towards a brighter future - the west australian · 8/13/2013 · working toward a brighter vision...

TOWARDS A BRIGHTER FUTURE100th year celebrations • Centenary souvenir liftout

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENTPublished Tuesday August 13, 2013

2 | Association for the Blind of WA

A century of inspiring confi dence In 2013, the Association for the Blind celebrates 100 years of life-changing service to the Western Australian community. Beginning as the Ladies Braille Society in 1913, the association has grown to deliver services to Western Australians who are blind or vision impaired in every corner of the state. In 1977, the society joined with Guide Dogs for the Blind, the original founder of Guide Dogs in Australia in the 1950s.

In this liftout we acknowledge and celebrate the wonderful achievements of those who have infl uenced the association’s time before us, and the exciting initiatives that will carry our organisation into the future.

There are a great number of people who have played an instrumental role in our history and foundations: the courageous women of the Ladies Braille Society, who continued their work through the Depression in spite of almost overwhelming obstacles; and Dr Arnold Cook, who fi rmly believed that WA could be home to Australia’s fi rst Guide Dog training school when many people in the industry thought it couldn’t be done.

Throughout its history the association has fostered important partnerships with government, industry, the private sector

and community groups to achieve the best outcomes for its clients. It has a long-established and highly respected relationship with Lotterywest, and owes much to Dr L.S. (Stan) Perron and Jean Perron and their family, who have supported the association for more than 50 years, and after whom the association’s building, the Perron Centre, is named in honour. Throughout my tenure as President I have been astounded by the enthusiasm, commitment and selfl essness of the community. To each and every one of you – thank you. Without this support we simply could not exist.I have great confi dence that the next 100 years for our organisation will be of great achievement, continued change and development, innovation and technological advancement, and above all, comprehensive care and support for people in Western Australia who are blind or vision impaired.

Debbie SchafferPresident, Association for the Blind of WA

Editor: Louise Allan Design: Michelle Nunn Advertising: Eithne Healy, 9482 3559Articles and photos supplied by the Association for the Blind of WA

In this liftout we acknowledge and celebrate the wonderful achievements of those who have infl uenced the association’s time before us, and the exciting initiatives that will carry our organisation into the future.

The Association for the Blind has been providing life changing services for people living with blindness or vision impairment since 1913.

Each year, the Association helps around 3,000 people. Its Centre of Excellence in Victoria Park is also a vital tool to help people fi nd the

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Warm, inviting and easy to navigate, the Centre gives people a sense of optimism as well as access to expert assistance - building confi dence

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Association for the Blind of WA | 3

Working towards a brighter visionI am very pleased to present to you this limited edition centenary liftout, celebrating a century of confi dence, wellness and connection for Western Australians who are blind or vision impaired.Our centenary marks a pivotal time of growth and change for the Association for the Blind of WA. As an iconic Western Australian charity with a fantastic culture and a true focus on putting the needs of consumers fi rst, we are in a unique position to adapt and grow to reach more people around Western Australia who are in need of our help.The breadth of services the association provides, from low vision assessment and mobility support right through to early intervention services and assistive technology, makes us a true ‘one-stop-shop’ for consumers who are blind or vision impaired. For 100 years the association’s strategic direction and future has been led by the input and needs of its consumers. In 2013, I would like to announce an exciting new direction for the organisation. For many years consumers have felt that the word blind in our name has been prohibitive for people with low vision, and a barrier to people accessing our services. To ensure we are accessible to every person who needs our help, from late 2013 the Association for the Blind of WA will operate under a new name: VisAbility. Under the DisabilityCare Australia National Disability Insurance Scheme, consumers

will have a greater say in the services they require. We are committed to working with people to help them navigate the challenges of this complex environment.So, what changes will you see in the future? You’ll see greater effi ciency in our service delivery and a broadening of our scope to work with a range of people with disabilities. Importantly, our main clientele will continue to be people who are blind or vision impaired. You’ll see a new national brand for our Guide Dog program, ensuring national consistency in this cherished, community-supported program. You’ll see a newer, stronger, people-centred approach.Now, we look to the future: to innovate to meet the changing needs of Western Australians; to forge new partnerships to achieve the best outcomes for our clients; and to build better pathways to ensure everybody in our state who needs help, fi nds it.Join us as we continue our transformation, working toward a brighter vision for Western Australia now and into the future.

Dr Clare AllenCEO, Association for the Blind of WA

To attract a diverse range of consumers and ensure we are accessible to every person who needs our help, from late 2013 the Association for the Blind of WA will operate under a new name: VisAbility.

Celebrating great achievementsThe Association for the Blind of Western Australia has been touching the lives of people with vision impairment in our state for 100 years.As Patron of the Association for the Blind of Western Australia, it gives me great pleasure to write a message for inclusion in this publication, celebrating 100 years of wonderful achievements for the association.

The organisation that began as the Ladies Braille Society shortly before the First World War, has evolved to provide a broad range of vital services to people in Western Australia who are blind or have low vision.

In 1951, University of Western Australia lecturer Dr Arnold Cook, who himself was blind, led the move to establish, in

Western Australia, Australia’s fi rst Guide Dog training school.

Since then, with the generous support of the WA community, the Guide Dog program in Western Australia has provided life-changing independence to hundreds of people in both regional and metropolitan areas.

People with vision impairment face enormous challenges, and it is inspiring to see how they meet and overcome them with fortitude and resilience.

From mobility aids to assistive software, through to braille and early intervention programs, the association has demonstrated there is no area of life of those suffering visual impairment that cannot be enhanced with the right knowledge and support.

I have no doubt that in the future, technological and medical innovation will even further assist people with vision impairment to surmount the obstacles they encounter, and further improve their quality of life.

His Excellency Malcolm McCusker, AC CVO QC, Governor of Western Australia

With the generous support of the WA community, The Guide Dog program in Western Australia has provided life-changing independence to hundreds of people in both regional and metropolitan areas.

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1913The Ladies Braille Society is founded. The society quickly moved beyond transcribing braille literature, beginning home teaching, social work and advocacy shortly after the First World War.

1977Guide Dogs for the Blind formally merges with the Braille Society to become the Association for the Blind of Western Australia – Guide Dogs WA.

2002The Early Learning Centre offi cially opens to meet the needs of children, parents and families.

2010The association launches its digital talking book library, providing online access to thousands of audio books.

2007The Centre of Excellence, the Perron Centre, opens in Victoria Park after a successful capital campaign supported by the WA community.

2006The association’s Guide Dog program becomes a full member of the International Guide Dog Federation.

2009The Foundation for the Association for the Blind of Western Australia is established to secure the organisation’s future sustainability.

2013The association celebrates 100 years of life-changing service through its centenary.

1923The Rest Home for the Aged Blind is established at Victoria Park, on the same site the Perron Centre now stands.

1994The Kimberley Program commences in collaboration with Aboriginal Health Workers.

1952The fi rst Australian-trained Guide Dog, a kelpie-fox terrier cross named Beau, graduates from training and is matched with Elsie Mead.

1951Australia’s fi rst Guide Dogs for the Blind organisation is established in Perth with the help of Dr Arnold Cook.

Celebrating 1913 – 2013

One hundred years of life-changing servicesThe history of the Association for the Blind of Western Australia is as interesting and inspiring as it is long.Early beginningsThe Association for the Blind of Western Australia traces its origins to the foundation of the Ladies Braille Society in 1913. The society quickly moved beyond the simple task of transcribing braille literature, beginning home teaching, social work and advocacy shortly after the First World War, and establishing the Rest Home for the Aged Blind at Victoria Park in 1923.

Throughout the Depression it continued its work in spite of almost overwhelming obstacles. By the end of the Second World War it was running a major social service.

The fi rst Australian Guide DogThe fi rst working Guide Dog in Australia was Dreena, who was brought to Perth from England in 1950 by Dr Arnold Cook.

Dr Cook had become blind at the age of 18 with the eye condition retinitis pigmentosa. After learning braille and studying at the University of Western Australia (UWA), Harvard University and the London School of Economics, he returned to Perth.

In 1951, Dr Cook helped establish Australia's fi rst Guide Dogs for the Blind organisation and within 12 months, the fi rst Australian-trained Guide Dog was working with its owner Elsie Mead.

Ten years later a national organisation was established and then in 2006, the Association’s Guide Dog program became a full member of the International Guide Dog Federation.

Ground-breaking programsIn 1977, Guide Dogs for the Blind formally merged with the Braille Society to become the Association for the Blind of WA – Guide Dogs WA.

By 1979, the association had established a strong presence in the regions, and within three years the fi rst offi cial regional offi ce was opened in Bunbury.

By the 1980s, thanks to boldly innovative thinking in arenas like recreation, orientation and mobility, early intervention, technology and library services, the association was providing the most sophisticated set of resources for people who were vision impaired in the state.

In 1994, in collaboration with Aboriginal Health Workers, the Kimberley Program commenced to provide services to remote and rural communities in the region.

The Perron Centre

In September 2007, the association took a historic step when it offi cially opened its Centre of Excellence. In April 2010, the centre was offi cially named The Perron Centre, in honour of Mr L.S. (Stan) Perron and family, who have contributed generously to the association over a period of almost 50 years.

The Perron Centre is located in Victoria Park, on the site fi rst purchased by the association in 1922, and from which its services have operated for 91 years.

A foundation for the future

The Foundation of the Association for the Blind of WA was created in 2009 to ensure the long-term viability of the association and growth of its vital services as it approached its centenary in 2013.


Facts and fi gures• Better Start is funded by

the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

• Eligible children can access up to $12,000 in funding between the ages of zero to seven to access additional services.

• 80 percent of what children learn is through their sight.

• More information on the Better Start initiative is available at betterstart.net.au.

• If your child would like to receive Better Start services through the association call (08) 9311 8202.

Initiative gives a Better Start for children’s futureSeven-year-old Weiland Mansell has overcome more challenges than most children during his initial years of primary school. Weiland has optic nerve glioma, and has only a limited amount of vision in his right eye. For Weiland, vision impairment makes everyday activities such as walking to school, crossing the road, learning to write and fi nding friends in the playground all the more diffi cult.

“Weiland is sound and voice oriented,” Weiland’s mother Priscilla Francis said. “His vision impairment means that he often misses out on visual cues such as body language; something other children would pick up on.”

Now, thanks to the Association for the Blind of WA and an initiative called Better Start, Weiland has received additional support to learn an important skill for life: how to write his name.

Better Start is a national initiative that provides families with funding for better access to early intervention services.

Parents can choose from any combination of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, social work, orientation and mobility, orthoptics and psychology sessions, which are provided in addition to the support they already receive from their primary service provider.

Through Better Start, Weiland’s parents Priscilla and Daniel purchased an additional 10 hours of occupational therapy to help their son improve his writing skills.

“While he reads okay, Weiland fi nds writing diffi cult because he can’t see what he’s writing, unless he uses a very fat marker. We practiced writing at home every week for a year and nothing seemed to work,” Priscilla said.

“Through Better Start, an Occupational Therapist from the association visited twice a week to teach Weiland techniques to learn his letters, such as rhymes, using tactile letters or whole body exercises. Now he can write his name, and is even moving on to sentences.”

The association has been helping Weiland since he was three years of age, and Priscilla said when they fi rst came to the association, Weiland wasn’t even walking.

“Now, he’s in mainstream school, he rides his bike, goes to swimming lessons and is learning to read and write,” she said.

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Distance is no barrier to accessing direct assistanceA diagnosis of vision loss can be challenging and extremely isolating. For most people, making contact with someone who can help makes all the difference. But what if help is more than 2500 kilometres away?The Association for the Blind of WA’s Kimberley Program has been providing direct assistance to people with vision impairment

in the Kimberley for almost 20 years. Beginning as a pilot in 1994, the program has grown to include collaboration with local agencies across the region to provide relevant services that have a real impact in the community.

Specialist staff make twice-yearly visits to the region to provide services to residents in remote communities.

“The trips usually occur around May and October as they’re in the dry season,” Association for the Blind of WA Social Work and Orientation and Mobility Instructor Jodie Bruce said. “During the wet season access to towns and communities are often limited as the roads are cut off.”

Staff work with Kimberley Aged Care Services, one of the association's partners in the region, attending workshops in several communities.

During a recent visit they met with members of the Yungngora and Wangkatjungka

communities to discuss the importance of eye health, and prevention and treatment of common eye health problems.

“It was great to have everyone sitting around the table having a discussion," Jodie said. "It was a really effective way to engage and share our messages.”

In addition to learning about eye health, participants learnt about the association's services, tried on simulator goggles, and were provided with tools such as sunglasses, to help protect their vision.

As part of the Kimberley Program, the association also runs training workshops for carers, Aboriginal Health Care Workers and agency staff.

Aboriginal Health Care Workers act as liaisons within local communities, and allow the program to deliver services that are relevant to the community.

Facts and fi gures• Since 1994, the association

has provided an estimated 6800 hours of services in the Kimberley region.

• Twenty fi ve per cent of the association’s clients live outside the Perth metro area.

• The Kimberley Program began in 1994 with a pilot project.

• The program is made possible through funding from the Disability Services Commission.

VidKidsTM: help is close at handVidKids™ is a national initiative to provide improved services to children with vision impairment in outer regional and remote Australia.

Families and children connect with allied health professionals using video conferencing.

A range of practical support is available including communication and language development, daily living skills, transition to school planning, technology and emotional support.

The Association for the Blind of WA is a VidKids™ Alliance member organisation providing video teleconferencing services from its Perron Centre to families and children across regional and remote WA.

To fi nd out how we can help your family and child, contact (08) 9311 8202 or visit vidkids.org.


The splendour of dance through sound and touchLike most little girls, Tegan Reder dreams of being a ballerina and can be found pirouetting across the kitchen fl oor as the lovely sleeping beauty. But for most of her childhood years, Tegan, 9, had never attended a ballet performance. Tegan was born totally blind and her mother, Kathryn, was hesitant to take her to a live show, knowing her daughter couldn’t fully experience the magic of dance.

Then, in 2010, thanks to WA Ballet and Lotterywest, Tegan and other Western Australians who are blind or vision impaired experienced the splendour of ballet at a special matinee performance of The Sleeping Beauty as part of the Lotterywest supported community matinee program.

With help from the Association for the Blind of WA, WA Ballet produced an audio described CD of the performance, which was mailed to patrons who were blind or vision impaired before the matinee. WA Ballet Artistic Director Ivan Cavallari visited the audio production studios at the association’s Perron Centre to pre-record the description, which was then overlaid with the musical score.

Guests were also invited to a special tactile tour one hour before the curtain rose, where they could feel costumes, pointe shoes and props used throughout the production.

“To have the opportunity to go backstage, where she could experience what we all see, now Tegan understands the costumes, she understands the set, and she can put it all together,” Kathryn said.

The initiative is just one of several community access initiatives that have seen the Association for the Blind of WA collaborate with community groups and organisations to provide better access to facilities and services for people who are blind or vision impaired.

In 2012, the association helped Shakespeare WA host an audio described performance of The Comedy of Errors as part of the 2012 Shakespeare in the Park Season in Kings Park and Botanic Garden. The Shakespeare WA performance was so successful the initiative was repeated in 2013.

Audio description services for the Shakespeare WA performance were provided by AEG Ogden Perth, which manages venues within the Perth Theatre Trust, including His Majesty’s Theatre, the Perth Concert Hall and the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia.

AEG Ogden Perth provides live audio description services in three of its venues for people who are blind or vision impaired.

“The association has a wealth of expert knowledge in accessibility. It’s so important that we share this knowledge with the community to help achieve better access for all people with disability,” said the Association for the Blind of WA Chief Executive Offi cer Dr Clare Allen.

The association is developing a formal access consultancy service, Access Focus, with assistance from the State Government’s Social Enterprise Fund. Access Focus will assist organisations to identify and eliminate barriers people with a disability may face in accessing their services.

To have the opportunity to go backstage, where she could experience what we all see, now Tegan understands the costumes, she understands the set, and she can put it all together.

To

Audio Description Service:

Where The Visual Becomes The VerbalCapturing the visual elements of theatre by describing the ‘unheard’ aspects that are essential to understanding a story line. We bring entertainment to life for people who are blind or vision impaired whilst being unobtrusive to the user.

VARIOUS PERFORMANCES

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

Check the website: www.aegogdenperth.com.au for more details. Join our regular newsletter, contact [email protected] or 6212 9200

Kenneth Ransom and Alison van Reeken in Black Swan State Theatre Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2011. Image by Gary Marsh.


New family member ensures a bright future despite vision lossIn 2011, 26-year-old Kate Atkins could not have imagined the remarkable changes she would encounter in the next two and a half years of her life. In March that year, Kate noticed a change in her vision after returning from a holiday. Her vision dramatically deteriorated over the course of the next year, but no doctor could identify the cause for this rapid change.

“It was very hard for me because no one, especially me, could understand how I could lose my vision over a period of just 18 months. I lost the confi dence to run around at my usual fast pace,” Kate said.

In May last year, Kate was diagnosed with leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a hereditary condition where a person loses their central vision. LHON typically only appears in males, and was living dormant until a cause, which is still unknown, triggered Kate’s symptoms.

“Currently, I see a milky white blob in the middle of my vision, which is matching in both eyes,” she said.

Kate, who works in the Central Business District, was determined to continue living an active and independent lifestyle with her new vision impairment.

“It was a really diffi cult time. I had to adjust to my new vision fi eld, I was fi nding out what I could and couldn’t do and learning how to do those things again, and trying to let everyone know that I couldn’t see,” she said.

“Now I try not to let it have any impact on me at all, but still feel uncomfortable when people say ‘you don’t look blind’.”

In March 2013, Kate received Guide Dog Lucy, giving her a new level of confi dence and independence.

“Lucy has given me back the confi dence to walk around without being scared that I could walk into someone at any moment,” Kate said.

“I like to walk really fast and Lucy guides me around the people before I have seen them, that way I don’t need to worry about running into them.

“I still love going shopping and out for meals and all the normal girly things like getting my hair and nails done. Now, with Lucy,

I have the confi dence to do it all at my usual 100-mile-an-hour pace!”

Guide Dog Lucy helps Kate live independently in more ways than just providing mobility aid.

“Lucy has become a part of the family now,” Kate said. “She has given me a routine to follow which helps me to remember when I have forgotten to do something, and also the confi dence to stay at home alone.

“Guide Dogs aren’t just a mobility aid, they’re a companion for life.”

By 2020, the number of people in WA who are blind or vision impaired is projected to double to more than 80,000. This means one in every 40 people over 40 will experience blindness or vision impairment.

It takes two years and costs $30,000 to train a Guide Dog, and the association is totally reliant on the support of the community to fund the Guide Dog program.

In 2013, the association is training 30 puppies to become life-changing companions for people who are blind or vision impaired.

Facts and fi gures• The minimum age to receive a

Guide Dog is 17.• The Association for the Blind of

WA has a 65 per cent success rate for training Guide Dog puppies to become working Guide Dogs.

• The average working life for a Guide Dog is 8.5 years.

• Many Guide Dogs users will have multiple Guide Dogs throughout the course of their life.

• There are currently 45 working Guide Dogs in Western Australia.

• In 2013, there are 18 Guide Dog Teams living and working together in regional areas of WA.


Life-changing partnership gives mum freedom and confi denceBusselton resident Kaylene Brennan has overcome immense medical hurdles and has now regained her independence thanks to a special partnership with Guide Dog Willow.Kaylene lost sight in her right eye when she was 23 due to diabetic retinopathy, a rare complication for diabetes sufferers. One year after losing vision in her right eye, Kaylene lost vision in her left. It was at this point that Kaylene, a qualifi ed primary school teacher, was forced to step away from her profession.

But Kaylene’s medical issues had not yet come to an end. In 1999, after falling down and cutting her leg, she contracted a golden staph infection that resulted in a cardiac arrest.

“I died on the table," she said. “And then my heart started beating again for some reason. Someone was looking after me.”

Through the generous support of the community, the Association for the Blind of WA was able to provide Kaylene with much-needed services in her local area, including training with her new Guide Dog Willow.

Among other things, receiving Willow has enabled Kaylene to walk to and from school every day with nine-year-old Jayden.

“It is nice to have the confi dence to get Jayden to and from school safely and without having

to rely on other people all the time. Willow is helping me work towards regaining my independence,” said Kaylene.

It was through the association’s offi ce in Kaylene’s local area, Bunbury, that she received the encouragement and support to apply for a Guide Dog.

“I'd been on hundreds of walks with Orientation and Mobility Instructor Tom Blair from the Bunbury offi ce,” Kaylene said. “He made sure I was confi dent with a cane before encouraging me to apply for a Guide Dog.”

In 2011, Kaylene celebrated the start of her journey with Willow at a special Guide Dog graduation ceremony in Busselton.

“Nearly 40 per cent of our Guide Dog owners live in regional areas of WA so it’s important we ensure they receive the necessary support throughout the working life of their Guide Dog,” Association for the Blind of WA Manager of Mobility Services Zena Gomes said.

“It’s easy to be forgotten in the country, so having support and services in my area has really made a difference,” Kaylene said.

The Guide Dog dos and don’tsTo ensure the safety of both the Guide Dog owner and the Guide Dog, when meeting a Guide Dog there are simple guidelines you should follow:

• Guide Dogs need to concentrate. Never distract a working Guide Dog or a Guide Dog puppy-in-training while it’s in harness.

• Always ask the handler before saying hello to their Guide Dog. It’s common courtesy to address a person before speaking to their canine companion.

• Keep your dog on a lead. Guide Dogs are trained to ignore the presence of other dogs. Ensure your dog is always walked on a lead to prevent distraction or injury to a Guide Dog.

• Never offer food to a Guide Dog. Guide Dogs must ignore food and other distractions to ensure they can guide their owner safely.

• Guide Dogs get time off too. Guide Dogs are only working when in harness, out of harness they can play and behave like any other (well trained) pet dog.

• Guide Dogs can go anywhere. By law, Guide Dog owners and puppy raisers are allowed access to all public places except zoos and operating theatres. Don’t discriminate by denying access to a person with a Guide Dog.

In 2011, Kaylene celebrated beginning her journey with Willow at a special Guide Dog graduation ceremony in Busselton, which her family and friends were able to attend.

In


High-tech independence thanks to innovative apps and programsNew apps and programs for mobile devices are providing an unprecedented level of mobility to people with vision impairment.For Elise Lonsdale, independence comes from more than just using a white cane.

Elise has congenital glaucoma and had cataracts removed when she was two years old. With an artifi cial left eye, Elise has 10 per cent of the vision of a fully sighted person.

For most of her life Elise relied on her residual vision to help her get around, but began using a white cane to assist her mobility in 2009.

In 2011, Elise began using apps and programs on her iPad and iPhone to help her navigate her way through the community on her own, fi nd new destinations, meet up with friends, and stay active.

“I use this technology all the time and I enjoy using it,” Elise said. “Different apps and devices are good in different circumstances, whether you’re using an application in its visual format or through a screen reader, or whether you’re walking somewhere or travelling on public transport.”

The Association for the Blind of WA’s Orientation and Mobility Instructors work closely with people who are blind or vision

impaired to identify and effectively use new technologies to assist their mobility with a white cane or Guide Dog.

“Apps and GPS devices are useful tools that supplement a person’s mobility skills with a white cane or a Guide Dog,” Association for the Blind of WA Mobility Services Manager Zena Gomes said.

With mainstream devices and technology continuing to improve, there is a vast range of devices and apps that are easily accessible to assist people who are blind or vision impaired with staying mobile.

In 2012, the association’s Orientation and Mobility Instructors provided 5580 hours of mobility training to almost 600 people in WA.

Elise’s top fi ve apps• Google Maps• Apple Maps• Blindsquare• Ariadne GPS• Find My Friends

University students working on multi-sensor white caneSix Curtin University PhD students are building a gadget that could further enhance the use of the most reliable navigation tool for people who are blind – the cane. The white cane has been a successful innovation for decades and, by using special multi-sensor array technology, the Indoor Navigation Project will enable people who are blind to sense their surroundings beyond the cane’s tip.

Project leader Dr Iain Murray of Curtin University’s Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering said the gadget would resemble a smart phone and would sense the entire room’s features, build a virtual map of it and communicate this to the user.

“A cane is benefi cial for going up and down stairs or detecting if obstacles are right in front of you, but is not capable of telling you if something is more than a metre or two away,” Dr Murray said.

“What we are developing is a multi-sensor device for people who are blind, who are

also often hearing impaired, to tell them what is exactly around them from wall to wall.”

Dr Murray said fi ve students would each take on the development of one type of sensor, whether it was sensing the change of velocity, images or noise.

The sixth student will be responsible for pooling the sensors into one gadget, which will ultimately contribute towards building a map of the indoor environment including moving objects.

“While many indoor locations already have a map that people who are blind can use to fi nd their way around, they don’t allow for change and can therefore be quite dangerous,” Dr Murray said.

Once obstacles are identifi ed, a map will be constructed using a Building Information Modelling System suitable for the vision impaired.

What we are developing is a multi-sensor device for people who are blind, who are also often hearing impaired, to tell them what is exactly around them from wall to wall.

W

CRICOS Provider Code 00301J CU-SC-0014 / BRAND CUESC0170 Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology

Global research and development to aid the visually impaired.

Curtin University would like to congratulate The Association for the

Blind of WA for 100 years of service to the community. For the last

15 years, we have been a proud partner, working together on

technological innovations to improve the lives of the visually impaired.

Our Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering staff and

researchers have been involved in a number of projects including

partnering with the Cisco Academy to deliver a global education program

to 150 students in over 14 countries. This program prepares students

for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and networking

careers. To learn more visit eec.curtin.edu.au

Working together we can make tomorrow better.

A clear vision for the future.


Independent mobility is within reach after acquired brain injury Caring for two children under the age of four keeps any parent on their toes, but for Natalie Walker, walking her sons Cooper, 3, and Daniel, 1, to day care is a challenge on a whole new level.Natalie lost her entire left fi eld of vision after suffering a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage – a rare and serious form of stroke – early last year.

Following her stroke, Natalie was referred to the Association for the Blind of WA’s Acquired Brain Injury Vision Service to learn strategies to maximise the vision she had left.

An acquired brain injury is any type of brain damage that occurs after birth, and can be caused by stroke, infection, tumour, trauma or substance abuse.

Approximately 160,000 Australians are living with some form of acquired brain injury, and like Natalie, more than half experience problems with their vision.

“Before training, I was walking into things a lot and had several black eyes and pairs of broken glasses! Since completing my training, I no longer bump into things,” Natalie said.

Association for the Blind of WA Orientation and Mobility Instructor Erin Diaco said Natalie

was initially given the guide cane to hold across her body to protect her from further injury, but she now only needed it as a way to inform others of her vision impairment.

For Natalie, being able to get out and about with Cooper and Daniel is one of the biggest benefi ts of her visual scanning rehabilitation.

“When I came out of hospital I couldn’t cross a road on my own. With Erin’s help, I’ve learned to catch buses with my two little children, something I never thought I’d be able to do,” Natalie said.

The Association for the Blind of WA’s Acquired Brain Injury Vision Service is the fi rst dedicated acquired brain injury visual assessment and rehabilitation facility in Western Australia.

A team of qualifi ed Orthoptists, Occupational Therapists and Orientation and Mobility Instructors assess functional vision and level of mobility and devise and implement tailored training programs.

Facts and fi gures• This service was established

under a grant from the Jean Murray Jones Charitable Trust.

• Referrals are welcomed from individuals, family members and health professionals (allied health, GPs and neurologists).

• Vision assessment and rehabilitation services are provided at the association’s Perron Centre in Victoria Park, and in the home and community.


Unlocking the age-old braille codeWhen most people think about a code, the passcode on their phone, security code for their house or even the historic Morse code might spring to mind. But there’s another code, a tactile written code, that many Western Australians who are blind or vision impaired use every day to access information. This code is known as braille.

Braille is a pattern of embossed dots on a page, with each different combination of six dots representing a different letter in the alphabet.

It was these arrangements of dots that played a major role in the formation of the Ladies Braille Society in 1913, when a group of Perth women got together to transcribe written texts into braille for people who were blind or vision impaired as an affordable alternative to buying specially made braille books.

Braille transcription remains an important service provided by the Ladies Braille Society’s successor, the Association for the Blind of WA, through its Dr Geoff Gallop Braille and Talking Book Library.

“Many people think technology such as audio books will take the place of braille, but I don’t think it will,” Supervisor of Library Braille Production and lifetime braille user Jean Fisher said.

“Braille is a person’s literacy skill; you read it and write it. Children with vision impairment

who learn to read braille learn spelling, grammar and punctuation. It’s the same as reading and learning English, the words are just conveyed through their hands instead of their eyes.”

Braille materials are very bulky, and one print novel can be transferred into up to six smaller volumes of braille so the weight of the paper doesn’t squash the embossed dots.

“Technology has really changed the braille department over the years,” Jean said.

“When I started 34 years ago, there was a team of around 30 volunteer transcribers who would manually transcribe braille on a page with a Perkins Brailler. If the proof-readers found a mistake, the whole page had to be re-brailled again, so it was very labour intensive.

“Now we can print out one volume of a digitally converted novel on a braille embosser in half an hour.”

The association’s library converts around 1700 texts, electronic fi les and recordings to braille on demand each year.

Facts and fi gures• Louis Braille, who lost his sight at age

four, invented the braille system as a teenager in 1824, and it was adopted for mainstream use in the 1850s.

• The Braille Department converts almost anything into braille, including water bills, cookbooks, ballot papers, educational textbooks, birthday cards,

newsletters, novels and game instructions.

• With many Western Australians opting to use braille for its literacy benefi ts, the association also teaches braille to both people who are sighted, and people with vision impairment.

Audio books open doors and encourage learningThose of us who can read take for granted the countless times each day we rely on printed information: reading our emails, glancing at the newspaper, checking bills or curling up with our favourite book.But for the 1.3 million Australians who have a print disability, including 575,000 Australians who are blind or vision impaired, accessing the written word isn’t so easy.

For more than 30 years the Association for the Blind of WA’s Dr Geoff Gallop Braille and Talking Book Library has been the state’s most comprehensive source of accessible format information for people who are blind or vision impaired.

Now the library is broadening its reach – and its impact – by expanding services to people with print disabilities, such as dyslexia, throughout Western Australia.

Students from Mazenod College are among the fi rst groups to make use of the association’s digital library of accessible format texts.

“We have a number of students who have been diagnosed with dyslexia,” Mazenod

College Education Support Josephine McNally said.

“These students generally fi nd reading very laborious and often they have to concentrate so much on decoding words that their comprehension is affected. As a result they’re reluctant to read.

“Through the association’s digital library, students will have access to digital novels and other material that would normally be presented to them in print form.”

The association’s digital library was developed in 2011 through the Lotterywest-supported Beyond Books, Beyond Barriers project.

Through the two-year project, the library converted thousands of audio books from cassette to digital format, and partnered with digital libraries around the world to provide an ever-growing database of digital texts. The library now partners with equivalent accessible format libraries in Canada, Malaysia and South Africa.

“One of the most exciting things about this service is that students can access it for the rest of their lives. This will be of great benefi t for those students who go on to further learning after they leave school,” Josephine said.

Facts and fi gures• The Association for the Blind of

WA has one of the largest ‘talking book’ libraries in the Southern Hemisphere.

• Talking books are narrated versions of printed books supplied on CD or in digital format and are a vital resource for people with print disabilities.

• The online catalogue is available at guidedogswa.org.

• Any person with a print disability, and those with selected other disabilities, are eligible to use the service.

• More than 70,000 texts are either immediately available for download or available for conversion.

• In 2011, Lotterywest granted the association $497,497 to purchase a large consignment of talking book players to provide to its library borrowers.

Proudly supporting

C ongratulations on 100 years service to the community.

www.jwhgroup.com.au

CM_J

COBL

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Walter & Jewel


Now, thanks to the support of New Town Toyota and the Perron Group, Guide Dog puppies will travel in style with a fully branded and fi tted out transportation vehicle.

Guide Dogs get to travel in style thanks to the support of ToyotaSocialising and familiarising Guide Dog puppies with different environments is an important part of Guide Dog training. Throughout the course of their two-year preparation, puppies will travel by car, train, bus, and maybe even plane, to learn the routes their future owner is likely to traverse.

Taking groups of young Guide Dog pups out in the city is a tough job for a Guide Dog instructor. Their training requires special harnesses, leads and equipment, and a regular vehicle just doesn’t do the job.

Now, thanks to the support of New Town Toyota and the Perron Group, Guide Dog puppies will travel in style with a fully branded and fi tted out transportation vehicle. New Town Toyota has donated a Toyota HiAce van to the Association for the Blind of WA to be used to safely transport multiple dogs in the Perth metro and regional areas.

The van is just one measure of New Town Toyota’s signifi cant support in recent years. In 2011, the dealership donated two vehicles for an Association for the Blind of WA charity event, and last year, they supported

Guide Dogs through the launch of the Next Generation Toyota Corolla Hatch – raising money by setting aside $100 from every car sold during the month of November to the Guide Dog program.

The association relies on the support of the community to fund its Guide Dog program, and corporate partnerships provide signifi cant support with many businesses sponsoring a Guide Dog, or lending support in other ways, via corporate volunteering, workplace giving, Mini Dogs or street appeals.

“Our Guide Dog program has a lot to offer local businesses,” Association for the Blind of WA Chief Executive Offi cer Dr Clare Allen said. “We’re highly visible, we have real and tangible outcomes and who doesn’t love meeting our Guide Dog puppies?”

If your business would like to support the Guide Dog program please contact Margie Bradley on [email protected] or 9311 8236.

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Legacy lives on through Guide Dog Throughout the past 100 years, the association has relied on a large ‘family’ of supporters stretching right across the state. Around 45 per cent of funds received by the association come from generous individuals, companies or philanthropic organisations. Of those, more than 1000 individuals or organisations are long-standing donors, continually supporting the association for over 15 years.

For almost 40 years the Association for the Blind of WA Albany Ladies Auxiliary has been one of the many loyal organisations supporting the association’s work.

Since 1975, the auxiliary has raised over $400,000 through activities such as raffl es and monthly stalls.

“The auxiliary has a long history of supporting and advocating for the association’s work, and we’re very proud of this support,” Albany Ladies Auxiliary President Barbara Liddle said.

“It’s through the generosity of the Albany community and the dedication of our auxiliary members that we can continue to raise money for the association.”

Not only supporters, the auxiliary members are ambassadors for the association, placing and collecting the association’s Mini Dog coin collecting containers in Albany and other regional areas of WA.

Most recently, the auxiliary sponsored a Guide Dog puppy in honour of a signifi cant bequest left to them from one of their

dedicated and long-standing volunteers, Enid Mena White.

In January 2013, a yellow Guide Dog puppy was given Enid’s middle name, Mena, as a way of forming a lasting connection to the signifi cant bequest Enid left to the auxiliary.

“Enid was a very loyal and hardworking auxiliary member,” Barbara said.

“She always worked hard to support the Guide Dogs, she really lived for it, and so it seemed like the natural thing to do.

“I’m sure she’d be chuffed to know she had a Guide Dog sponsored and named after her.”

“The association is privileged to have such strong, ongoing support from individuals and organisations within the community for the last 100 years,” Association for the Blind of WA Chief Executive Offi cer Clare Allen said.

“The Association for the Blind exists today because members of the community got together to try and make a difference to the lives of people with vision impairment. We owe much to the support of community groups such as the Albany Ladies Auxilliary.”

Show your supportMany of the association’s programs, such as the iconic Guide Dog program, rely entirely on the support of the community for funding.

Donate to the Guide Dog program by visiting: guidedogswa.com.au/donate or call (08) 9311 8202.

For almost 40 years the Association for the Blind Albany Ladies Auxiliary has been one of the many loyal organisations supporting the association’s work.

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Congratulations on 100 years of providing life changing services to people living with blindness or vision impairment.

The Scottish Masonic Charitable Foundation of Western Australia has formed a strong partnership with the Association and is the proud sponsor of Guide Dog puppies Skye and Tara.

We look forward to providing ongoing support to the Association’s initiative to assist people who are blind or vision

www.smcfwa.com.au


By law, all working Guide Dogs and puppies-in-training are permitted access to public places including restaurants, cafes, hotels, shopping centres, theatres and hospitals, and can travel on all forms of public transport including buses, trains, taxis and planes.It can be humiliating and upsetting when a person who is blind or vision impaired is refused entry to a public place because they have a Guide Dog. To spread the word about Guide Dog access rights, the association launched the Guide Dogs Can Go Anywhere campaign in the community with life-size Guide Dog decals in all McDonald’s stores this year, and Guide Dogs Can Go Anywhere stickers for businesses to display in shop windows and online. “The association is serious about the access rights of its clients, and we are dedicated to promoting the Guide Dogs Can Go Anywhere message in the community,” Association for the Blind of WA Chief Executive Offi cer Dr Clare Allen said.

Please donate today by visiting everydayhero.com.au/events/emergencyvetfundor call (08) 9311 8202.

Help give Guide Dogs emergency medical careThe Emergency Vet Fund provides for unexpected or non-routine vet care for working Guide Dogs and Guide Dogs-in-training. It ensures Guide Dog owners don’t have the burden of fi nding funds for expensive and unexpected surgery or treatment.In the past 12 months the cost of emergency vet care has increased by 50 per cent. Guide Dogs urgently need your support so they can access medical care in the event of an emergency.

Guide Dogs can go anywhere

Give me a name and a chance to change a life.

It takes two years and costs $30,000 to train each and every Guide Dog. The Association for the Blind of WA relies totally on community support to fund the Guide Dog Program. If your family or business can help by sponsoring a Guide Dog puppy for $30,000, visit www.guidedogswa.com.au or call 9311 8202.

towards a brighter future - the west australian · 8/13/2013 · working toward a brighter vision...

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