We used Lego to involve children with ADHD and their parents in our research!

Children and young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can encounter a number of difficulties including finding it difficult to concentrate at school, finding it difficult to communicate with others, struggling with change and school life, finding it challenging to form and retain friendships with others…the list goes on!

There are also some really great things about having ADHD such as often having a great sense of humour, being very creative, and when managing their condition in the correct way, can go on to lead extremely successful lives. 

Technology: who cares?! events - less than three weeks away!

Technology: who cares?! Two exciting events from CATCH, taking place as part of the Sheffield Festival of Science & Engineering, are less than three weeks away.

We're excited to introduce our event collaborators - download the poster here.

Join us at 5.15pm on Friday 10th March for Professor Luc de Witte’s ScHARR Inaugural Lecture entitled “Technology, who cares?!” at the Diamond building, University of Sheffield. Booking is required - book your place here.

On Saturday 11th March from 10am - 3pm, bring all the family and visit us in the Sheffield Winter Garden to experience our "living room of the future" and meet our collaborators:

• Alzheimer's Society

• GSPK Design

• Barnsley Hospital

• Devices for Dignity

• Lab4Living

• NIHR CLAHRC Yorkshire and Humber

• Sheffcare

For more information about this event, visit the #SFOSE website or contact Laura Murray. No booking required.

Please share this news story with your networks and print the poster for display on your notice boards. Thanks!

Pros and cons for technology in care homes

On the 30^th of September Telehealth and Care Technologies (TaCT) held a Special Interest Group (SIG) at Kenwood Hall in Sheffield. One of the aims of the day was to raise awareness of the research going on around the use of technology in care homes. A further aim was to start a dialogue with a range of stakeholders about the pros and cons for technology and the importance of research in identifying and developing new ways of delivering care through the use of technology. Attendees included care home managers, health care professionals, commissioners and researchers. 

Presentations were given by Dr Steven Ariss, who discussed the research being undertaken around the Enhanced Community Palliative Support Services (EnComPaSS) project; Dr Sarah Smith presented on the Computer Interactive Reminiscence & Conversation Aid (CIRCA) and Living in the Moment (LIM) these look at the use of technology for communication and leisure in care homes; Professor Pam Enderby on the Electronic Recording in Care (ERiC) project and Rachel Binks presented the work Airedale have been doing on using videoconferencing in care homes. These were then followed by a debate and the opportunity to network. 

If anyone like a copy of any outputs from the event, please contact: LKNewbould1@sheffield.ac.uk

Written by Louise Newbould 

 

AAATE 2015: Assistive Technology, Presidency & Budapest

Amy Bouchier, Claire Bentley
& Phil Joddrell. Photos by Tamás Thaler

Various members of RAT and CATCH presented at the 13^th AAATE (Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe) conference in Budapest, Hungary, in September. Our topics included guidelines for evaluating digital technologies for people with dementia, barriers and facilitators to assistive technologies, creating and engaging collaborative communities on assistive technology, and selecting research opportunities through knowledge exchange. It was really interesting to go to a conference with such a global feel – not least through the WHO GATE initiative meeting to which Prof. Mark Hawley was invited – and with such broad expertise and enthusiastic participation.

Also representing Sheffield, from the Teaching Hospitals Trust, was Laura Evans and Sally Fowler-Davis who were invited speakers, talking about the adoption of assistive technology from a clinical rehabilitation perspective.  They reflected in two presentations on their range of experiences in clinical, leadership and managerial capacities in relation to AT and gave personal examples from their national and local experience, this included the recent successful collaboration between CATCH and Occupational Therapy at Sheffield Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust.

Congratulations are due to Dr. Peter Cudd, who was named as the next President of the AAATE! Peter will take over this role from Jan 2016.

Dr Peter Cudd, Photos by Tamás Thaler

We also found time to take in some of the sights of the beautiful city of Budapest.

We are looking forward to the next AAATE conference (Sept 2017) and hope to see you there!

Written by Claire Bentley, Dr Peter Cudd, Phil Joddrell & Surinder Bangar. 

 

NIHR HTA Efficient Study Design Call

The Yorkshire and Humber Research Design Service (RDS YH) are holding events which will offer the opportunity to gain a better understanding of this funding call and their role across NIHR funding programmes.The event for Yorkshire and Humber will be held in Leeds on 6th October 2015. You can find out more by clicking here.

Summer school students from Singapore visit CATCH

During the last two weeks of June, engineering students from the Ngee Ann Polytechnic  in Singapore have visited the University of Sheffield to take part in a summer school under the theme of “Transforming Society”. A group of 5 students chose to work with computer science lecturer Dr Heidi Christensen from CATCH on a project concerned with using assistive technology to help people with dementia. They were attracted to this idea as it was “a project with a heart”, as one of the students put it.

To help the group get a feeling for the difficulties of designing assistive technology, they visited local company KingKraft where they were shown around and heard more about the challenges faced by companies in this market.

Summer school participants being shown around KingKraft by director, Tom Harrison

The students also visited the CATCH HomeLab where they got to meet and discuss their ideas with CATCH researchers and students.

On the final day, they presented their work and ideas to the academic leads and the industry advisers using slides, a video and a report. They received a lot of positive feedback for their highly motivated, enthusiastic and excellent work. Hopefully the week in Sheffield will have inspired them to pursue a career in assistive technology and perhaps one day come back to visit Sheffield and CATCH.

Summer school participants listen to CATCH researchers present their work" and "Summer school participants discuss their ideas with Jochen Farwer

Written by Dr Heidi Christensen