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Posts Tagged ‘Autism’

Artist Profile: Laser Beak Man

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

A DOUBLE SHOT OF HAPPINESS

Laser Beak Man - A DOUBLE SHOT OF HAPPINESS

 

Tim Sharp is 23 years old and has Autism. Autism is a lifelong condition that is without a cure. It severely affects everyday life and it cruelly impacts the most on the ability to communicate and form relationships.

Tim was diagnosed with Autism when he was three years old. Such were Tim’s enormous difficulties that the doctor’s advice was “that the best thing to do was put him away and forget about him.” Rejecting the prognosis, intensive therapy began immediately and bravely Tim tried to overcome what was so terrifying and difficult for him.

Drawing was used as a way of helping Tim to communicate. At age 11 Tim invented Laser Beak Man who allows Tim to show the world his great sense of humour and intelligence as well as his quirky way of looking at life.

DON'T LEAVE ME

Laser Beak Man - DON'T LEAVE ME

Tim was the only Australian selected by a jury in the young adult drawing category for the VSA (Very Special Arts) Festival in Washington DC. Founded 30 years ago by Continue reading Artist Profile: Laser Beak Man

In Case You Missed It: Music, Comedy, and HTML5

Friday, April 29th, 2011

It’s been a frustrating month for HTML5 watchers. We’ve seen the table summary and image alt text become second class citizens. So to keep the spirits up we’ve found some happy stories on the net. Look for great rap tunes by 50 Tyson and Kessy. Beethoven’s Nightmare is the first deaf hard rock group. Paralympic Katy Sullivan battles a snuggie and Baks the blind dog finds a helpful guide goose.

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In Case You Missed It: Travel, Adventure, and Education

Friday, March 11th, 2011

There is a lot to explore in this week’s list of links. We’ve found some interesting resources for travel, technology, education, and life. Don’t miss the upcoming film Wretches and Jabberrers about two autistic men that share their stories with people around the world. The Kenguru is a small car made just for wheelchairs. You don’t need a car when you’ve got explorers like Bob ’4WheelBob’ Coomber and the No Barriers Summit.

Cognitive Accessibility Online

Monday, December 13th, 2010

For most of us, the Internet is an important part of our daily lives.  It is a source of news, information and entertainment. However, for individuals with cognitive disabilities, especially those with severe cognitive disabilities, the Internet is difficult, if not impossible to use.

According to the US Census Bureau, 14.3 million Americans age 15 and over have a cognitive disability. This includes 1.9 million who have Alzheimer’s disease, senility or dementia, and 3.5 million with a learning disability (US Census Bureau, 2001). This means that improving accessibility of the web to this population is an important problem; however, “those with cognitive disabilities and learning difficulties, appear to have slipped through the cracks to a large extent when it comes to website accessibility” (Hudson, Weakley & Firminger, 2005).

Continue reading Cognitive Accessibility Online