£75k will help Billy to 'talk'

Ten year old Billy Smith with his high tech Eye Gaze computer, with his mum, Julie Carroll at home in Briar Avenue, Watersheddings.

A LEADING Hollinwood based charity is celebrating after scooping a £75,000 grant from the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

The ACE Centre North provides communication devices which transform the lives of people with disabilities across the North of England.

The charity works with individuals, families and professionals, providing specialist assessments, equipment loans, training and information to help give people without speech a voice and to help those with complex physical disabilities achieve greater independence.

And the grant will allow the nationally-renowned centre to buy even more specialist equipment.

Anna Reeves, manager of the centre, said: “Used appropriately, technology can make a positive difference and help to achieve equality for people with disabilities.

“Now is an exciting time for Oldham, which is one of only two areas in the country chosen to pilot the new National Home Access Programme, which aims to provide low income families with access to the internet at home.

“This grant complements the Home Access Programme and will allow us to buy up-to-the-minute technology that will be used to benefit those children, young people and adults with the most complex needs — such as eye-gaze systems that enable individuals to operate computers or communication equipment with a single blink or by dwelling on a desired area of the screen.

“The new purchases will be added to our existing resource bank and will be available for loan to local people in need.”