800 pupils between the secondary and the primary schools. We are running to stand still with the new classrooms and office,” he said.

Mr. McMahon met with Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe last year and was told a new dedicated Autistic Spectrum Disorder unit for 12 children is planned for Wexford CBS, as part of its redevelopment.

Currently the school has six students with autism and has not been able to cater for anymore, despite requests from parents to do so. 

*Published in Wexford Echo, Wednesday 04 February, 2010

New App for iPhone to help Autistic Children - "Grace"

Grace - RTÉ News Six One from Steven Troughton-Smith on Vimeo.

Above is a link to the news piece that was filmed with Lisa Domican and her daughter Grace, whom together with a software developer Stephen Troughton-Smith, have been developing and breathing life into this application which will make a dramatic improvement in the lives of children with autism.

The following article was published by :

CIARA O'BRIEN - Irish Times Business Section, Friday December 11th

THE IPHONE is set to become a communication tool for children with autism, with the testing of a new application for the device.
The application is designed to be used in a similar way to the Picture Exchange Communication System (Pecs), which allows children to build sentences using a book of laminated pictures attached to a board by Velcro.

The application, which is being developed under the working title Grace, is the brainchild of Lisa Domican, a parent of two children with autism. She was inspired by O2’s marketing campaign for the iPhone. Before the launch of the device in 2008, the mobile operator ran advertisements on buses in Dublin. Ms Domican noticed the advertisements and realised the phone’s potential as an alternative to the Pecs books used by her 10-year-old daughter, Grace.

“You are constantly having to replace loose cards and make new ones,” said Ms Domican. “With the iPhone, the screen looks like a Pecs book. It’s ok to have a four-year-old walking around with a Pecs book; it’s not ok for a 10 or 12-year-old.
They’re very personal to the kids; it’s their voice. The [Pecs books] really stand out, whereas the iPhone is discreet and always there.”

The idea is backed by O2 Ireland, which supplied the devices for the development and testing of the application. The mobile network is already involved with Irish Autism Action and it was through this link that Ms Domican got backing from O2.

Ms Domican linked up with Steven Troughton-Smith, a software developer for the iPhone who has created a number of bestselling applications.

Mr Troughton-Smith, a student at Dublin City University, took the description of what Ms Domican wanted and turned it into a working version of Grace.
He developed the application to look exactly like a Pecs book. So instead of carrying around a Pecs book, older children can use the iPhone to choose from a range of pictures and place them on a virtual strip of Velcro.

Ms Domican’s daughter Grace has become so comfortable with the technology that she adds her own photos to the application’s library using the iPhone’s camera.

The application is undergoing trials on five devices in three schools to see if other children, parents and tutors can use it easily. Once testing has been completed, it will be submitted to the iPhone App Store.
 


It is hoped that the application will be released at the end of February and I will update the blog and keep members informed when a definite date has been decided.  Will try to arrange for Ms Domican to demonstrate the device to the parents and group at a later date.


Grace is nearly here.... watch this space!

IS YOUR CHID AGED BETWEEN 5 and 7.5? ----THEN THEY MAY STILL BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A HSE ASSESSMENT OF NEED

Autistic boy 'in harrowing circumstances' wins case

 

From The Irish Times - Wednesday, December 9, 2009

A HIGH Court judge has rejected claims by the HSE that a severely autistic boy in “harrowing” family circumstances was not entitled to apply for a support scheme on grounds he was aged over five when the application was made.

The HSE had argued that the boy, now aged seven, had to be aged under five when applying for the scheme.
However, Mr Justice Michael Hanna yesterday ruled the boy was entitled to be assessed under the scheme after finding the State had failed to explicitly state a time limit for entitlement to apply for the scheme.
It was regrettable the wording of an order introducing the scheme was not more clear and there was also a lack of transitional arrangements for the introduction of the scheme, the judge said. A considerable amount of controversy and “perhaps heartache” would have been avoided had this been done.
Through his father, the boy had appealed the HSE’s refusal to consider his application to a Disability Appeals Officer (DAO) who in June last found the boy was eligible for assessment under the scheme which assessment, the officer said, should be provided within three months.

The HSE appealed that determination to the High Court which yesterday upheld the DAO’s decision.

The court heard the boy’s father had filed an affidavit outlining the family’s plight and Mr Justice Hanna described the problems facing the child and his family as “immense and harrowing”.

The boy was aged just three months under five on June 1st, 2007, when the Minister for Health and Children approved a commencement order under the Disability Act 2005 providing for a right to assessment.

The HSE argued only those under five could apply for assessment while the DAO contended the Disability Act applied to children under five as of June 1st, 2007. Mr Justice Hanna ruled the literal interpretation of the order meant the Disability Act was to apply to children under five as of June 1st, 2007.


The wording of the Disability Act 2005 leaves it open for any child who is born since 31/05/2002 (and not just those who are aged <5 at the point of application) are eligible to apply for a HSE Assessment on Need.

This decision would allow children who are currently aged between 5 - 7.5 to also apply -a I'm not sure how long this loop hole will remain open ...
- however given the current interpretation of this legislation they are entitled to get a full assessment of need.

SO APPLY NOW ....

(Thanks to Edel for the information)