Programs in
Assistive Technology Education
for End-Users in Europe

Name of the organisation
    HANDICAPÉS ET INFORMATIQUE
Address
    Avenue de l'Opale, 108
    1030 Bruxelles
    BELGIUM
    Telephone: +32 2 6555488
    Fax: +32 2 6555523
Key Person of the organisation
    Robert L. Cock, administrative officer

An AT information centre involved in education/training, informatiàon/advice, research and public awareness raising. Educational activities began 5-10 years ago and include the issues of AT, independent living and coping better with disability. These activities are addressed to persons with disabilities, personal assistants and professionals.

The educational activities carried out over the past 5 years can be classified as follows:

  • 6 non-residential training courses, addressed to a target of persons with disabilities, and educational and rehabilitation professionals;
  • seminars, in the form of conferences, exclusively addressed to persons with disabilities and rehabilitation professionals;
  • information activities, including all the considered options, addressed to a various and highly articulated target of users and professionals;
  • activities addressed to the individual, mainly in the form of advice and information services, addressed to the same target.

Only brief information on AT is given in most of these initiatives, while its role becomes important and very important in the activities addressed to the individual; the most widely covered areas in this field are employment, communication, mobility and vision.

TRAINING COURSES AND SEMINARS

These activities are targeted exclusively at persons with disabilities. According to a note added by the compiler, the training courses had the aim of providing basic education in the use of computers by persons with disabilities; another kind of training course offered was a pilot experiment in tele-training. Both these initiatives were held in collaboration with the Education Department of the Municipality of Brussels.

Selection

The initiatives were publicised via leaflets and posters, as well as through mailing to specialised centres; information was sent out to the organisation's address database and to rehabilitation centres, and was handed out at congresses and exhibitions. Participants were chosen on the basis of their age, impairment type (motor and auditory), professional experience and personal interests, but also considering their wish to be included in the field of administrative work. Teachers were selected according to their level of expertise and their professional qualifications; no preference for teachers with disability was expressed. Disabled participants received reimbursement of their enrolment fee from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Organisation

The organisation set up a special space on its premises to develop these activities, but some were also held off its premises; special attention was paid to general comfort and overall accessibility. A special farewell session was organised, in the form of a final lunch for participants, while no teacher co-ordination was organised.

Implementation

The methods used were group discussions and group work, with a strong accent on interactivity, the pedagogical key-word selected together with learning by doing. Overhead projection and software for content presentation were the most commonly used educational aids, while the hands-on sessions were based on individual use of products.

Information on participants was collected through a presentation form and an introductory questionnaire, and was subsequently used to readjust the contents and methods on the basis of the real target; participant feedback was gathered in the form of personal impressions, and is used to readjust the contents and methods of the next edition of the same course.

Finally, follow-up was carried out by direct contact and interviews.