After receiving several queries about Lamh, the manual language, we asked Mary Cullen, Lamh Development Officer, a few questions. What is Lámh? Lámh is the accepted manual sign system used by children and adults with intellectual disability in Ireland. Some people use Lámh as their main way of communicating while others use Lámh together with
A new study by the University of East Anglia (UEA) suggests computers are now better at lip-reading than humans. The performance of a computer based lip-reading system was compared to that of 19 human lip-readers. Results showed the computerised system was over 50% better at recognition than the humans completing the same task. Simultaneously, the
Some feedback from a mum about the “Ben” book really made us smile. We think you’ll enjoy reading it, too! ” Dear Caroline, I hope sales of “A Birthday for Ben” are going well. It is one of Christopher’s favourite books and I thought you’d like to know the impression it’s having on him. He’s
Here’s a short bio for Karen Quirke, whose illustrations feature in the IDK children’s book, “A Birthday For Ben“. Karen Quirke was born in Dublin, Ireland and currently lives in Malahide, Co. Dublin. She was educated at St Mary’s School for Deaf Girls in Cabra, Dublin, Roslyn Park College and Killester College of Further Education.
The development of deaf children fitted with a cochlear implant is being profiled in a study at Malaga University, headed by Ignacio Moreno-Torres. Three months after receiving an implant, all children profiled could recognise sounds in their immediate environment. Social and family factors were also analysed in the study for a more in-depth result. Children
Word-rich TV shows, online games and hands-on resources improve preschoolers’ literacy, a new study by the Corporation of Broadcasting in the United States has found. Media resources in the program improve literacy in kids aged 2 to 8. For this study, 400 students in up to 80 classes from 47 different centres were taught in
A low-cost way of video-streaming to use and distribute information online has been described in the US by Thomas McNeal Jr. and Landon Kearns. Their article, “Using Video Streaming: Setting up a Cheap System for Distributing Information to Teachers and Students” explores how to set up a streaming system, using tools readily available in classrooms.
More and more deaf students are being taught in third-level classes, some mainstream and others not. Here, Sinead Quealy, from Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), shares her experience of teaching a group of adult deaf students. Her experience may help lecturers who teach deaf students. I taught adults for three years in Waterford City VEC. During