Trish Davidson

Advisory Teacher, CENMAC

"I have been teaching since September 1977, starting out as an Infant teacher. I worked in both rural and inner city schools. My first brush with a computer was when my class was timetabled for access to a 480Z for one week each term.

In 1985, I began work at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the Tuition Unit. At this point, I started to work with pupils who required extra support and took my first post as the IT co-ordinator in the days of the Nimbus 186. I worked within the Dept. of Child Psychiatry, supporting pupils who required specialist teaching and help with building up their self-confidence. They were given intensive classes on the use of the supportive software available at the time to build up their IT skills. In the last year of the ILEA, I completed a one-year course run by ILECC on the use of IT to support Special Needs (Speccal). I moved to Richard Cloudesley School in September 89 working as the communication teacher with mainly the switch users. This is when I began my links with CENMAC.

In September 1992, I began work in CENMAC as an Advisory Teacher. I work with pupils in mainstream schools who require the use an augmentative writing aid. I also work in the majority of special schools in the Inner London area with pupils who are starting out with simple communication aids and or switches to access the curriculum. My work includes, assessment, reviews of the pupil's progress, training the staff who work with the pupils on the equipment and how to develop the use of switches. Over the past years, I have arranged and delivered training at day conferences on social communication, symbol use and supportive software in particular switch accessible and symbol software.

I have recently written material for the Becta Inclusion website on the development of switch access and also been involved in the testing of the site.

My strengths are that I have worked in schools with pupils who require varying degrees of support, understanding the difficulties faced by both the staff and the pupils. I now continue to work in schools as an advisory teacher to encourage good practice and access for all.

I continue my links with people with disabilities, volunteering as a waterski instructor and British waterski judge at the British Disabled Waterski Association's national site."

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