In the News: What’s deoxyribonucleotide in sign language? A Dundee student has created more than 100 new signs to help deaf people express themselves when talking about science. To read the full article, visit the BBC News website: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-49057331 
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Minister Praises Inclusive Communication Hub! This year’s Access Panel Conference was held on Friday 28 June, at TouchBase in Glasgow. The annual Conference is an opportunity for Access Panel members to come together to share experiences and learn new skills. The Minister for Older People and Equalities, Christina McKelvie MSP,  delivered the keynote speech, where she praised Access Panels for the positive contribution they make to communities across Scotland: “I would like to thank you all and everyone involved in the Access Panel Networks. The work you do as volunteers, working together to improve the physical access and wider social
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‘Pablo’, the animated TV series promoting autism acceptance and understanding Voiced and co-written by amazing autistic talent, it is the first of its kind. 5 ½ year old Pablo uses his creativity and imagination to create an art world where his book animal friends come to life to help him figure out the world around him. First premiered on CBeebies and RTEJr in October 2017, Pablo has taken the world by storm and has been sold internationally to over 10 countries since its release. Creator Grainne McGuinness says, “Pablo is not just a TV show, it is a movement for
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New ‘Any Disability’ symbol launched at Commons debate Building on the campaign by Grace Warnock, StudioLR (funded by Life Changes Trust) has designed a new ‘Any Disability’ symbol to encourage awareness of people with invisible disabilities. On Wednesday 5 June, Martin Whitfield, MP for East Lothian, led a Commons debate on invisible disabilities and accessibility challenges. The debate in the Commons’ Main Chamber also saw the formal launch a new Any Disability symbol to more accurately represent the full range of people with various disabilities who use accessible toilets and other facilities. The development of the new sign was inspired by the
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Sense Scotland Paul Hart from Sense Scotland spoke at the recent Communication for All conference organised by deafscotland and Disability Equality Scotland. He spoke about trust and relationships being at the heart of effective inclusive communication. He highlighted his belief that communication support needs always lie at the meeting place between people. It is not just one person who has a communication impairment but instead a communication support need can emerge when people meet together. And since as many as 1 in 5 of Scotland’s population described themselves in the 2011 census as having a disability or long-term health condition,
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deafscotland At deafscotland we have been working to reshape our work to take a human rights approach. We want to understand how a rights-based, person-centred approach can help those affected by deafness reach equality of access and citizenship, particularly when looking at the social model of disability. We work across the spectrum of deafness and use the term “four pillars of deafness” to describe the specific communication and language barriers that deaf people face: www.deafscotland.org. Deaf people, like their hearing peers, also face the barriers caused by difference, for example through other disability, race, and gender.   We noticed that communication
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Talking Mats Talking Mats turns 21 on the 15 August 2019! The initial idea for Talking Mats came out of a research project. The founder, Joan Murphy worked as a research speech and language therapist at the University of Stirling. Joan was joined by her colleague, Lois Cameron and in 2011 they established Talking Mats Social Enterprise. Talking Mats is an evidence-based tool with over 130 publications highlighting the effectiveness and impact of using a visual communication framework. The Talking Mats team are passionate about Inclusive Communication. They work to improve the lives of people with communication difficulties by increasing
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Scottish War Blinded Scottish War Blinded support ex-servicemen and women with sight loss – no matter when or how they lost their sight. The charity’s highly experienced rehabilitation team works closely with veterans living with a vision impairment, providing expert advice and training to enable members to live as independently as possible –despite sight loss. Specialist equipment, from electronic magnifiers, canes and tablets, to talking clocks, watches and cooking aids, can be provided free-of-charge to members. There are also 15 Scottish War Blinded outreach workers located across Scotland, providing one-to-one support to veterans with a vision impairment in their region.
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The Scottish Commission for Learning Disability The Scottish Commission for Learning Disability –www.scld.org.uk is excited to announce that Scotland’s Learning Disability Week 2019 – www.scld.org.uk/learning-disability-week-2019 will take place from Monday 13th – Sunday 19th May. This year’s theme is ‘community’ – whoever we are and where ever in Scotland we live, we can all be part of a community. SCLD want to celebrate the contribution and involvement of people with learning disabilities in communities all over Scotland and are asking people, groups and communities to get involved by organising their own ‘Communi-Tea Party’. You can order a ‘Get Involved’ pack
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Ideas for Ears: Hearing Access – what it is Hearing access recognises the fundamental importance of people being able to chat, discuss and follow the spoken word.  It is about making hearing and following conversation and audible information more possible for more people. It is crucial for ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion. The practical application of hearing access encompasses:   provision of the right audio equipment (PA systems, hearing loops, microphones) and ensuring they are set up and used appropriately and effectively creation of environments where noise and acoustics are managed so noise levels don’t build and sound doesn’t echo and
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