Meet Rayanne. This summer, she has been an important part of the Neil Squire Prairie Region team, wearing several hats from computer tutoring to admin
Neil Squire Update: September 2021
Rayanne's Summer at Neil Squire
A Neil Squire Success
Meet Rayanne. This summer, she has been an important part of the Neil Squire Prairie Region team, wearing several hats from computer tutoring to administrative work.
“I have mild cerebral palsy, and I deal with anxiety and depression,” she says.
“I have been working in a Computer Comfort Coordinator position,” she explains. “This involves teaching clients various computer skills to utilize in gaining employment. I also do administration work such as file auditing, answering phones, customer service, inventory, organization, and everyday general office duties.
“My favourite part about the work is that it helps make others’ jobs easier by alleviating some of their tasks and that it serves a clientele that I can often relate to and empathize with.”
What’s next? Her plan is to find employment in office-related or retail positions within the nonprofit/humanitarian industry or the service industry.
When Ron joined our Working Together program in Penticton, he was working full-time at a physically demanding job. He was looking for a way to transition to a more physically sustainable position where he could be more creative.
“I have upper and lower airways disease, effectively only a third of lung capacity,” he explains. “[I also have] L4/L5 L5/S1 back damage.”
Now, Ron is working part-time at his old job, along with doing IT work and consulting for non-profits as well as businesses across town. He is uniquely placed as the person who fills the niche his village needs.
“There have been many improvements, more energy at the end of the day, better quality of life. A true sense of helping and of purpose," he says.
“Working with Neil Squire was a breath of fresh air. Helpful, active, and there to help get things moving and done. Very much appreciated.”
Ginevra Gains Confidence From Assistive Technology
A WorkBC Assistive Technology Success
Ginevra is an outreach worker at the Powell River Brain Injury Society. Her duties range from assisting clients in activities like arts and crafts and preparing lunches, to gathering client information during the intake process.
“I have Recurrent Transverse Myelitis, which is a neurological condition in my spine that affects various peripheral nerves in my body. I experience numbness and lack of dexterity in my hands, especially my dominant hand,” she says.
Through WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, Ginevra received Dragon Professional software, which allows her to input text by speaking instead of typing, and a Livescribe pen and notebook, which allows her to digitize her handwritten notes. She also received training to use these assistive technologies.
“It is extremely helpful to use the Livescribe pen for client intake meetings, as my writing is illegible to even myself sometimes while I retrain my hand to write,” she explains. “Dragon software is very helpful when fatigue or a flare-up in my neurological symptoms renders my hand ineffective at typing. On good days, it speeds up my ability to input details, as my typing is very slow otherwise.
“I feel more confident in my ability to perform my duties at work, and not fall behind.”
Meet one of our Makers Making Change engineering interns: Tyler. Based out of Edmonton, Alberta, Tyler has been instrumental in outreach efforts in that city.
He's been a long-time maker. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at seven years old and frustrated with the one-size-fits-all nature of many of the devices he needed in day-to-day life, he innovated his own solutions. A competitive snowboarder when he was younger, Tyler designed clips for his insulin pump that didn’t pinch as bad when he was doing tricks.
“Designing with people with disabilities, rather than for them, is a big thing that’s important to me,” he says.
Recently, Tyler made a video bridging two causes he’s passionate about — making and D-Camps, a summer camp for children with diabetes.
We’re looking for people just like you to join our Working Together program. We’ll help you develop the skills needed to achieve your employment goals. Our program is unique, comprehensive, and most importantly, focused on you.
Our Working Together webinar series starts again on September 21st! We'll cover topics that support job seekers with disabilities, people who face barriers to employment, as well as businesses interested in hiring or supporting existing staff.
We’ve been working hard to improve the LipSync and are proud to announce the open beta release of our LipSync V3.0 firmware. After months of development, internal testing, and a closed beta with a small group of LipSync users, we are now ready to share it with a wider audience.
Do you have difficulty using your hands and arms and have trouble using a traditional mouse or track pad? Do you use an alternative mouse pointing device such as Quadjoy, Jouse, LipSync, trackball, etc.? If so, we could use your help with our pointing devices study.
Participants will be paid a $55 honorarium for a 30 minute session that you can do from your own home.
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