Siobhan Long

Relevant Expertise:

Expert in the Assistive Tech Field since 1991.

Established National Assistive Technology Training Service in 2001

Launched Community Design Challenge in collaboration with DIT

Extensive experience in leading and managing client learning teams, with a focus on innovation 

Employment History:

1991- Present: Working in the field of Assistive Technology.       

2015: Enable Ireland, in partnership with DIT, launched their Community Design Challenge in Microsoft in December. The 2015 competition is open to students nationally and internationally and is sponsored by Leckey, a company which specializes in designing and manufacturing specialist seating and postural management devices for children with disabilities. Students are asked to imagine how to adapt, improve, integrate or augment products to make them fun for the user, and as a consequence help remove the stigma of disability ·        

2001-2012: Established Enable Ireland's National Assistive Technology Training Service in 2001, and has expanded the role to manage SeatTech, our custom posture and mobility service since 2012. I work with two teams of highly skilled individuals who strive to deliver innovative, person-centered AT and custom solutions to a wide range of individuals with differing abilities. Technology is changing rapidly and our goal is to benefit from what it has to offer, as well as to influence the development of future technologies.

Enable Ireland, in partnership with DIT launched their Community Design Challenge in Microsoft on Monday, December 3rd. This year's competition is open to all students nationally and internationally and is sponsored by Leckey, a company which specialises in designing and manufacturing specialist seating and postural management devices for children with disabilities. ·        

With a background in Speech and Language Therapy, and my early learning in Assistive Technology came from working with children with physical disabilities who were non-verbal. Our early exploration of Augmentative and Alternative Communication options led to us adopting many new and exciting technologies which were previously unavailable in Ireland.

Expanding my experience to encompass lots of other Assistive Technologies (e.g.: PCs, and more recently, mobile devices, smart home technologies and power mobility controls), I continued to work with children and adults, collaborating with them to solve their access issues at home, at school/college, at work and in the community.