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Hungarian Bliss Foundation
Bliss Alapítvány

Mission Statement

We are convinced that communication is a human rights issue and that all people are entitled to be able to communicate.  It does often happen that a person must use tools and other means to communicate and in that case the person’s rights are not forfeit. There are certain conditions, such as in the case of perinatal or traumatic brain injury, progressive neurological diseases etc., which results in severe loss of speech.  The consequential communication disorder, however, should not result in losing the right to communicate. It is imperative that the normalization of non-speaking people’s lives and their inclusion into mainstream society be ensured.

Short History

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) was not known in Hungary until 1983 and children who were not able to speak were regarded as “un-trainable, uneducable” and were treated accordingly. With the introduction of AAC this situation has changed.
The Hungarian Bliss Foundation (HBF) was founded in 1986 as a public benefit non profit NGO in order to provide services to people with complex communication needs (CCN). This was the first initiative in the whole geographic region. HBF took the initiative to introduce a new discipline and build a complex rehabilitation program around it. During the last fifteen years 670 clients have been assessed and advised.  From these, 175 have been taken into the program and have spent an average of 4-5 years in the program.

General goals and objectives

1. To provide complex AAC services to non-speaking children and young adults including speech therapy, physiotherapy, social skills/vocational training and support services for families
2. To train graduate and postgraduate students, teachers and therapists how to use augmentative and alternative communication techniques with non-speaking clients
3. To conduct research on different aspects in the field (ex. informatics, psychology, linguistics) and as a result, publish books, manuals and training materials.
4. Since communication is a human right, one of our main goals is to fight for the neglected human rights of people with CCN, and to make sure normalization and inclusion replace marginalization and segregation.

Programs

1. Service level: complex rehabilitation for children and young adults between the ages of eighteen months to 35 with CCN (complex communication programs and medical services)
2. Training level: yearly graduate and postgraduate AAC courses; consultations and hands-on practice for teachers and therapists; open study days and workshops
3. Research level: applied research in special education, psychology, linguistics, informatics, rehabilitation engineering; dissemination of information.

Methods – AAC

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1989) provide the following definition of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): "an area of clinical practice that attempts to compensate (either temporarily or permanently) for the impairment and disability patterns of individuals with severe expressive communication disorders (i.e., the severely speech-language and writing impaired)". The individual's use of a particular type of augmentative and alternative communication will be dependent upon circumstances, preference and personality. Selection of methods of communication will be significantly influenced by: physical and sensory abilities; financial resources; personal and professional support networks; and attitudes.
The supplies necessary for AAC include paper-and-pencil communication boards, speech generating devices (SGD) and/or computers with digitized or synthesized speech. Accessibility is provided through means of seating, positioning, special switches and other modified keyboard solutions.
Organization
Five volunteer members are serving on the HBF Board of Trustees. One representing the founders, two have family members in need of AAC and two are professionals. The Supervising Committee (FB) has three volunteer members. In the Helping Communication Center speech pathologists and therapists, psychologists, medical doctors, physiotherapists, special educators, and personal assistants are employed.
Finances
HBF is a non profit, civil NGO relying mainly on grants and donations. HBF is a public interest organization, thus donations are tax deductible. The organization is entitled to accept the 1% donation of personal taxes under the Hungarian tax code.

Contacts

       We have broad national and international connections with similar NGOs, AAC centers in and outside the country. We have a working research agreement with ELTE NIPG. We also have working relationships with BCI Toronto and with ISAAC. Some of the most outstanding individuals in the field of AAC from Canada, Norway, Sweden, US, Israel, Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands have visited our center and given presentations or otherwise supported our work.

November, 2008