You could always try the ACE Advisory Trust based down in Oxford
Andy Banns
Technical Administrator
Hollinwood Business Centre
Albert Street
Hollinwood
Oldham
OL8 3QL
Tel: 0161 684 2333
Fax: 0161 684 2334
www.ace-north.org.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: A discussion list for Assistive Technology professionals.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian F.
Sent: 13 February 2008 23:39
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Advice please - spinal injury [Spam score: 8%][This is OK]
Hi
Thanks. I should have clarified, I'm an assessor at an HE assessment
centre,
and I did his original assessment. His condition has deteriorated since
I
saw him. I've specialised in identifying assistive tech aids for student
with complex physical disabilities for several years. I used to have the
luxury of having a very small, local client base that allowed me to
visit
students with complex disabilities at home on several occassions during
the
assessment process - co-ordinating evaluations of equipment, working
with
specialist suppliers and even getting local carpenters and IT bods
involved
in designing solutions that could be tweaked and adjusted on an on-going
basis. At the moment, I can't offer this level of support, as the
numbers of
students coming through for assessment makes it impossible. I was hoping
there might be a local, specialist assessment service capable of
spending
time identifying custom solutions I could refer him to.
Ian
----- Original Message -----
From: "Simon Judge" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:33 AM
Subject: Re: Advice please - spinal injury
> RE assessments - he should be entitled to an assessment through an HE
> assessment centre.
>
> http://www.nadp-uk.org/resources/links.php
>
> EA from emptech.info was also compiling a map of centres, but this
doesn't
> seem to be public yet (EA?). Also, http://www.techdis.ac.uk/ may be
able
> to help find an appropriate centre.
>
>
> Cheers.
>
> Simon
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A discussion list for Assistive Technology professionals.
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian F.
> Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:23 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Advice please - spinal injury
>
> Hi
> Wonder if anyone can offer any advice. A student with a spinal injury
> contacted me today. He says he cannot attempt to sit and read or use a
> computer for even brief periods because of chronic pain, and that he
is
> only
> comfortable when he is lying flat on his back, when there is "no
pressure
> on
> the spine". I don't have access to the details of his condition at
this
> time.
>
> He asked for advice on aids that could allow him to read and undertake
> computer based coursework tasks while lying flat on his back. He
thought
> some way of "projecting the pages of a book onto a screen over his
head"
> might work. I made some basic suggestions he didn't think would help.
In
> the
> end, I could only suggest some specialist equipment suppliers he could
> investigate and that he might want to contact AbilityNet or local
British
> Computer Society volunteers.
>
> The student studies at University of Essex and I think he could
benefit
> from
> expertise I'm not able to offer. Is there a specialist assessment
service
> I
> can refer him to, or tell him to ask to be referred to by his GP or
Social
> Services, where he can try out potential aids and adaptations that
allow
> him
> to use computer equipment and read in bed that take into account any
> medical
> implications of his condition, ideally in the London or Essex area?
Any
> suggestions on how best to advise this student will be gratefully
> received.
>
> If necessary, I can approach his local education authority to pay for
a
> specialist assessment. However, I'm concerned that the nature of the
> assessment might require involvement of medical specialists, which
might
> not
> happen if a private assssment is arranged. It wasn't possible to
explore
> his
> current treatment but I got the impression he is struggling to get
medical
> support that he's happy with, as he also asked if I knew of any
charities
> he
> could approach to pay for surgery.
>
> Maybe people know of a good spinal injuries organisation I can refer
him
> to
> that can provide practical, realistic advice and support e.g.
arranging
> appropriate treatment through the NHS, understanding why treatment
isn't
> being offered, pursuing alternative options etc?
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions people come up with.
>
> Regards
> Ian Francis
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> This message may contain confidential and privileged information.
> If you are not the intended recipient please accept our apologies.
> Please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail
> or take any action in reliance on its contents: to do so is strictly
> prohibited and may be unlawful. Please inform us that this message has
> gone astray before deleting it. Thank you for your co-operation.
>
> NHSmail is used daily by over 100,000 staff in the NHS. Over a million
> messages are sent every day by the system. To find out why more and
> more NHS personnel are switching to this NHS Connecting for Health
> system please visit www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/nhsmail
> **********************************************************************
|