Spaced out and smiling

Spaced Out & Smiling

Exploring What it Means to be Autistically Happy & sharing what we learn as we transition to independent living

http://www.spacedoutandsmiling.com

Just been to a presentation about Apple Watches and autism.  He runs and interesting blog, see the link above

NeuroNode: How It Works

NeuroNode is the world’s first wearable EMG assistive technology device. It gives those with ALS/MND, spinal cord injury, or any other condition causing paralysis and loss of speech a connection to the world. 

we had a play with this as well

Google Home automation YouTube video.

Google Home and home automation

Google Home is a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Ask it questions. Tell it to do things. It’s your own Google, always ready to help. Just start with, "Ok Google".

Google Home can be set up to provide home automation, via an app, and through interface with switches. This short video.  might give you an idea.

NFL player uses eye gaze technology, and robotic arm to sign memorebilia

We had a talk with a specialised team from Google at lunch.  They made use of eye gaze technology and robotics to enable an ex NFL player, Steve Gleason, to still provide autographs for fans while living with ALS.  Below is a short video of the technology in action.

Makers Making Change sessions

Two excellent sites to look at.  Both of the speakers from these groups work closely with OTs in Canada and the US

Makers Making Change is about to launch. It will connect Makers to people with disabilities, to create access solutions. It will also feature a catalogue of various open-source assistive technology projects, with parts, instructions and reviews to support makers and people with disabilities. Their first major project is the LipSync.

www.makersmakingchange.com

We believe that people with and without disabilities can be empowered when using the correct technology. More importantly, we want everyone to know they have the right to participate in the design & making of technology - having the opportunity to make your own 'stuff' can lead to increased quality of life, maintaining independence, perhaps a new career and staying curious about the world. Making also happens to be really fun!

The goal of DIYAbility is to create a community for people who believe that technology is world opening. The tools and software available today can let anyone implement and make their own devices and make almost anything else. DIYAbility is not just about assistive technology and all that orthopedic looking stuff - it is about acting on an idea whether it is for personal fun or assistance.

DIYAbility was started by John Schimmel and Holly Cohen (OT/ATP). John is a technologist and tinkerer who teaches Developing Assistive Technology and Web Development courses at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. Holly is an occupational therapist and assistive technology practitioner and teaches Rehabilitation courses at NYU Steinhardt's Department of Occupational Therapy.  Both have been involved with assistive technology design and implementation for several years and want to encourage more people to think creatively about technology and disabilities.

http://diyability.org

LipSync - Mouth Input device for smartphones and tablets

DOT: First Braille Smartwatch

this is a really cool smart watch.  Had a go with this reading texts off my phone very responsive.

www.dotincorp.com

overbrook school talking model

went to a talk about touch graphic design this morning.  Basically they are 3D models you can touch to trigger further info.  Great for accessibility mapping.



this web site has more info



http://touchgraphics.com

Introducing Liftware Level

Just in this presentation right now.  This is an eating utensil developed by Liftware who are a branch of Google.  Check out the video and see what you think.  Pretty impressive but not yet on the market. They are also looking at transferring this technology to use in other devises for people with tremor disorders.

www.liftware.com

Kitchen Impossible

New Series: Kitchen Impossible follows a group of people with a range of disabilities or long-term conditions, as they strive to pursue careers in the hospitality business.  Click on the link to watch on TV on demand.

Thanks Janine for sharing this

Restaurants' flouting of accessible toilet law leaves wheelchair users isolated

Here's an article from www.stuff.co.nz which clearly illustrates factors which cause occupational deprivation, in this case going out for a erin and a meal.

Restaurants and cafes are routinely excluding wheelchair users and other disabled people from going out with loved ones by ignoring laws on accessible toilets, a disabled advocate says. 

By law, buildings used by the public must be accessible to disabled people.

But this only applies to new work or alterations, so many restaurants, cafes and pubs get around it by simply avoiding renovations, said Phillip Blundell, chairman of CCS Disability Action's Wellington branch.

David Bowie- The Death of a Legend and Why Music Matter. Hannah Clark

Published in the Huffington Post on 11/01/206

As the world joins in collective grief at the passing, and celebration of the life, of David Bowie, I've been thinking about his music, his influence and the importance of music in general upon my life, about why music matters. 

I'm not a musician in any way, shape or form. If I sing a note in tune it's definitely a coincidence and I can't play any instruments, yet music is a huge part of my life. It can mould my mood, shape my day, raise my soul, bring me to tears. Music is powerful and Bowie's has a curious, mystical power that few can achieve and none can copy.

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery and I have to say that Nirvana's cover of Man Who Sold The World as well as astronaut Chris Hadfield's cover from the International Space Station of Space Oddity are sublime, but nobody else is or could be David Bowie. He was an icon, an individual in the truest sense and his image, music and art will outlive all of us.

I was born in 1986, so arguably the major impact that Bowie had was sort of lost on me and my enjoyment of his music comes from years after the songs were recorded. Does that matter? Nope! Some of my absolute favourite artists died before I was born or when I was young - Marvin Gaye, Kurt Cobain, Nick Drake, Carl Perkins, the best half of the Beatles, Nina Simone, Buddy Holly, Nat King Cole. That is why music matters though, isn't it? I was either very young or not even born when these people passed yet their music has meant so much to me in my lifetime and many of them have featured in some of the most poignant times of my life. Nick Drake serenaded me on nights when I felt like I couldn't keep going, couldn't keep working 70+ hour weeks just to make ends meet. Nat King Cole sang Phil and I through our first dance at our wedding. Kurt Cobain featured in a huge poster that adorned my bedroom wall in my early teens and Here Comes the Sun, written by George Harrison for the Beatles and covered by Nina Simone, is probably my favourite song of all time; it was on the birth playlist that I had to switch off because the music was making me emotional when I needed to be strong.

Music is one of the first and the last things that we respond to in life; Toby has always enjoyed a good boogie to anything from Linkin Park to Eric Clapton and my Nan, who has advanced stage Alzheimer's, would still dance and clap to ABBA, Andre Rieu and her old favourite Cliff, long after she stopped responding to casual interaction with the people around her.

This morning as I sat in shock reading the news of David Bowie's passing my beautiful, innocent 18 month old son cuddled me then sat and danced on the sofa to Space Oddity before asking for his guitar to play with. He and his Daddy have a wonderful bond through their love of guitars (amongst other things, they're awesome together!) and one of the first things Toby learned how to do was bang the bongo drum in our living room. He now asks for a plectrum when Phil plays guitar so that he can join in. It's magical. Okay, so he also thinks that the intro music to Twirlywoos is the best thing since sliced bread, but there's time for him to outgrow that!

So, as the world mourns for and also celebrates David Bowie, let's all pick our favourite songs and play them, enjoying as the notes and words course through our veins and pump endorphins through our bodies. Be lifted, be settled, be emotional, be inspired. Just be whatever the music leads you to be.

Chieko Asakawa: How new technology helps blind people explore the world

Rest home residents get back on the bike

Video from TV3 On Demand

Rest home residents get back on the bike

Rest home residents around New Zealand are about to find themselves more mobile than ever thanks to a Danish initiative aimed at getting them back on their bike.

Cycling Without Age sees volunteers guiding elderly residents around on purpose-built bikes to get them outdoors and active.

Faith and Hunter McGahey, both 81, don't remember the last time they were on a bike, but today they saddled up for a spin.

"The core is to get people who lack, maybe mobility or feel isolated in rest homes, back out on the streets and bike paths [to] reintegrate with their communities," says co-founder of Cycling Without Age Dorthe Pedersen.

"It's basically enabling them to live their dreams again."

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/rest-home-residents-get-back-on-the-bike-2015120417#ixzz3uRcUkick

Spare Time

Spare Time

Here's an interesting documentary I found on eTV the other day.  It's called Spare Time (description Below)

There's been a change in how we spend our leisure time. Increasingly we flop in front of TV's, play computer games, listen to our iPods on treadmills. What the older generation's pursuits had in common - from brass bands to pigeon-fancying to cake-baking competitions - was that they were creative, gregarious and largely free!

Turner-prize winning artist, Grayson Perry explores how our modern leisure activities tend to be more passive, solitary and expensive. He shows how across the developed world communal, participatory leisure activities have been in decline and looks at the effect this is having on society.

Otago Poly students are reminded that they have free access to eTV.  It's an excellent repository of TV shows, Films and Documentaries.  

HUMAN Extended version VOL.1

What is it that makes us human? Is it that we love, that we fight? That we laugh? Cry? Our curiosity? The quest for discovery?

Driven by these questions, filmmaker and artist Yann Arthus-Bertrand spent three years collecting real-life stories from 2,000 women and men in 60 countries. Working with a dedicated team of translators, journalists and cameramen, Yann captures deeply personal and emotional accounts of topics that unite us all; struggles with poverty, war, homophobia, and the future of our planet mixed with moments of love and happiness.

Watch the 3 volumes of the film and experience #WhatMakesUsHUMAN. Also available on Youtube

Part 1 deals with the themes of love, women, work and poverty.

Part 2 deals with the themes of war, forgiving, homosexuality, family and life after death.

Part 3 deals with the themes of happiness, education, disability, immigration, corruption and the meaning of life.

Life Hack HQ

Youth mental health and wellbeing is often approached as a collection of problems to be solved, rather than part of a holistic vision to be achieved. A flourishing society requires investment in young people that focus not only on minimising deficits or treating issues, but also on building capacity and skills that will enable them to be healthy, resilient and well-prepared for their lives.

Lifehack is a space where people can come together to develop new approaches, projects and ventures, with young people at the centre of the process. We bridge backgrounds, skill sets and place, and empower young people and communities to redefine their own version of success. In short, Lifehack is the R&D ground for Youth Wellbeing interventions.

In the last 2 years, Lifehack has moved away from trying to “solve” youth mental health issues with smartphone apps and stepped into the systemic questions:

What are the key components of wellbeing for a young person? 

How might user-centered technology contribute to this? 

What’s getting in the way? 

How do we get beyond that?

Zentangles

zentangle.com

For those of you who were not lucky enough to hear Aaron's FW3 talk last week (Dunedin student), heres a link to the Zentangles website.  Aaron used this activity on placement.

The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.

Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle Method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.

We believe that life is an art form and that our Zentangle Method is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life.

B J Miller: what really matters at the end of life

Ngāi Tahu Mahinga Kai

Ngāi Tahu Mahinga Kai is a lifestyle series featuring 12 ten minute episodes filmed in the stunning landscape of Te Waipounamu. It captures the stories and essence of traditional food gathering practices passed down through the generations.

The series offers a window into the lives of Ngāi Tahu whānau carrying on the food gathering traditions of their ancestors – from tūna and pātiki on the east coast, medicinal rongoā plants in the north and kanakana in the far south. Through our characters we explore the evolution of the practice – its past, present and future and we learn about the species and their natural environment.

The above link will take you to all 12 episodes posted on the Ngai Tahu iwi website.  There are some lovely example here of occupational identity and the sustainability of culture through occupational practices passed from generation to generation.  

Transition to Retirement for Professional Athletes

For those of you who have Sky TV you may want to look out for a repeat screening of the following program.  It was shown on the Discovery Channel last Sunday and provided an excellent outline of factors at play, and the challenges faced by professional sport persons when they have to deal with life after sport.  There are strong links here to the concept of transition discussed last semester.  It may well also show up on YouTube soon.

John Eales Reveals: Life After Sport

What is the price for glory? When the fame, fans, money, training, coaches, support teams and victories are gone, what happens next? Through elite selection, grueling training, inspiring victories and crushing defeats, todays athletes run the razors edge of human capability. Pushing their bodies and brains far beyond the boundaries that limit the rest of us.

Through three extraordinary case studies, starting with the genesis of what actually makes a super athlete rise to the top, Life after Sport, hosted by John Eales, will deconstruct the highs, lows, pitfalls, perils and science of elite athletes as they struggle to make the transitions from normal human to superhuman and back and include interviews from former athletes including Grant Hackett, Lauren Jackson, Layne Beachley and Shane Webcke.

How this man turned a snowboarding injury into knitting success

Cam Low discovered knitting after being laid low with broken bones.

Mothers of adrenalin junkies should proceed with caution: this story includes broken bones, snow-boardingaccidents, bone grafts and titanium pins. But please resist the urge to demand your child ceases all outdoor activities. This tale does have a happy ending.

Full article from Stuff.co.nz

Something to see in Dunedin

Belonging exhibition

BELONGING

Works from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery

5th Apr 2014 - 28th Feb 2016

This exhibition delves into the Gallery’s holdings to showcase a rich range of popular European masterpieces, rarely seen treasures and a sampling of more contemporary artworks.  A Gallery’s collection often reflects a sense of communal identity and place for its audience, which this exhibition teases out through some of its most highly regarded and well known items. 

Defining where or in what ways one ‘fits-in’, can be shaped as much by the impact of external factors as the internal processes that situate us in the world.  This exhibition investigates, through utilising various items from the Gallery’s holdings, the numerous permutations of what it means to belong in a vast array of historical, cultural and contemporary circumstances.  One definition of ‘belonging’ refers to the act of placing or classifying something to sit within a specific environment. So, in its widest sense this concept is always present within a public institution that catalogues, holds and cares for a collection on behalf of the wider community. 

Relationships and connections with family, friends and colleagues; our place of residence and sense of home, including personal effects; and membership to groups, clubs and other organisations all fosters the human need and desire to belong to something greater than ourselves. This exhibition examines both the physical and psychological ideas around belonging, from who we are as individuals and how we are defined, to the wider ways in which we come to feel accepted, secure, included and loved – all ultimately determining our identity. 

What's a Coffin Club?

Retired Rotorua mid-wife Katie Williams has spent the last few years, ticking off her Bucket List: get a tattoo, go skydiving, build my own coffin. The casket is now tucked away at her house, decorated in burgundy wallpaper, some of her 'bling' and the words 'Live, love and laugh'. Katie also set up a Coffin Club which now sees members get together each week to cheerfully build and decorate their coffins

Check out this Radio New Zealand link to find out what a Coffin Club is and why people join

How is the new Apple Watch being used?

Here's a blog post which one of our Dunedin year 2 students found.  It is from a blog by Molly Watt titled Living with Usher Syndrome.  In this post she explores the possible applications of the new Apple Smart Watch to her day to day life.  Thanks Eamon for sharing this.

Having known about the Apple Watch for some time and knowing lots of my friends were planning to buy one, I was sceptical as my needs are quite different to that of those of the sighted and hearing. 

I have to rely on specific accessible features.

However, I was curious as Apple products have been more than just up market gadgets to me, they really have been my access to the many things most take for granted but that those of us with deafblindness, particularly struggle with.

KOVASIKAJUTTU (Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät) Punk Syndrome ***WARNING OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE

*** Here's a more extreme example of the power of music to change or challenge peoples perceptions.  Caution this clip does contain some harsh language. 

Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (English: Pertti Kurikka's Name day), also known as PKN, is a Finnish punk rockband, formed in 2009 in a charity workshop for adults with developmental disabilities. They are the main focus of the Finnish documentary film The Punk Syndrome. In 2015, they qualified for the finals of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, which they later won; they will represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.

Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät began in a workshop run by Lyhty, a charity for adults with developmental disabilities. In 2004, Pertti Kurikka, the future guitarist of the band, met organizer Kalle Pajamaa of Lyhty.^[1] Pajamaa, who remains manager of the band today, noticed Kurikka's potential and sought to establish a band based upon him.^[2] They worked on the band's formation over the next five years,^[1] and in 2009 the band made its debut.^[2]

In 2009, Finnish director Pekka Karjalainen sought music performed by people with disabilities for the film Vähän kunnioitusta,^[3] which tells the story of a young girl with a learning disability aspiring to live an independent and normal life.^[1] Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät is featured in the film with their first-ever demo: "Kallioon!".^[1][4]The song became a hit, and the band soon discovered that they had a following outside the circle of disabled people.^[3]

The Mutes

Check out this video from Attitude TV.

The Mutes are a unique rock / pop band out of West Auckland. What makes them unique, beyond their undoubted musicianship and songwriting ability? The majority of members have an intellectual disability in some form. They break down barriers through their songs and music and thus challenge people’s perception of disability, by being musicians who live successful lives with a disability - in and outside of band life. Their creative passion and commitment to performing connects the disability culture with that of the rock music community.

The Mutes, as a band and individuals, are ‘powered’ and empowered by the A Supported Life organization, working for persons with a disability in West Auckland

The Mutes on the Road

Mark Kushner- Architecture

Architect Mark Kushner has put together a book about 50 of the world's best buildings, including two from New Zealand. This is a podcast from a recent Radio NZ program, there are some really nice points made here about humans connection to buildings, how we invest in our surroundings.

The Power of Digital Story Telling

This TED talk has a nice connection with the historical interviews students did in year one. Providing opportunities for people to tell there stories.