ACE Centre, Oxford A brief introduction Stephen Druce Projects Officer Tel. 44 (0)

Our Mission The ACE Centre exists to enable access to communication, education and learning to improve the quality of life of those who have significant communication and physical disabilities. This is done in co-operation with regional services and through the use of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) and the application of the appropriate assistive technology for learning and communication (ATLC).

What we do Communication Assessments Communication Technology Communication Training Communication Information Communication R & D

Who we are An interdisciplinary team –Teachers –Speech therapists –Occupational therapists –Physiotherapist –Technologists –Publications/website manager –Projects Officer –Fundraiser –Administrative staff An Independent Charitable Trust.

Research and Development Mission To remove barriers To close the gap To expand horizons By: Promoting innovative research and influencing product development in the Assistive Technology field in partnership with providers, users and academics.

What we can bring to projects Assessment of user requirements Support to user interface design Product evaluation User trials Accessibility and Usability consultancy Bridge user, research and supplier communities

A pan-european “network of excellence” project, Cogain aims to integrate eye gaze expertise for the benefit of users with disabilities, focussing on motor-control disorders. COGAIN

An Anglo-Swedish funded project, OATS (Open Source Assistive Technology Software) aims to make Open Source Assistive Technology Software available for all via a repository of software, and to promote the development of new projects via a forge between AT OSS developers and AT end users. OATS

Alternative Access Interfacing to Windows Alternative Access Interfacing to Windows (AAIW) is an Anglo-Swedish funded feasibility project exploring the potential of Microsoft’s UI Automation for the next generation of Assistive Technology accessible software. Windows Vista has given Microsoft the opportunity to build in a new accessibility system called UIAutomation so that AT software vendors with a concern and interest in alternative accessibility and “reasonable adjustment” can develop a uniform interface to interact with Windows and its applications. The deliverables of this feasibility study are technical documentation and demonstrators. AAIW

GameOn! is a website service for young people with disabilities, who miss out on the opportunities provided by computer-based games and leisure software simply because they can't control joysticks or other gaming devices. The idea behind the website is to enable people with physical difficulties to find games that they can play by selecting the type of control device(s) they use. Gameon! will continue as an ongoing service through Special Effect. GameON!

A European “Leonardo” project, Keeping Pace with Technology (KPT) is an international project providing guidance for the training of professionals working with people using assistive technology. Its main deliverable is a set of guidelines for AT trainers. KPT

Working together, Becta (The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) and The Ace Centre are developing guidance and supporting materials for mainstream software developers to promote the accessibility and usability of educational software. /reasonableadjustment/ Reasonable Adjustments

Our most recent in-house project, Talking Together takes the ideas and work developed in ACE’s “Developing and using a communication book” a stage further. “High tech” resources & templates across a wide range of VOCA-based systems will partly mirror and partly adapt the first four levels of this now classic book. Talking Together

A DFES funded project, this is a new project being undertaken jointly by the ACE Centre Advisory Trust and the ACE Centre North working in partnership with four Pathfinder Children's Trusts (Croydon, Brighton & Hove, Bolton, North Lincs.). The project aims to develop new and improved protocols for the provision and support of Assistive Technology and Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Models of Multi- Disciplinary Working

SpeechBubble will be a new web-based tool for informed users and professionals to select appropriate combinations of voice output communication hardware, communication software and vocabulary packages to meet individual user preferences. This project updates and extends the current ACE Centre searchable VOCA database to include commercial software and vocabulary packages. Subject to success of funding applications. SpeechBubble

Contacts Stephen Druce – Andrew Lysley – Website: Address: 92 Windmill Road Headington Oxford OX3 7DR England