People with Alternative Learning Styles
PALS
If a child's learning style doesn't match the way his or her school teaches, it can lead to stress, distress, isolation, exclusion, mental health problems, a lack of qualifications, and often a lack of hope.
At PALS Society, we think this is wrong.
Our Vision:
A world where differences in learning styles are accepted and accommodated.
Our Mission
to break down the barriers to employment for people who have difficulties learning in mainstream educational institutions.
Through employment comes inclusion.
What we do
PALS Work Placements
We will develop and deliver training for young people to enable them, should they so choose, to enter a social firm delivering IT products and services. They will learn technical skills, customer skills, and the ability to work together as a team, whilst developing a portfolio of achievements that they can take to prospective employers.
Service Provider
To help PALS get into employment, either for themselves or in a Social Firm that is set up to employ PALS, we will develop and provide - free of charge - services to reduce administrative burden allowing the PALS a chance to shine.
Services include: IT infrastructure, PALS friendly office space, professional services, mentors and business advice.
Research
We aim to develop and support scientific research to provide evidence for policy making. There is a lack of sound data to support analysis into outcomes for PALS (which we know to be poor), and we need to know more about what helps improve these outcomes. Our first research project will be to collate and integrate existing data sources to support ongoing research in this field.
In addition to research, we will lobby, publish, and communicate the need for the public sector and industry to do better.
Integration Activities
Through our model of Safe Spaces, we will devise and deliver activities that help PALS re-connect with their communities and, equally importunately, allow the communities to embrace them.
Our first activity will be PALS Computing Confidence that has the dual goals of:
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Helping people in the community gain confidence with IT (computers, phones, tablets and connected devices)
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Helping PALS gain confidence with community interactions by placing them in a position of expertise in a carefully facilitated environment.
Forthcoming Projects
Augmented Reality Poster
We are thrilled to announce that we have won a grant from Action Hampshire and the Wessex Cancer Alliance to produce an augmented reality poster that helps people on the autism spectrum understand Cancer and prevention. The poster will be fully designed and augmented by PALS with video clips, animation and a Minecraft mini-game.
Please watch this space or our Facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/PALSSociety/
Computer Up-cycling
Our young people learn how to strip, test and rebuild computer hardware and how to configure as a usable computer.
We are asking for donations of broken or unwanted IT equipment to help us with this work. Items can be dropped off at Tesco in Quay Street, Fareham , or why not organise your own drop off point in your work?
The work on the donated items takes place at our Chandler's Ford group that meets Alternative Saturdays. For more details please see the Facebook Page for Alt Society
What's It Like?
Funded through a Tech To Connect challenge from NESTA, our What's It Like? project aims to help people who live with anxiety access the places that they want to or need to.
We use immersive technology - virtual tours, video walk-throughs, augmented and virtual reality - to mimic the places, faces and environment so that our users can overcome their anxiety.
All of our development has been delivered by PALS.