Anne Abbott, President

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ARTS AND DRAMA NIGHT

  Speaking Differently presented its first ARTS and DRAMA night on November 4th, featuring an arts show and play which were an enormous success!

  Artists from the Aphasia Institute and other talented individuals shared their artwork with us. All of the artists got recognition for their wonderful work, and some even sold pieces of their art.   

  Congratulations go out to Joanne Thomas, Zoltan (Zoli) Kovacs, Long Ta, Anne Abbott, Pat Breckenridge, Susan Pearen, Betty Wangenheim, Pat Sabado, June Hu-A-Kam, Massell Smith and Bill Scott.

 The play BROKEN SPEECH is an observational play about how one strives to survive in a world that is primarily based on the spoken word.  Written by Tony Diamanti, David Lam and Vivian Luong, and produced by SD’s Garth Foote, Broken Speech was an absolute hit. Everybody loved it! Not only was it humourous, it also portrayed an AAC user (Tony Diamanti) in a very honest and positive way.

  Congratulations go out to the actors: Tony Diamanti, Blake Thorne, Cliff Makinson and David Occhipinti and to all those who helped make this project a reality.

   Funds were provided by the Trillium Foundation, and the space was donated for the night by the Rehabilitation Science Building of U of T. We thank them for their generosity.   

  We at Speaking Differently, with the help and participation of our members, look forward to working on and presenting our next Arts and Drama night.  A great big thank you is extended to all those who attended.

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The Aphasia Institute’s Painting Program

    The painting program at the Aphasia Institute is a painting studio adapted for the individual needs of artists with aphasia. 

  Painting instructor Rita Anne Piquet is a professional painter who describes painting as a nonverbal language. Artists with different levels of experience ranging from novice to experienced can take part in the art world, a world where people with aphasia can have control, find relief from the verbal world,

master new skills and stimulate the active mind.

  For more information go to:

    http://www.aphasia.ca/

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Tony Diamanti (on how it felt to have his first play become a reality).

  Actually working with the staff of the play was a great time, I actually felt like a part of a 
team in getting out the message to the general public about how AAC users have the same 
thought processes as speaking people, and how we have the same feelings and desires in life 
as all human beings, and we are not a medically ill group of people as most of the general 
public may perceive us to be, including the medical profession itself. 

  Personally in doing this play, I felt a real sense of being a team player.  On the night of the play, 
we did these exercises in which we shook out all the jitters of pre-game performances.  
I felt like a hockey goal tender getting ready for a big do or die play off game.  In which after, 
we had advanced to the next round of the playoffs.So we'll see where the next round takes us, 
hopefully to that Stanley Cup, where we open many eyes.

ICE CONFERENCE 2005

ICE Canada will be hosting its second consumer-centered conference the weekend of April 8^th, 9^th and 10^th.  This year’s theme is “Wellness”.

 The conference is open to all adults using augmentative communication and to adults interested in AAC issues or just interested in learning more about augmentative and alternative communication.

  ICE stands for Independence, Community and Empowerment.

  Stay tuned for more information on registration and program.

E mail of the Month

As you heard from Urszula, in May, SD started a new venture: the Email of the Month.

Each month Urszula will send you an email, asking for your opinion on a subject of importance to people who use AAC. 

It is simple to reply:

1.    Click the "Reply" button

2.    Type in your reply

3.    Click the "Send" button

Your replies may be very short or lengthier. It 's up to you. And we will not publish your name without permission.
 
And, we'll publish the results regularly in this newsletter, Loud 'N Clear. If the response to these emails is good, we'll make it a permanent part of our
services to members. In addition, building this base of information will provide data for our lobbying efforts, and we can be sure that we truly reflect the views of SD members. 

  If you haven't already done so, reply today!

ALSO, if there are questions you'd like included in our Email of the Month, let Urszula know.

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Trillium and Public Education

A new communication item by Tony Diamanti has been added to our public education materials. There now are 3 separate pieces available for your use.  If you know of groups or situations where these materials would help people understand what it's like to 'speak differently', let Bern know, and we will arrange to make them available. 

For example. if you are on a committee with people who know little about AAC, or doing a presentation to a group about AAC, these are great handouts.  They also fulfill one aspect of our Trillium Project.

Members are urged to think about where they might take these informational pieces about how we "speak differently" and the impact on our lives. 

Copies of the educational material are available for your use.  Contact Bern O'Keefe at b.okeefe@utoronto.ca.  Leave enough time for these to be sent to you prior to when you need them.