Now that the new Decoda website is up and running at www.decoda.org with news updates, there seems little point in continuing this blog. There are films of the equipment, and the Music Gym, on the new site and if you want information about the Music Gym sessions in Hastings, there’s a link to www.musicgym.org

You can sign up to our newsletter on the website and that’s also posted on twitter -www.twitter.com/musicgymuk if you want to follow us that way.

Last but not least, if you’d like to get in touch for more information, or to invite us to an event or exhibition, please fill in the contact form here or on the Decoda website, or email us at enquiries@decoda.org. Alternatively, you can call us on 01424 439192. We look forward to hearing from you.

That was St. Margarets School in Tadworth, Surrey - a wonderful home for the software. The residential school is situated at the Childrens Trust site and educates children and young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties aged 5 to 19 years. Accredited as “outstanding” by Ofsted in its last inspection, it’s a beacon for tried and new methods.

We’re delighted that St Margarets has won, particularly as the Unlocking Music software has been used by a teacher in Hastings for the past two years. It’s been very effective in engaging children in music lessons who are usually difficult to reach. The music teacher has written a manual of how she uses it so we’ll be able to pass that on to St Margarets.

If you’d like to know more about the software please go to our new website where there’s some film of the software being used with the dancing squares. For more information about products contact us at 01424 439192 or on enquiries@decoda.org

 Welcome to Julia and Michaela, our new employees at the Music Gym.

For regular visitors, who think they look familiar, you’re right. Julia and Michaela started with us over a year ago, as volunteers, but as of last Friday they’re now employees of Decoda.

They’ll carry on their previous jobs - Julia as receptionist and Michaela as activities facilitator. Michaela is also spending time helping to set up the Gym before the first visitors arrive.

The bonus is that we have now have funding from the local Learning Disabilities Development Fund to promote the benefits of employing people with learning disabilities as well as for adding value to their work experience by providing easy-read job descriptions and Health and Safety training geared to their needs. Breakout Media will also be making a film of the work Julia and Michaela do, how they feel about having a job, and why we value them so much as members of our team.

For more information about the Music Gym you can contact us by emailing enquiries@decoda.org or phoning us on 01424 439192.

This picture captures so well the moment of two people communicating. For some this ability to connect comes very easily and others might struggle a little. With that in mind, Angela Lane, the East Sussex Project Worker for Intensive Interaction (what a mouthful) is now at the Music Gym whenever she can be, simply to talk to people about simple ways to begin making these connections.

Angela not only calls upon her training in Intensive Interaction, but also her personal experience with her daughter, Cherry.

We’re delighted that she’s able to bring so much experience and awareness to share with others. Angela’s hoping to be there as many Fridays as possible between now and Christmas so we hope support staff will enjoy talking to her.

For more details about the Music Gym please contact us on enquiries@decoda.org or by phoning 01424 439

After the success of the Music Gym zone at Learning Disability Today in Manchester in July, Decoda’s been invited to do the same thing at Learning Disability Today in London next month.

The exhibition will be happening on Wednesday, November 25 at the Business Design Centre in Islington. There’s always a full programme of seminars plus 100 stands so in an information-packed day we aim to provide somewhere to exercise, create and relax at the same time - as these visitors found in Manchester.

You can find more information about the exhibition on the Pavilion website. Our new website will be ready soon but in the meantime there’s information about the Dancing Squares on the Decoda website. If you’d like to know more please fill in our contact form or email us on enquiries@decoda.org or phone us on 01424 439192.

 Despite our best attempts to think of another name (Boogiecam? Musical Squares?) we still come back to “Dancing Squares” as that’s what they are - squares on which you dance and trigger music. We used to have them in the Music Gym as wooden boards covered in furry fabric. Through trying them out at Learning Disability Today, first in London and last week in Manchester, they’ve evolved into a brightly coloured mat attached to a stand with a tray for the laptop running our  Unlocking Music software.

Later this week we’ll be installing them in the resource centre of a national autistic charity, inside an inflatable “igloo” so the movement will also trigger projections on the igloo walls.

If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, or you’ve seen them already and want to describe them to colleagues, we asked one of our Music Gym assistants if she’d mind being filmed having a go on them. This was the first time Julia had seen them as they’ve not been in the Music Gym for a while. We think of her as very quiet and reserved but she threw herself into using the squares. The film is here 

Julia was trying them by herself but they can be used by up to four people at a time, each one triggering a different rhythm. We can provide a larger mat for wheelchair-users.

If you’d like more information about the dancing squares, the Unlocking Music software or the Music Gym please contact us on 01424 439192, on enquiries@decoda.org or by filling in the contact form.

As described in the last post, the Decodamaze was developed from the feedback of service users at the Music Gym. It’s taken longer to finalise than was originally thought but it’s now almost ready to sell.

Despite strong opposition the judges apparently liked the fact that we’ve produced equipment to improve the lives of people with profound disabilities.

Our main website is currently being updated but there’s some information there about the maze. Alternatively you can call us on 01424 439192 or email us on maze@decoda.org

Our inflatable, interactive maze  grew out of the weekly sessions at the Music Gym. We were aware that not all the members could access the bouncy castle that plays music and looked for something that would be as much fun and interactive AND could be accessed by wheelchair users. Someone who brings students from a local special needs school asserted that they need an adrenalin rush as much as the next young person and outlined her ideas. Many months and headaches later the Decodamaze appeared.

We know how much benefit and pleasure people get from attending the Music Gym and it’s satisfying when the work is recognised in this way.

If you’d like to know more about the Music Gym or the maze you can phone us on 01424-439192 or email us at maze@decoda.org

Angela Lane is the local Intensive Interaction Project Manager and last Friday she visited the Music Gym to see how it fits into what she’s doing.

If someone with severe learning disabilities and/or autism is still at an early stage of communication this is a valuable approach to passing on the pre-speech fundamentals of communication. It’s what we see happening all the time with many very good support staff who bring members to the Music Gym who may not use that term for what they’re doing.

These fundamentals would include such things as

• learning to give attention to another person
• developing shared attention into activities
• taking turns
• having fun, playing together
• using and understanding facial expressions
• using and understanding eye contact
• using and understanding non-verbal communication such as body language

Increasingly we’ve come to realise that the growing relationship between carer and member is the most important aspect of the Music Gym. We’re there to make sure the equipment works and to encourage people to get the most out of it but it’s the opportunity for those who come to have fun together that’s crucial.

It was encouraging that Angela agreed with this. If the funding for her post continues then we hope she’ll be on hand sometimes to talk to staff about Intensive Interaction. In the meantime you can contact her about the East Sussex network she’s setting up on angelslake@btinternet.com

If you’d like to know more about the Music Gym you can contact Decoda by phoning 01424 439192, by emailing enquiries@decoda.org or by filling in the contact form.

It includes a wide range of articles depending on the theme of the issue, incorporating academic research, the work of organisations and the experience of families. It aims to cover topics that are of interest and also practical use in the day-to-day work of practitioners, parents and carers, whatever their setting. There’s also a news section, listing of upcoming conferences and workshops, a summary of what people have been discussing on the PMLD forum and finally extensive reviews of new publications.

PMLD link is produced three times a year and if you’d like to find out how to get a copy you can contact Carol Ouvry at 31, Birdwell Road, Bristol BS41 9BD. Telephone 01275 394621

or email carol.ouvry@talktalk.net

There’s also more information at the website http://www2.northampton.ac.uk/education/home1/cesner/pmld-link

The spring issue is due out in a few weeks on the theme of the arts. It includes an article about Decoda, outlining the Music Gym: how we came up with the idea, what benefits we’ve seen, and how other organisations can now install some or all of the fun equipment we use.

If you’d like to talk to us about that please call us on 01424 439192 or fill in the contact form.