Erin is 17 years old and lives at home with her parents, younger sister and younger brother in Warner, Brisbane. Erin has a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy and recently finished high school at Pine Rivers Special School. She now attends the Cascade day service, where she participates in art, garden and music programs. As she has no independent method of communicating, Erin’s family approached the John MacLean Foundation for funding for a range of eye-gaze speech generating devices.
Previously Erin has used Facilitated Communication to type out words on an iPad, however she can only use this method of communication with someone trained in Facilitated Communication. Erin’s family are trained in Facilitated Communication, but outside the home independent communications becomes very difficult.
Having left school at the end of last year, it is even more important now to her social wellbeing that Erin has access to a communication system that allows for independent communication. This will help facilitate the development of friendships at the day service she attends and will allow Erin to be an active participant in the community.
Over the past 12 months Erin has been trialling a range of eye-gaze speech generating devices. Her trial of the Tobii Dynavox I-15+ was deemed most appropriate but due to the high level of accuracy of this software, the device comes with a significant price tag. Along with family contributions and other grants, JMF were able to assist with $4790 towards the purchase of the device and accessories, including a specialised wheelchair mount.
With this system Erin is able to ask questions, make comments, choose an activity and socialise with her peers, all helping her to make friends and enhance her wellbeing.
- IT Equipment