Tata Interactive Systems focuses on helping children with learning disabilities

The global e-learning producer, Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), is hosting the Tata Interactive Learning Disability Forum (TLDF) 2006, a unique global symposium on learning disabilities (LD) – the first of its kind in India – on 30th November and 1st December.

The TLDF is a unique global forum, comprising deans, academicians, publishers, paediatricians and decision-makers in the field of education. It aims to make it easier for those with LD – not just in India but around the world – to fulfil their potential.

"This TLDF offers an international platform for leading educators and LD experts to network and share innovations and ideas for the solution of critical LD issues," commented Sanjaya Sharma, TISÂ’s CEO. "We hope to increase the awareness, remedial activities and sharing of best practices and knowledge of LD in India through this annual event.

"In accordance with the Tata groupÂ’s long standing commitment to social development, TIS has chosen to actively support initiatives in LD since it is congruent with our skills and capabilities in e-learning - our area of business focus," he explained.

The panel of international speakers at this yearÂ’s TLDF includes:
 Dr. Gerald Erenberg MD, Child Neurologist, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
 Laura Cryer, SEN & Inclusion Publisher, Semerc, Granada Learning
 Jean Salt, Past President of nasen, member TDA’s SEN Project Steering Group
 Patricia Barthorpe, Independent SEN Consultant
 Glenys Heap, Senior Training Principal with Dyslexia Action
 Karen Dakin, Vice-president, International Dyslexia Association (IDA)


Topics under discussion at the TLDF include:

 The Biological Basis of LD
 Types of LD – Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia and ADHD
 Simulation – what it feels like to be a Dyslexic
 Remedial Techniques
 Medical Aspects of LD
 Procedures for Assessment
 Social and Emotional Aspects of LD
 ADHD – Its Role in Leading to LD, Medication and Remedial Measures
 Technology Solutions

Every year the Tata Group spends a significant share of its profits after tax on social-uplift programmes. Its diverse activities span water management, education, AIDS containment, income-generation programmes and much more.

The Tata Memorial Centre is South AsiaÂ’s leading centre for the prevention, treatment, education and research in cancer. The Tata Council for Community Initiatives also collaborates with the United Nations to enhance the GroupÂ’s community work and develop corporate guidelines on social responsibility.

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Notes for editors

About Tata Interactive Systems and the TLDF
The TLDF is organised by Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), a global e-learning leader with experience and expertise in every stage of learning disabilitiesÂ’ (LD) remediation: pre-assessments, screening, courseware, post-assessments, reporting and teacher training. Beyond developing solutions for clients, TIS regards the solution of LD issues as a corporate social responsibility.

Some of TISÂ’s LD-related initiatives include:
 Supporting the LD Clinic (Sion Hospital, Mumbai), one of the few certified institutions of its kind in India, dedicated to detecting and treating LD.
 Developing a unique book, ‘Brain Teasers’, designed to nurture the innate creativity of these special children and empower them to achieve their potential
 Providing free-of-cost remedial courseware, developed for clients, to help students at the LD Clinic discover the joys of learning
 Providing and facilitating a Special Needs Educator Certification Course aimed at increasing the number of certified Special Needs Educators, specifically to deal with India’s large population.

About Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)

Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), a global leader in e-learning, is a part of the $22bn Tata Group. Truly international, TIS has a presence across the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Japan, India, and mainland Europe. TIS offers corporations, universities, schools, publishers, and government institutions a diversified and innovative bouquet of learning and training solutions including Simulation-based Learning Objects (SimBLs™), Story-based Learning Objects (StoBLs™), courseware and curriculum design, special-needs education, assessments, electronic performance support systems (EPSS), mobile learning, along with other corporate training and consultancy services. Our multi-disciplinary expertise and 16 years’ experience across domains helps us design e-learning programmes that are unique to clients’ requirements and specifically crafted to boost knowledge retention and application.

Apart from holding ISO 9001 certification, TIS is the only e-learning organisation in the world to be assessed at Level 5 in both the SEI-CMM and P-CMM frameworks. TIS’s quest for excellence is reflected in numerous prestigious industry awards, including a Silver Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award 2005 and 2004, APEX Award of Excellence in 2005 and 2006, BETT Awards in 2004 and 2006, and two Business World–NID Design Excellence awards.

For more information log on to www.tatainteractive.com

About the Tata Group

The Tata Group, established in 1904 by the great visionary Jamsetji Tata, is one of IndiaÂ’s largest and most trusted business houses. The group pioneered the industrial revolution in India by founding the first steel plant, power plant and chain of luxury hotels, to name but a few.

The Group employs more than 220,000 people in 93 companies across diversified industry sectors including steel, automobiles, cement, telecom and IT. Generating revenues to the tune of $22 billion per year – some three per cent of India’s total GDP – it is recognised as a leader in several industry segments such as such as steel, power, software exports and chemicals. It is also the parent company to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asia’s largest software producer.

For more information, log on to www.tata.com

Further information from:
Alan Samuel, Tata Interactive Systems, 020 7905 0156, www.tatainteractive.com
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405, www.boblittlepr.com