BETH MOULAM

A 13-year-old with cerebral palsy who communicates by typing on a Lightwriter, an electronic communication aid that “speaks” what she wants to say

“I don’t like it when I have to do everything with Mum or Dad. I want to be like my friends. I want to live independently when I’m older so I need to practise now.

“For me independence means going out with my friends, doing things on my own, being like other people. Often I need my personal assistant Kate to come with me to help with doors, cutting up food and carrying things.

“Before I had the Lightwriter I had communication devices that involved selecting pictures. Now that I’ve got my Lightwriter I can be independent, I can go shopping on my own. I can order food and drink if I go out. If I’m ill I can tell the doctor what is wrong with me. Without it only a few people understand me and I often have to spell a word for them.

“Sometimes the American voice [the sound of the recorded voice of the Lightwriter] makes the words come out a bit funny. If I don’t spell quite right it can sound a bit strange, but it usually makes sense in a sentence.

“I haven’t given it a name. It is just called the Lightwriter. What I don’t like is if people look over my shoulder when I’m typing and guess what I’m going to say before I finish.

“I enjoy everything about my new school, Valence [in Westerham, Kent], which is a school for children who have physical and mental conditions. They really understand me and what I need. It’s so much better than my last school, where they kept trying to make me type faster and did things for me. I like all of the teachers at Valence because they are patient.

“I’m choosing my options for GCSE at the moment. In August I’m going to the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication conference in Montreal. There I hope to present a paper that I have written on the subject of my identity. [Soon] I will know if they have accepted it.

“When I’m not at school I like to go shopping, have meals out, go to the cinema and see friends. I love listening to my MP3, painting, craft and cooking.

“I’m passionate about a sport called Boccia, it’s mad – a bit like bowls. I’ve got the power to be able to throw now, and I’d like to play in the 2012 Paralympics. [Boccia developed from an Ancient Greek ball-tossing game played with leather balls and became a Paralympic sport in 1992]. I also like archery and I ride every Saturday.

“Eventually I want to go to college, then hopefully university. I’d like to work as an augmentative and alternative communication device consultant with children like me. I want my own home and to drive a car.”

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