The guest speaker at the summer regional Programme Action meeting was Anna Reeves, Manager of ACE Centre North, based in Oldham.
The ability to communicate is fundamental to our basic quality of life. However for many people – whether because of physical impairment, language disorder or learning disability – effective communication is a challenge. There can be a massive gap between receptive language (understanding) and expressive language (communicating). So the ACE Centre enables people of all ages to face that challenge, and bridge that gap.
ACE Centre North offers free information and advice on assistive technology for people with physical/communication difficulties. The Centre’s team of therapists, teachers and technicians provides help and expertise for families, schools and other organisations. Through assessment, training and ongoing support the staff put modern technology at the service of people who need a voice.
By keeping up to date with technological advances, and investing in a wide variety of equipment, the Centre can loan out specialist apparatus, and thus demonstrate what a profound difference it can make to clients’ lives. Equipment ranges from paper-based images (suitable, for example, for nursery-age children) through to light-writers, muscle-operated switches, adapted toys, and special apps on the iPod touch.
Anna augmented her presentation with some films to illustrate the Centre’s work: they included first-hand experiences from clients of all ages. In addition she passed round various items of equipment for members to try out. Questions then flowed freely from the floor.
Margaret Molyneux, Regional Programme Action Officer, warmly thanked Anna for such an informative and absorbing talk. She pointed out that ACE Centre North was formerly supported by SI Oldham and District, and hoped that other clubs may now feel able to take on Oldham’s interest in this life-changing charity.
At the end of the meeting Bronwen Davies (IPP, SI Widnes) displayed her ‘presidential project’ – a beautiful quilt that had taken her the full year to make. Raffled for her chosen charity, Halton Nightstop, the lucky winner was Debbie Gregory of SI Bury.