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Mohammad Zulfadhli bin Amban March 2021 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

Mohammad Zulfadhli bin Amban, who has a hearing impairment, is a vocational student at Keningau Vocational College in Sabah, Malaysia. He represented his state to compete at the National Abilympics Championship in the silk hand painting category. His paintings portray the traditional motifs of leaves and flowers in geometrical designs known as Batik motifs in Malaysia. His art wowed the visitors and judges. His signature style of portraying Malaysian Batik motifs on his artwork helped to popularize the intricate patterns as a unique concept that are highlighted at annual art exhibitions and competitions in the country. Also, his efforts contributed to the preservation of traditional arts by familiarizing a younger generation with the centuries-old theme and craftsmanship of Batik.

Congratulations to Mohammad Zulfadhli bin Amban as the recipient of the March 2021 SENIA World Changer Award!

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#30 Teaching Children To Become Life Long Problem Solvers Through Stories.

Julia is a children’s author with over three million books in print. Many of us have used her books when working with our students.

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#29 What Happens After High School? A Peek into Post-Secondary Education for Students with Learning Needs.

On today’s podcast Toby Tomlinson Baker (soon to be Dr. Toby Tomlinson Baker) discusses her research into post-secondary education for our students with learning disabilities

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“Bridge that Gap, Baby!”

In this month’s podcast, Matt Barker, Erin Madonna, and Lori Boll discuss their takeaways from SENIA 2020.

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Zandri Byleveldt February 2021 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

Zandri is an Occupational Therapist based in Hanoi, Vietnam.She started her journey when she visited Vietnam in Nov 2017. Looking through her Occupational Therapy (OT) lenses, she saw that limited accommodations were being made for people with disabilities. She returned to Vietnam in Feb 2018, taking Hanoi by storm and advocating for inclusion in the community and schools. She serves as an OT service provider and is also a board member of SENIA Vietnam.

Zandri develops programs and training for teachers, parents and other service providers in Hanoi to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to create an inclusive classroom. She does school visits to support the development of Learning Support and provides recommendations that fit with the teacher’s teaching style and classroom challenges. Zandri provides training and guides newly qualified OT’s in Vietnam to broaden their impact in the community through professional and self-development.

Zandri is passionate about creating equal opportunities for all and believes through education, awareness, and skills training, Vietnam (and the world) can view the world and its beautiful people through lenses of love, empathy, and understanding.

Through love for ourselves and our neighbors we change the world – one by one.

Congratulations to Zandri Byleveldt as the recipient of the 2021 February World Changer Award!

January 2021 Newsletter

Check out the latest SENIA newsletter

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Jane Christine Justine January 2021 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

Jane Christine Justine, a student with a hearing impairment, was the leader of her school innovation team specializing in producing vegan food. Along with her team and their advisory teacher, they initiated a project called “Veganbond” which seeks to produce their own vegan food and raise public awareness on vegan lifestyle. In 2020, she led her team to win three innovation medals in a local innovation competition and two global innovation contests that were virtually hosted in the UK and in Southeast Asia. Veganbond was also a finalist in the 2020 Youth Solution Report produced by SDSN Youth. They presented their project in sign language and this led to major changes made by the event organizers in order to accommodate special needs individuals as only oral presentations were allowed in the past. Her efforts have successfully broken the barriers for special needs individuals especially those with hearing impairments.  Here is a link to their presentation: https://youtu.be/pE774orv8OI

Congratulations Jane!!

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#28 Get Talking w/ Spokle

Today I speak with two of the co-founders of Spokle Gia Kuek & Andrew Kendrick. Spokle empowers parents to support their child’s speech therapy with home-based exercises.

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Edelson Dell Evaristus November 2020 SENIA World Changer Award Recipient

Edelson Dell started as a track and field athlete in the early 2010s before transitioning to football. He played actively in the special needs football championship in 2014. He represented his state, Sabah, to play professionally in various national level matches across the country where his team often earned the top three spots including several victories. His incredible talent and efforts helped him become an exceptional player. He successfully made it to the national team and represented the country at regional and international level football championships in Taiwan, South Korea and Brazil. His remarkable feat in football has inspired many individuals with special needs especially those from his state, Sabah, and his former school, KVKEN, to participate in football and other sports tournaments. Due to this, many schools in the state have begun to invest more in sports for special needs students.

Congratulations to Edelson Dell Evaristus as the recipient of the SENIA World Changer Award November 2020!