Learning to Play, Learning to Talk

*link no longer active*

"Emma is six years old and has Cerebral Palsy. She has no speech and finds it difficult to control her body movements", says ACE Centre North* teacher, Sara Dale, "To communicate she will look towards things that she wants, and smile or frown to let you know how she is feeling. This limits what she can tell you."

Last year’s FC Minithon raised funds both for the club and ACE. We collected enough for ACE to purchase a new Eye Gaze Unit, enabling the severely disabled to use a computer solely by use of their eyes. Now our Eye Gaze unit is in use by Emma, says Sara. "She has been successfully trialling the unit to control her computer. At the moment Emma is learning to use her eyes to move the mouse around the screen. Already she can play games and draw pictures using her eyes. She hopes to use this system in the future to talk to people."

Our efforts are helping to empower young and old without a voice, and you can help us continue this work and build the club by registering for the October 21st FC Minithon at *link no longer active* or by calling ACE on 0161 358 0151. Half monies raised go to FC and half to ACE. This year we are aiming to raise enough for ACE to purchase a training suite of 20 iPads, so their clients can test whether they are suitable for their communication uses.

At the same time, funds raised for the club are vital as they help us on our way to Moston. And there’s just six weeks and 300 supporters to go! Please rope in your friends, relatives and your branch members to get us on the way.

*ACE offers assessments and loans of equipment to help people with severe spoken and written communication difficulties. This allows them to try different technologies, making sure that expensive equipment meets their needs before they buy. The Eye Gaze system provided as a result of the FC Minithon has been used to help many people. Emma is just one.