Individualized Apps for Developmental Disabilities
Mitchell Temkin
Though we label people with developmental disabilities as “cognitively
disabled” or “intellectually disabled,” we do not really know much of the time
whether it is their ability to think that is impaired, or just their ability
to communicate their thoughts, or take in communication from others. Examples
of impaired communication that could be interpreted as impaired thought are
easy to come up with — people with stroke, for example, or Stephen Hawking and
ALS. Recently, it has become apparent that mobile, touch-screen technology
like iPads is helping some people with developmental disabilities communicate
more effectively. And once they can communicate more effectively we discover
that they have more cognitive abilities than previously suspected. In this
talk I would like to raise the prospect of individualized apps for people with
developmental disabilities, aimed at eliminating the communication barriers
that may mask their real power to think, imagine, and create.
About Mitchell Temkin:
Mitchell Temkin brings to his leadership role at the Garth Homer Society
more than 25 years experience as a consultant and manager in business and the
not-for-profit sector. He began his career as a strategist and program
developer for Toronto social marketing agency, Manifest Communication.
Subsequently, he was National Director of Advancement and Resource Development
for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. He then became a founding
partner and VP Marketing, Sales, and Business Development for Bird On A Wire
Networks, a provider of Internet infrastructure. More recently he worked with
a large Canadian travel retailer to launch the first online booking engine for
student airfares in Canada.
Since moving from Toronto seven years ago, Mitchell has worked with clients
providing strategy, business development, and board development services to
public good organizations. In Victoria, he has been a volunteer with the
United Way’s Volunteer Leadership Development Program and a Community Advisor
to the Victoria Foundation. He is currently the President of Leadership
Victoria.
