Introducing: Dr. Shirley McNaughton, C.M., visionary and pioneer teacher of a language for people with communication challenges. What an inspiration she is!
|
Meet > ESTEEM
The Bliss concept enabled seniors to enjoy ensemble music for many years in the Don Heights auditorium, until Covid came. Members used i-Pads to facilitate their ability to play and enjoy participating in music. In this video they are using Orff instruments, plus ipads for Joe and Carolyn, to play "When I Grow Too Old To Dream".
Bliss i-Band and ESTEEM -
|
Meet > "Bliss i-Band"
This unique group met in person at Don Heights on Wednesdays, but recently moved to Zoom meetings.
Founder and Director Shirley McNaughton was awarded an Order of Canada Medal for her work bringing Bliss Symbolics to children and teachers around the world. She has two major loves: Blissymbolics and the people associated with the language around the world, and music as it relates to group participation and enjoyment here in Ontario She began with children with disabilities as young as 4 years of age. She found also that the language was particularly appealing to able-bodied youngsters about 10-14 years of age. Bliss is taught today to children who lack functional speech in schools of Sweden, Finland and Norway, and taught privately in the Netherlands. In South Africa, a very innovative teacher is having great success teaching Bliss to young children as an introduction to reading print. |
The story of Bliss here in Canada in the 70's and 80's is best told in a book by Arika Okrent, In the Land of Invented Languages, Spiegel & Grau, N.Y. 2009. You will find Esperanto, Klingon and other exotic languages and their inventors there as well, along with a huge share of dramatic moments!
Thanks to a bequest from a long time Bliss supporter, 50 years of Bliss archival materials is being stored in the University of Toronto Archives. Organizing it will be Shirley's preoccupation for the next year.
Margareta Jennische, President of Blissymbolics International, visited both of Shirley's music groups in November 2019 prior to COVID-19 forcing the program to move online until further notice.
Please visit the latest video of Bliss i-Band which was done with funding by a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/92btxwgj2s1ci9f/Bliss%20iBand%20Conference%20Edit%2020200311v4.mp4?dl=0
Resources:
https://www.blissiband.com/
https://www.blissymbolics.org/
https://blissymbolics.ca/w532/ Shirley's blog, "Blissful Thoughts." Ever changing so keep visiting her!