i-Express myself
Start date: Sep 1, 2016,
End date: Jan 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
This project will aim on the exchange of already existing knowledge and development of new innovations in Europe in using assistive devices for Multi Disabled Visually Impaired persons (MDVI). Persons with MDVI are facing major challenges in expressing themselves, in communication and learning. Experience and knowledge in how assistive devices could help this target group is starting to grow slowly. Only a small number of institutes in Europe are trying to gather their knowledge and experience to create a practice based methodology. The MDVI target group is relatively small (although 70% of all persons with a mental dissability have a visual impairment too) but complex. To get a good perspective and create a qualitative good curriculum from different perspectives, international exchange of existing experience has great added value. We would like to learn from eachother, be inspired and raise to a higher level by working transnationally. With this project we want teachers, trainers and professionals to raise more awareness, competences and knowledge for ICT possibilities in working with MDVI. In the Netherlands, Royal Dutch Visio developed a curriculum about assistive devices (pc, laptop, tablets). In this curriculum all stages of learning are described. The curriculum is a result of experience and best practice, in the project we want the curriculum to be tested and validated on a European level. Target groups: • MDVI, definition 'A person with at least two disabilities, one of which manifests itself as a visual impairment, which impact significantly on the person's learning potential to such a degree so as to require a customised educational provision.' In this project we specify the target group to visually impaired persons with a learning disability.• Professionals and Parents who work and/or live with MDVI; e.g. teachers, health professionals, occupational therapists. In this project the objectives will be:1. Exchange of existing curricula in Europe for training MDVI with assistive devices.2. Validation of an European ICT curriculum for training persons with MDVI.3. Exchange of knowledge and expertise in learning strategies of MDVI and assistive devices.During the project 4 transnational meetings will take place. The meetings will include: start-up, evaluation, project-management, instruction of experts, construction of the EU curriculum, dissemination, sustainability, coordination of the validation-process.Our methodology for the project activities is the following one : 1- Construction phase and set up of a EU curriculum: creation of a common curriculum. Tools for this process: Existing Curricula, transnational meeting (August 2016 - October 2016).2- Validation phase: the experimentation period with the aim to validate the curriculum carried out. Tools for this process: EU curriculum, validation tools (October 2016 - July 2017).3- Dissemination and communication phase (complete period of the project August 2016 - December 2017) with information by websites, flyers, to all existing networks (ENVITER, EASPD, EBU, etc.). Professionals and parents have a big issue to support persons with MDVI to enable them more autonomy and quality of life. With the creation of a curriculum, the impact will be important for professionals, as well as for parents and relatives, and directly for MDVI.Impact on the level of the MDVI target group:- creates autonomy- social inclusion- use of the possiblities of the parts they can see (rest vision)- increase of communication options, decreasing the level of stress for a client/student - increase of activity optionsImpact on the level of staff and parents:- all staff members of the multi-disciplinary team and parents to work in the same way by using the curriculum- all staff members of the multi-disciplinary team and parents to work on the same objectives- the effect of learing increases for the student, better results- increasing the number of communication options