Imagine that you are so physically disabled that you can barely move a finger. You can't speak, can't do any of the things you normally take for granted. You can't communicate with those around you What would you do to tell others of your basic needs, basic concerns, basic emotions, all of which you badly want to share with others?
Thanks to Shirley McNaughton, a woman who lives in Guelph and summers on the Moon River in Bala, there is a solution to such a dilemma. It's called Blissymbols and it's based on a system of international communication which was founded by Charles K. Bliss, an Australia who emigrated to Australia after the Second World War.
The Bliss system was originally developed by him as a way of promoting international communication. Through the efforts of Shirley McNaughton and her peers in the early '70s at what was then the Ontario Cripple Children's Centre, now called the Bloorview MacMillan Centre, the Bliss concept of communication was adapted for use by the physically disabled.
Working on the project with Shirley, who was the group's chairperson, was a dedicated group of people: speech pathologist, Judy Seligman-Wine; psychologist Barbara Kates; rehabilitation engineer, Geoff Isles; technician Scott Walder; occupational thcrapist Margrit Beesley.
The program is still being developed and this past week Shirley hosted a week-long conference at her cottage on the Moon River with representatives corning from Norway, Israel, Scotland, England, South Africa, Sweden, and Canada.
I sat in on a portion of the discussion in which the merits of a particular word were being discussed as a prelude to being assigned to a symbol.
Symbols are placed on a board, much like a checkerboard, though with more squares, and the user points to the symbols, which in turn are translated into meaningful sentences. It was most interesting to hear the different accents around the table as well as the different social and contextual perspectives, which resulted from the various cultures represented.
The meaning of a word in one language might not translate into exactly the same meaning in another. I also spoke with four representatives from the group:
Judy Seligman-Wine, who was one of the original developers of the system. She discussed how the system was modified so that in the language of modern Israelis, the symbols could be read from right to left as in the predominant written language of the country.
Aunalu Waller, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, was able to communicate verbally but had a first hand understanding of the frustration experienced by others who have much more severe symptoms of tile disease.
Astri Holgersen of Norway and Britt Aniberntson of Sweden spoke of the need to raise awareness of the system not only in their own countries but across the globe. Both have contributed much to its development.
It must be pointed out that Shirley is very humble about her achievements. She graduated from university in 1953 and worked in the personnel department of Simpson Sears until her first child was born.
In 1966, when her youngest son was five, Shirley went back to school and carried her teaching certificate. Soon she was teaching at the Ontario Crippled Children's Centre and her
work with the disabled led her to explore the concepts
of Charles Bliss.
Shirley says, "He was trying to create an international language that crossed all cultural barriers, but I saw applications for disabled children. In June of 1972, he came to the Crippled Children's Centre and we started working together."
By 1985 she had trained more than 5,000 people in countries from New Zealand to England to Sweden. In the system she adapted, pictographs or miniature symbols can mean nouns; other shapes like the heart mean feelings. A house shape followed by a heart means home because home is where the heart is. Shirley went on to earn a PhD just two years, ago at an age when most people are thinking of retirement. In 1993 she received the Order of Canada for her work in developing Blissymbolics. She welcomes anyone who has a genuine interest in furthering the program.
If someone you know needs this method of communication or if you would like to find out more about the concept of the work of Blissymbolics Communication International, visit its website at http://www.blissymbolics.org or write to the group at 1630 Lawrence Ave. West, Suite 104, Toronto, Ontario. M6L IC5. Tel 416-242-9114.
It must be pointed out that when I interviewed Shirley, her desire was that I publicize the work of the group.
The personal information about her achievements came only after the interview when I spoke with some of her friends.
She did not tell me of her personal achievements or of receiving the. Order of Canada for her work. Shirley is an inspiration to all around her and in particular to all seniors. Her achievements, many of which have been earned
later in life, inspire all to achieve great goals. In the meantime, we must remember that talented people are all around us here in Muskoka. The great ones are the quiet ones who work hard and seldom boast of achievements
The world of the disabled owes a great deal to Dr. Shirley McNaughton and her group of dedicated workers who have helped make the world a little better than the way they found it.
Blissymbols used herein derived
from the symbols described in the work, Semantography, original copyright, C.K. Bliss,
1949. In September, 1982, C.K. Bliss granted an exclusive, non-cancellable and perpetual,
world-wide license to the Blissymbolics Communication Institute (now Blissymbolics
Communication International), for the application of Blissymbols, for use by handicapped
persons and persons having communication, language and learning difficulties.
