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NOKIA IS CELEBRATING its 150th anniversary today and a lot has changed since the company was originally founded in 1865.
Starting out life as a pulp mill before expanding into the rubber, cables and electronics industries, the company is now focused on telecoms infrastructure as well as an online mapping service that seems to be highly sought after.
Yet for most people, it’s best known for its mobile phones and while Nokia is no longer involved in this industry – it sold off its handset division to Microsoft in April 2014 - there’s still a soft spot for one of its most iconic phones, the Nokia 3210.
The Nokia 3210 has had a significant influence on how phones became part of everyday life and they paved the way for smartphones to become a part of our lives. It came at the right time when mobile phones were beginning to gain traction among people, but there were other reasons for its success and how it shaped the industry.
Its focus on style
While it may seem silly now, it’s easy to forget how different the Nokia 3210 was to the competition when it first came out. Back in 1999, mobile phones were usually blocky devices with pokey antennas at the top and flip cover at the bottom.
The Nokia 3210 opted for a compact design with rubber buttons and a plastic casing. The result was a device that was nice to hold and fit neatly in your pocket and hand.
Removing the antenna meant a small drop in reception quality, but it was ultimately nicer to use and is a measure taken by all smartphones now.
Also, you were able to customise your phone by changing the covers, something aimed towards younger people who the phone was marketed towards.
Popularising downloadable content
While now we pay for apps and services, back then the focus was on wallpapers, pictures and ringtones.
You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing an ad which advertised the latest ringtones of the latest songs on TV or in a magazine and it was possible to create and send your own ringtones to another phone if you wished.
The phone as a gaming platform
Sure the only game worth mentioning was Snake, but that was to mobile gaming what Tetris was to the original Game Boy.
Simple mechanics, easy to learn but hard to master mechanics, and a style which allowed you to play for short bursts if you wanted.
It was the perfect game to have on the go and since the battery life was much better – remember the hardware powering the phone was incredibly primitive – you didn’t have to worry about your phone dying.
In a way, it influenced the current smartphone games of today, where the majority opt for simple mechanics to bring people in and keep them playing.
Expression through picture messages
Today, we have high quality cameras on our phones, but picture messaging began when you were able to send your friend a Happy Birthday picture or another picture you saved on your phone.
Sure it was primitive and the small, monochrome display meant deciphering some images felt like a modern day Rorschach Test, but it added to the fun.
This importance would later expand to photos and images as better phones and instant messaging apps began to emerge.
Such devices were no longer for the well off
One of the major reasons for the Nokia 3210′s success was its pricing. Normally priced around £100 – £150 (remember it was released before the Euro came in), the device was affordable for both teenagers and young people, the demographics who wouldn’t usually be able to afford mobile phones.
Adoption among younger people was much greater since you could immediately get in touch with friends or family through calls or texts, and the habits developed from this generation (texting, customisation, etc.) would later influence design for future devices and apps.
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If only someone had diagnosed me, when I was young. Its been a constant battle, trying to keep up with conversations, I take forever, to try and get the right words out, and sometimes, don’t make sense. People might say “what do you mean”, I don.t understand? I.m standing there searching for the words I want, and not quite getting them out in the right order. Now I’m inclined to let others do most of the talking, so I don’t have to.I envy people who can talk freely and don’t have to think before they speak. I read a lot, I love words, they are all inside my head, but, they just won’t come out, when I need them. People loose patience with me, telling me to hurry up! Only in the last year, have I realized its a disorder.
There is nothing worse in this country, than raising a child with a hidden disability. The fight against the system is relentless and it truly feels like nobody cares.
It can be incredibly hard for a child who is unable to understand social cues and who does not nor cannot understand why something isn’t acceptable.
Many children who suffer like this are more than gifted in many other ways but they are left to languish in a system which only cares for those who conform to societal norms.
In a country which pledges to cherish the children of the nation equally, there are sadly far too many who are left to struggle and will rarely get the chance to fulfil their true ambitions.
Given our national history of failing or most vulnerable children, it beggars belief that we are taking this approach in this day and age.
It is also very hard for people bringing up gifted children. The State and Charities are totally wrapped up in ‘special needs’ provision that the needs of exceptionally intelligent children are forgotten. These children could be the scientists, entrepreneurs, employers and discovers of the future yet they are largely forgotten in order to help kids who will be unlikely to contribute in the same way to society.
Are you for real. Seriously you think you measure the worth of a child by their intelligence or their future earnings. Sure why not go the full hog and say it’s not worth educating or providing health services for children with disabilities. What you have written is deeply offensive
Maggie May don’t waste your energy on this person they clearly are a troll looking for attention
You’re spot on Maggie! Awful comment.
Joanne Andrew you are partially right and a partially wrong in your post. You are correct in identifying that gifted children/children with high IQs get no support from the Dept of Education, but you are so very very wrong to imply that children with special needs will make no professional contribution to society. Let me list out a few examples. Children with high functioning autism may grow up to run the top global companies in the world and be found in every university science block. Children with dyslexia may grow up to run companies like Virgin. Children with Cerebral Palsy may grow up to become some of Ireland’ best authors and have films made about their life. Children with Down Syndrome may grow up to star in animation programmes that are cindicated worldwide.
I have ten year old twins. One has multiple disabilities, in special school and many challenges ahead of her. The other is gifted and attends the DCU Center for Talented Youth at weekends and has just finished a module in Biomechanics. Two ends of a spectrum of needs, but both have needs that I am trying to address. Both of my girls will grow up and contribute to Irish society albeit in different ways. In any case, neither will be any less a valuable member of our society and you should think long and hard about your comment and how it reads.
You’ll be lucky Lorraine if it continues to be be so good for you. They usually end up on invalidity benefit at the age of 18. People will not admit that but it happens in so many cases.
some gifted children struggle just as much as children with “special needs”, they may struggle with social skills, mental health ( particularly as they get older) and simply “fitting in”. I know of
gifted children who have been diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger’s syndrome. All children should be treated equally regardless of their diagnosis (if any). I think that so many children fall between the cracks because they don’t QUITE meet a diagnosis criteria therefore aren’t allocated resource hours from the Department of Education. It’s grossly
unfair to the children and their parents.
What about gifted kids who have no disorders and are simply highly intelligent? There are no resource hours for them. Also, I never said that special needs kids should not be helped, but that super intelligent kids should also get equal resources and spending to help them be the best they can.
Its great hearing about this. I’m just curious about all the people who have slipped through the system. I’m in my 30s and if a kid was unruly in my class in primary school, he got a clip around the ear or just labelled the bad kid etc. There was no ADHD or ADD etc. I know a few of the “bad kids” to this day and I can honestly say they are good people but the system has let them down and definitely need psychological help.
I do understand SSLI Helena, this piece has still been enlightening though. My comments were to do with hidden disabilities in general.
Yes but what do you think of celtics point about a clip around the ear hole?
Depends on how you interpreted it Betsy.
Ruth your not getting the original comment – read it again, slowly, and get off your defensive box.
Ruth- the research suggests that children with SSLI are more likely to exhibit behavioural difficulties. If a hold doesn’t understand what is asked of him or doesn’t understand the rules of the game, or isn’t understood, or is being bullied by others, she or he may react to this with a challenging behaviour. Defensiveness, anger, frustration. As Ali Allen describes above, the social, emotional and behavioural outcomes of SSLI are far reaching. whilst SSLI can take many forms- as the article describes- what is striking is the pervasive sense of failure with these children. A hidden disability it most certainly is. Who here has heard of autism? Of cerebral palsy? SSLI is significantly more common than both these disorders. I’m glad to see the media doing their part in the year of the International communication project :)
Thanks Sinead you explained it very well. It is very difficult as a parent watching your child suffer to that extent when they are stressed
Ugh Ruth – seriously would ya ever re-read the originally comment like a good woman you have completely misinterpreted it and are making an eejit of yourself.
Yup you are a total eejit!
In two weeks time I am going to qualify as a speech and language therapist. I’m constantly asked what exactly we do and what our role is. I’m really pleased to see an article written from the perspective of parents about the reality of SSLI and the lack of knowledge and resources available to children and families when trying to obtain services for their kids. The negative educational, social and emotional impact of SSLI is well documented in the research, and the positive outcomes for children who receive intensive intervention is also well documented. The Department of Education and Science require incredibly strict criteria for entry into language units, which by definition excludes many children with very severe language difficulties. Children who do not meet the criteria effectively get 6 sessions in the community a year, which means they are falling further and further behind in school, their peer relationships are effected, they are at risk for bullying, and long term psychosocial impacts are devastating. I, like most graduates from the last few years, will have to emigrate. Waiting lists to see a speech and language therapist are up to two years in some counties. Speech and language therapy should not be viewed as anything less than a vital, frontline service for children and adults with communication difficulties, something which the HSE continually fails to recognise.
Well put, Ali
Parents of children with specials needs are constantly having to fight for the help thier children need, and then when they get appointments it is hard to try and be the support your child needs.
Too many children are left to get to the stage where are self harming and/or are sucidal before they get the help they need and parents who have to stay out of the work force face a huge uphill struggle to get carers allowances which the family needs.
When you have kids you have to accept them as they are. Modern day parents want to be paid to look after their own kids as well as demand so much extra help that cost a fortune.
Betsy. Possibly the most ignorant comment i’ve read on the journal. Some achievement.
WOW BETSY MALONE YOUR SOME WOMAN ALRIGHT………DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT WE DONT ACCEPT OUR CHILDREN AS THEY ARE……….WE DO, AND MORE THAN SOCIETY EXCEPTS THEM…….WE ARE THE ONES THAT FIGHT DAY IN DAY OUT TO GET THE HELP AND SERVICES OUR CHILDREN NEED AND NOBODY ELSE BECAUSE LET ME TELL YOU IF IT WAS LEFT TO THE HSE TO DO IT WE WOULD BE LEFT WAITING HENCE WHY WE HAVE TO PAY FOR PRIVATE THERAPIES TO HELP OUR CHILDREN REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL………AND NO US “MODERN DAY” PARENTS DONT WANT TO BE PAID TO LOOK AFTER OUR CHILDREN WE GET ON AND DO IT………ALL WE WANT IS THE HELP FROM THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO HELP OUR CHILDREN THRIVE IN LIFE………WOULD YOU SAY THE SAME ABOUT A “MODERN DAY” PARENT OF A CHILD THAT WAS BORN WITH A PHYSICAL DISABILITY THAT NEEDED A WHEELCHAIR AND WAS LOOKING FOR HELP TO ACCESS THIS SO THEIR CHILD COULD HAVE A QUALITY OF LIFE?????? EVERY PARENT OF A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD NEEDS THE HELP OF ONE SERVICE OR ANOTHER AND LET ME TELL YOU NOOOOOO AMOUNT OF MONEY MAKES IT EASIER WE WOULD RATHER OUR KIDS HAD A NORMAL LIFE LIKE THE REST OF THE CHILDREN OUT THERE AND DIDNT HAVE TO FACE THE DAILY STRUGGLES THAT THEY DO………YOUR COMMENT IS AN UNEDUCATED AND IGNORANT ONE AND I HOPE TO GOD YOUR NEVER BLESSED WITH THE PLEASURE OF HAVING A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD BECAUSE THATS WHAT THEY ARE A PLEASURE
THINK YOU MAY HAVE LEFT THE CAPS LOCK ON MARY
betsy I take it you’ve never tried to apply for dca!! And you should check your facts before posting on a public page as they’re incorrect
Nuala, what fact is incorrect?
Dear betsy, FACTS….bed wetting is not a criteria for dca… It is a long exhausting battle for many parents and often goes to oral hearings before being granted… You do not automatically qualify for carers… The respite grant is €1300….. I really could go on but as a parent with a child that has ssli and ebd I haven’t time to waste my energy on you!!!!!
Lorraine o Connor, u don’t want to waste your time or energy on me! Why? Are u a modern day parent or just interested in yourself? Gave u the courtesy of a long detailed post earlier but it has not appeared here. Was outlining some relevant facts for u. Haven’t time to repeat it. Catch up again. B
Oh betsy, I have had a crap day and I must say your last post made me smile and if honest I even laughed… U are one very sad individual, and if you think you can unsettle me with your daft comments you are sadly mistaken haha I have come up against it all with the hse and government and you my lady are no patch on them…thanks for the giggle….
Lorraine,
sorry you had a crap day. Glad you got a laugh and a giggle reading my post. Take it easy. Be kind to yourself over Easter. You deserve it. Refuel the batteries. Betsy
Genuine question.. Why do HSE pay for taxi?
joanne its actually the board of education who pay for the taxi
Because there is no service for the child in their area and due to long distance travel is supplied . Its the dept of education who provide it
Also if you live 5 mins out the road the taxi is supplied. Any child who attends the language unit is entitled to it no matter where they live.
Also, it’s one big taxi (mini van) for all the language unit kids- they don’t pay for 8 individual ones.
‘I think because there’s so few kids have it, that… they don’t really care.”
SSLI is similar in frequency to dyslexia and about five times more common than both Autism and Down Syndrome. The problem is lack of awareness and education about SSLI, and lack of resources.
It is disgraceful that it has to get so bad before a child is given the service they need. And yet, there are hundreds of unemployed speech and language therapists who are having to emigrate to find work….
Christine I laugh when I read that ssli is similar in frequency to dyslexia and about five times more common than both autism and down syndrome when no body in Ireland actually knows how many kids have it! The figure of 5-7% of the childhood population is actually taken from the uk
I’m glad I could give you something to laugh about…. I think. An estimated prevalence of 5-7% is fairly reasonable given that this is the prevalence in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. In fact the IASLT based their figures on the lower side of this estimate, so it is fair to say the SSLI is similar in frequency to dyslexia. Of course no-one knows exactly how many kids have it.
My point is simply that awareness of SSLI is not due to a lack of children with SSLI, but rather a lack of knowledge about the condition within the wider public. The other point I was making is that there are not enough resources for the children that need them.
I think the main problem with ssli is that its called so many different things by different speech and language therapists and other professionals, if everyone called it ssli it might make things easier.
Christine I posted a comment for you to reply to , its below on this page. As its my first time doing this i did it incorrectly but I have to question you on your factual evidence as per your comment. Correct information needs to be put out in the puplic domain for All our children and mis-information will do more harm. Comparisons are not as simple as you are saying .
Agreed that it needs to be referred to by one name. SSLI has several names, not only amongst speech and language therapists in different countries, but also amongst those working with Ireland, which can only be confusing to everyone.
I think most speech and language therapists would agree with you Nuala. The problem is there are multiple definitions of what SSLI is. In Ireland, we are constrained by the Department of Educations requirements for a definition of SSLI, which is that children need to be two standard deviations below the average language functioning for children of the same age, and that their IQ is within normal limits. For that, we also need a psychology assessment. So often we can’t call it SSLI without a psychology assessment. But that is just one definition. There are other definitions which say that children with SSLI have a specific, severe difficulty with grammar, and others where children can have diagnoses such as autism, learning disability, hearing difficulty, ADHD etc, but that language difficulties can’t be solely contributed to these other difficulties. However, the department of education requires that kids don’t have other diagnoses and have to have a two standard deviation on language tests to be able to get a place in a language unit. So although we might consider a child to have SSLI and have severe language difficulties, they have to meet this very strict criteria in order to get services. That is probably why there is confusion for professionals and parents. Our definition can be very different to the definition required for children to get there resources. I hope that clarifies it a bit.
thanks ali
Just wanted to say thanks to you . I had my daughter in a speech and language assessment yesterday and SSLI was talked about. Your website was the first one that came up this morning when I was looking for information. Thank you :-)
As a parent with a child with aspenger autism she was not dignasoed till she was 14 got no help for her had to fight hard to get her any help she is now in school in the uk liveing with her dad and getting all the help and support she needs special needs in this country is a joke
Wow oh wow Betsy Malone. Here are some facts for you. My daughter has been ‘sent off to’ Cabra as she is severely deaf. There she receives the resources she needs as a deaf child to allow her to communicate in the hearing world. We receive DCA for her, NOT on the basis of her hearing impairment, as this can be helped with hearing aids, but on the basis of her SSLI. I also have a child who is Dual Exceptional, dealing with dyslexia and exceptional intelligence in main stream school without any resources. Your comments are insensitive and ignorant. If I had the choice of taking away my daughters deafness or her SSLI, I would take away her SSLI in a heartbeat as it is much more crippling to her than her deafness will ever be.
Christine can you produce factual evidence to back up your comparison ?? I am gob smacked at your comment ! Would love to know where you got that information from ??
Look up prevalence of each condition. In Ireland there are an estimated 8,000 people with Down Syndrome (across all ages, although I think in recent years this figure has increased). Similarly, the NCSE’s Implementation Report (2006) estimates that there are 6,026 people aged 0-18 with ASD in Ireland. In contrast there are an estimated 8,5818 children aged 5-6 with SSLI, according to IASLT’s position paper in 2007 http://www.iaslt.ie/docs/public/exec/IASLT%20SSLI%20Position%20Paper%20Oct%202007.pdf
I have read that report before . Statistical information based on survey from 2002 .. Report 2007.. It is 2014 .. Age bracket 5 to 6.. I have no doubt you understand that as a parent with a daughter that has severe difficulties in this area I would prefer to read a report that is within at the very least the last 2 years.
The estimated prevalence for each condition is still the same in 2014. If you look on each associations website you will see this. Even if a report were to be published tomorrow it is quite likely that the research in it would have at least began over two years ago for it to be longitudinal, and the benefits over time to be recognised. I fully appreciate that you want to inform yourself with the latest and most up to date information relevant to you daughter’s difficulties. My original comment was only to say that there are a lot more children in Ireland with SSLI than most people could imagine, and that it is a disgrace that there are not adequate resources available to them.
I am aware that you are in agreement that SSLI and services for same are disgraceful . I would be very mindful of out of date research been put out there. Many children are going under the radar and it is difficult to diagnose. Hence my only concern is that more up to date accurate , explanitory information should be available to parents, teachers and speech therapists. There must be a set criteria for children diagnosed not a lotto for children attempting to access language units. Allow parents to set up more units , support parents much a-kin to autisim units.
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