Meet our newest team member - Noah!
Meet Noah CallanNoah is our newest team member at Kids Plus, taking on the role of AAC and Technology Coordinator in our team.We asked Noah to tell him a bit about himself!....I have Athetoid Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegia and I’m a technology buff. I love finding new ways to implement technology to improve my life. I also enjoy having a laugh.My lovesMy family has deep connections to Geelong and so naturally, I barrack for the Geelong Cats. I’m a Seinfeld fan, especially George Costanza because he’s too funny and stupid at the same time. I am a massive Harry Potter fan and for my 21st, I had a Harry Potter themed party. I was none other than Voldemort. As time has gone on I have become more and more interested in technology, particularly anything that enabled me to communicate with people.My roleMy job is to create content and resources in a variety of formats for distribution which supports greater AAC awareness and use for young people with a range of neurodevelopmental conditions.I also assist in the delivery of AAC related professional development training (E.g. workshops, conferences) for users, family members and carers, as well as allied health professionals. Working in collaboration with the Kids Plus therapy team means we can provide information to Kids Plus clients about AAC and technology options to improve independence and function, making the Kids Plus Foundation a tech information hub for our AAC users. It offers opportunities for people to upload their current ‘User Set Up' so as their personal experiences and knowledge about assistive technology can be shared with others by disability, device, software and hardware. This includes pictures.By being able to upload visuals as well as written information, individuals are given the opportunity to visually see how an individual user is working their set up. There is also a 'News' section where articles are posted, focusing on innovation and relevant assistive technology topics and ‘Forums,’ a place for people to share and discuss matters related to using assistive technology.My role also includes creating an AAC Peer Mentoring program, whereby family members and carers can have practice using various devices and getting advice from our team, including a Q&A with an AAC user and discussing how we can improve a person’s AAC experience.