So Little Time, So Much To Do!

Less than a week before I leave! 

Little by little, things are falling into place.  My appointment for the Akron Health Department's "travel talk" (required to get a prescription for an anti-malarial) is scheduled for Monday morning; the water purification tablets have been found; clothing selections are being pared down (it all has to fit in my backpack along with my netbook, toiletries, etc); and the dragon of overdue paperwork (why do we still call it that when it's all done on computer?) has been under steady attack.  

The best part of getting ready, though, is opening packages of donated materials. 

Many thanks to Harvey Pressman, Sarah Blackstone and Anne Warrick of Central Coast Children's Foundation of Monterey, California (http://www.centralcoastchildrensfoundation.org/), for their box of goodies earlier this month. CCCF quietly provides information and supports for individuals and groups introducing assistive technology and augmentative communication in emerging nations. They are also heavily involved in developing and sharing tools that assist with patient communication in health care settings around the world. 

This year's box (they provided materials for my trip last year as well) included some Talking Photo Albums; books and leaflets of family-friendly information on augmentative communication; and an assortment of patient communication materials for hospital use; 

Sarah and Harvey were also responsible for getting me a copy of the Beginning Communication Package, a program created under the direction of Juan Borman at the University of Pretoria in South Africa (http://www.isaac-online.org/ie/articles/512/1/The-Beginning-Communication-Package/Page1.html). This ambitious program was developed to help train outreach workers to work with families to enhance communication opportunities for children with communication challenges. Not only did they get me a copy of the program, they made sure the communication boards that come with it were translated into Swahili.

Additional thanks to Harvey for his frequent emails with links to all sorts of culturally appropriate information on AAC.