Communication Works #CW2023 #GetSeen 2023!
Thank you to everyone for coming.
South Event:
Thursday, 18 May 2023
Venue: Charlton Athletic Football Club
North Stand, The Valley, Floyd Road, London SE7 8B
North Event:
Thursday, 25 May 2023
Venue: New Bridge Academy
Roman Road, Failsworth, Oldham, Greater Manchester, OL8 3PH
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About the event
We are delighted to be partnering with Ace Centre to host Communication Works 2023. Communication Works (#CW2023) is a free event giving visitors the opportunity to see a range of assistive and accessible technology, communication tools, digital strategies and person-centred approaches first-hand.
The 2023 theme is #GetSeen and we are delighted that Paralympian and inspirational AAC user and advocate Beth Moulam will be delivering the keynote speech at both events. We are also delighted that Clarke Reynolds, a well known and innovative Braille artist, will also be delivering a keynote speech at Communication Works South and holding a Braille art workshop throughout the day (please scroll down for more information about Beth Moulam and Clarke Reynolds).
Arran Smith, Microsoft’s SEND and Dyslexia Consultant will also be joining us as a special guest speaker. He will be talking about Assistive Technology which has been brought into mainstream use which enables people of all ages to access the inbuilt assistive technology anytime, anywhere.
Programme of Seminars
Our programme of seminars share best practice and implementation ideas for supporting learners using assistive technology led by our team of advisory teachers, SLTs, OTs and product specialists with the assistance of some of our wonderful CENMAC students.
Download the seminar programme
Follow us for all the latest updates on Twitter and Instagram as we use #CW2023 and #GetSeen to spread the word.
Keynote speaker – Beth Moulam – Paralympian & AAC Advocate
We are delighted to welcome Beth Moulam as our special Keynote speaker to Communication Works 2023.
Beth is a Paralympian, public speaker, social policy graduate and wonderful advocate for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) inclusion.
She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games in the sport called Boccia.
Beth has cerebral palsy and her speech is dysarthric. This means that her speech is slow due to muscle weakness and she can be difficult to understand, so she uses a range of assistive technologies as well as body language and gestures to communicate.
Beth has not let her disability stand in her way and is determined to improve the lives of others. Communication is a human right and Beth has the desire to empower others to share their views, opinions, needs, wants, and feelings with those around them. She is currently studying for her Masters in Research, Social Policy as she believes changing current policy will help others to receive the support they need.
Beth has travelled all over the world for speaking engagements and workshops encouraging others to make their dreams a reality.
To learn more about Beth take a look at a recent video interview with CENMAC student ambassador Khamani or visit her website.
Beth playing Boccia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games
Keynote speaker – Clarke Reynolds – Braille artist
We are delighted to welcome Clarke Reynolds to Communication Works South.
Clarke is registered severely sight impaired and is a visual artist. His artistic language is braille, the tactile coding system which is made up of a six dot cell allowing people of low vision to read. Words are important to a vision impaired person, so using the power of the English language, Clarke uses the braille dot to be a vessel to hold that word through shape, colour and size of the dot.
Over the past two years Clarke has been exploring braille as a visual language, having multiple solo exhibitions including his first solo show in the capital at Quantus gallery. Clarke is a braille typographer making a tactile experience that is also visual. Clarke’s aim is to bring braille into the 21st century through workshops, exhibitions, and public art, and to be a role model for people of all ages with vision impairment.
Clarke has also been selected as one of the artists for Morph’s Epic Art Adventure London – an extraordinary, free public art trail from 19 June to 20 August 2023. Morph’s Epic Art Adventure in London is the UK’s first step-free art trail of its kind, hosted by Whizz-Kidz, the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users.
To learn more about Clarke visit his website: https://www.seeingwithoutseeing.com/
Clarke Reynolds – Braille Artist standing in front of some of his braille artworks.
Special guest speaker – Arran Smith – Microsoft’s UK SEND & Dyslexia Consultant
Arran Is a dyslexic entrepreneur that was diagnosed with severe dyslexia at 9 years old, along with other tendencies of neurodiverse conditions.
During Arran’s working life he has worked in many industries including previously working at the British Dyslexia Association.
Arran’s career has continued in the field of dyslexia with him now being the Managing Director of the SEND Group Ltd and Founder of the Dyslexia Show LTD.
Over the past five years Arran has continued to work in the education and SEND field, more recently with Microsoft as the UK’s Dyslexia and SEND Consultant.
With a special interest in technology Arran uses Assistive Technology to support his dyslexia needs daily.
Arran Smith, Microsoft’s UK SEND & Dyslexia Consultant
Exhibition
The exhibition space will provide an opportunity for visitors to get hands on with the latest products and innovations in assistive technology (AT) and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with new and established suppliers.
Exhibitors
South & North: Ace Centre, BrightSign glove, CandLE AAC, Communication Matters (ISAAC UK Ltd), Dolphin Computer Access Ltd, Filisia Interfaces Ltd, Humanware Europe Ltd, iAchieve, Inspiration, IRISBOND, Jabbla UK, Liberator Ltd, OrCam, Pretorian Technologies Ltd, ReadingWise, Rahana Life, Scanning Pens, Sensory App House Ltd, Sensory Guru Ltd, Smartbox Assistive Technology, Tobii Dynavox, Widgit.
South Only: CENMAC, Just2easy Limited, LuxAI, LGfL – The National Grid for Learning, pcbyvoice Ltd, picseepal, RIX Research and Media, Scribeasy Ltd, SeeAbility, Therapy Box, Voca Quest.
Remote Exhibitors: Our remote exhibitors are international and domestic. They will be providing the traditional exhibition experience but through teleconference from our dedicated stands.
Splash Maths – 10am to Noon
AssistiveWare – 10am to Noon
Right Hear – 2pm to 4pm
SVRAI – 2pm to 4pm
Find out more about our exhibitors.
Take a look at the video gallery and photos from last year’s Communication Works.
Who should attend?
School and health SEND teams including teachers, SENCOs, teaching assistants, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, QTVIs, educational psychologists, parents and carers, AAC and AT users.
In partnership
Thank you
We wish to say a big thank you to LGfL for the support they are providing for Communication Works South 2023 including promotion and coverage of the event this year.
