Prior's Court Foundation has
been heavily involved in a new
piece of published research
examining how a 'Talking Wall'
can provide young people
affected by severe autism
with an effective method to
communicate.
"The Development and Feasibility
Study of a Multimodal 'Talking Wall'
to Facilitate the Voice of Young People
with Autism and Complex Needs:
A Case Study in a Specialist Residential
School" was published in the Journal of
Autism and Development Disorders in
April.
Not only was the research conducted
at Prior's Court, it was carried out by
one of our Autism Practitioners, and
Masters student, Norah Richards, with
support from Dr Laura Crane from the
Centre for Research in Autism and
Education, based at University College
London (UCL).
The 'Talking Wall' was trialled over a
six-month period with the aim to allow
a group of our young people a way to
record their experiences of activities
- positive, negative or indifferent -
and thus increase their independence
by helping them to effectively
communicate what their interests,
wishes and feelings are.
Initial findings from the use of the
'Talking Wall' were positive, suggesting
further development and evaluation are
merited.
We launched a Research Programme
at the end of 2019, with a Board in
place to oversee the activities of the
programme.
Opportunities are available to internal
and external researchers.
Michelle Collard, Research Coordinator,
said: "Our ambition is for
the findings of projects we work with
research partners on will shape policy
and sector development, as to improve
outcomes for young people across the
country who are affected by severe
autism. The publication of Norah and
Laura's work is a positive step in this
direction.
"Through the programme, our research
partners will be able to work with
Prior's Court staff who have a wealth of
experience and knowledge in the sector
and with the young people we support.
Furthermore, our ground-breaking Prior
Insight digital operations system is
perfectly positioned to support research
projects."
For more information, go
to priorscourt.org.uk/researchprogramme.
To enquire about working with us,
contact Michelle via 01635 247202
Ext: 353 or mcollard@priorscourt.
org.uk.
@PriorsCourt
Promising signs from 'Talking Wall' research
In the media
Our big data tool Prior Insight and
our use of virtual reality has made
headlines around the world.
After we were visited by Thomson Reuters news
agency earlier this year, their article about our
innovative use of technology to better support
our young people was published by the New
York Post, New York Times and Yahoo, among
others.
Thomson Reuters also published a two-minute
video, along with the article, which focused
on the Virtual Reality (VR) headsets introduced
in school at the beginning of this academic year
and how Prior Insight is being used to allow our
young people to have more good days.
The Thomson Reuters article has been used
in publications across the globe, including in
Brazil, Portugal, France, Singapore and Pakistan.
Local newspaper Newbury Weekly News has
given us plenty of coverage in the past few
months, including reporting on:
• The Royal Television Society award win
for our Let Me Shine at Abbey Road film
• Our Eco-Schools bronze status
achievement
• Our #PCS4NHS fundraiser, which raised
nearly £2,000 for the NHS
• VE Day 75th anniversary parties held
across site in May
The Let Me Shine film award win and
#PCS4NHS was also reported on by
websites Charity Digital and Charity Today,
respectively.