Thea's choice

Five-year-old Thea Johnson has cerebral palsy, which affects movement of all four limbs. Although she could understand what was said to her, she could not use speech to express herself. But now, thanks to a voice output communication aid (VOCA), she has found her freedom and her voice. Anna Hinde found out more.

Egg and toast is one of Thea Johnson’s favourite breakfasts and one she can now request herself thanks to her new communication device.

This simple request and independence means everything to Thea and her family as mum Emma explained: “Previously, Thea had to select from the food choices I’d have given her, now she has a new freedom to make up her own mind – simply being able to ask for egg means the world to us.”

Thea and her family – including dad Simon and brother Ethan – live in Hythe, and were referred to Kent and Medway Children’s Communication and Assistive Technology Service (KM CAT) at the start of March 2020; however the day before therapists were due to meet Thea at her school, the UK went into the first national lockdown.

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Sasha Appasawmy admits she was dubious as to how they were going to help Thea via virtual appointments.

She said: “The lockdown meant we had to cancel seeing Thea in person and, at the time, we couldn’t imagine how we could work virtually, but we knew we had to find a solution. We had to think on our feet and we had to make it work.

“Although the whole process has taken longer, I am so proud that as a service, despite the pressures and challenges of the past year, we have still achieved a positive outcome for Thea. It’s a real success story and I know the family is really pleased. She was the first person we worked with virtually and supported during lockdown.

“The team made a wonderful connection with the Johnson family and we have given Thea the ability to make her own choices and express herself – that’s something the majority of people take for granted.”

Emma and Simon couldn’t agree more and have nothing but praise for the therapists.

Emma said: “We always knew Thea was very capable but she never had an outlet to really show that off. Now she’s spelling, writing stories and reading, to the extent that her teacher is now setting her more challenging work.

“This year has been a challenge for everyone; we appreciate things haven’t happened the way they normally would, but we really can’t thank the whole team enough.

“Of all the various therapies and inputs Thea has had, the VOCA has made the biggest impact to her life and ours. She finally has a voice and the freedom to express herself. All this potential was buzzing around inside her little head and now she finally has a tool to help her let it all out.

“We can’t wait to see how she’ll grow and what she’ll achieve in the future.”

How VOCA makes communication easier

Thevoice output communication aid is a specialist computer with a vocabulary package that gives Thea access to thousands words represented by symbols. Words are stored in categories, like people, action or food and Thea uses a joystick to select an image. Thea’s package also enables her to type words, which gives her access to an infinite number of words, as she learns reading and spelling skills. KM CAT supports Thea to learn to use the VOCA and classroom software.

The team works with the family and her mainstream school to make sure everyone is striving towards the same goals for the five-year-old.