Something Very Exciting

Over the past few weeks Tom has been up to something really very exciting.

Tom has got a new eye gaze system. The old system was good for getting Tom used to eye gazing but in terms of future development and learning how to communicate through language, it didn't offer us what we needed for Tom. It was too big for Tom to easily access the whole screen. It was mains operated which meant we couldn't take it out with us, and also it didn't have all of the software we would have needed to develop Tom's communication through language. It was great at motivating Tom to use his eyes and Tom quickly got the hang of it, but we needed something that would offer him more.

We now have a new system. The Grid Pad, made by Smartbox technology. The Grid pad offers Tom everything he would need and is completely future proof. It has been very overwhelming for us as there is so much to learn and take in. Slowly but surely we are getting there and making massive progress in such a short space of time. Tom is really pushing the boundaries and working so hard towards such incredible things.

To start with we were easing Tom in with the games he has played on his old system. He was beginning to get a little bored of what he was doing on the old eye gaze. So I decided to move him onto the more challenging games and activities that come with the GridPad in the hope that this would motivate him more.

These games are so much more high tech and a lot more engaging for Tom. He particularly enjoys the target practice as you can see here. Tom has to look at the small targets placed all the way around the screen and reveal the picture.

Tom understood how to play the game straight away and has already been setting records for himself.

It was time to move Tom on to the complicated communication. I was very wary of starting Tom on 'typical' language as I had no idea whatsoever how he would fare with it and I felt like I was walking in the dark with it. I shouldn't have been so worried as Tom picked it up very quickly indeed. I started with one activity, bubbles.

Tom has 12 cells he can choose from and each cell has a word in it. The great thing about Grid 3 is it is designed by speech and language therapists and so it is very well set up. The grid we use for bubbles is amazing as whatever Tom says is right. I simply have to respond to whatever he tells me. At first of course Tom's choices may not have been deliberate, however as the past 2 weeks have gone on it is clear to see that Tom very much understands what he is saying and what he wants. It is such a beautiful thing being able to understand what Tom wants, and being able to have a 2 way conversation with him.

As you can see Tom is using the eye gaze whilst I am blowing bubbles for him. His favourite words to say at the moment seem to be 'big bubbles', 'go' and 'more'. I am so unbelievably proud of what Tom has managed to say and learn in just a couple of weeks. The possibilities of this new eye gaze are endless. I cannot wait to share Tom's journey with you all.

I will try and capture some of Tom's talking on video to share with you all. There is so much I could say about Tom and his new eye gaze but I will save some of it for another time. I hope you've enjoyed Tom's 'First Words'. Keep your eyes peeled for more.