Giving Laura a Voice

We need to raise funds (approx £5000) to purchase a dynavox Xpress AAC communication device to enable Laura to communicate. 

Laura is a fun, happy girl with a great sense of humour. However, Laura has very challenging and complex needs. She has severe autism, selective mutism, sensory processing disorder, severe anxiety disorder, challenging behaviour, M.E, echolalia, learning difficulties and ADHD. Laura also has complex and potentially life threatening medical conditions. One effect of Laura's disabilities is that her communication and understanding is severely restricted. This communication aid would help Laura:

• be able to communicate with her carers and family when she is unable to speak
• be able to communicate in the community
• be able to communicate in life threatening situations, e.g. hypoglycaemic attack, asthma attack
• reduce self-harming and challenging behaviour due to the frustration of communication difficulties
• be able to communicate in social situations
• be able to communicate when she is unable to speak due to severe exhaustion from her M.E
• be able to understand better due to pictures used on the device as visual supports to language
• reduce anxiety as she can have visual routines and schedules so she knows what she is doing

As Laura's carers (she has 2:1 care 24/7) we see and experience the consequences of Laura's limited communication ability. We will be working with Laura to implement the Dynavox Xpress in her day to day life. We will be arranging various fundraising activities to raise funds for this device.

About thecommunication device:

• The Dynavox Xpress is an electronic communication aid that offers a wide range of content specific to individual communication needs
• built in speakers allow you to share clear messages
• It includes Topic pages and Quickfires that encourage successful day to day interaction by making use of pre-programmed words, phrases and sentences that support fast and efficient communication
• compact and lightweight, Xpress can be carried in a purse or over a shoulder
• individuals can communicate right away in any situation. There is a collection of communication pages, vocabulary and symbols that allows people with autism to successfully communicate in everday activities
• schedules and calendars present time in a concrete visual form. This helps people with autism organise their lives and reduces anxiety. Keep track of events, important dates and set reminders.
• using social stories to teach social skills is a way to help people with autism understand difficult social information.
• digital photographs can be imported into the device to support conversations about a motivating event or topic.

Please help us to raise these funds, it will make a massive difference to Laura's life. All donations will be very gratefully received. Many Thanks.