Six-year-old Katie is one of the happiest kids you could meet. Her joy is infectious and people can’t help but respond to the big smile that accompanies her ‘Hi!”
Katie is a bit of a daredevil who relishes a scary ride at Disney World’s Splash Mountain. She also loves to joke with her school friends and play games on an ipad with her twin sister, Emily.
It hasn’t all been fun and games for Katie, whose cerebral palsy limits her speech to a handful of words. Before Holland Bloorview’s communications and writing aids team outfitted her with speech technology, she struggled to keep up with her chatterbox twin.
Today Katie uses a voice-box mounted on her wheelchair. A screen with pages of kid-friendly words paired with pictures allows her to press the buttons she wants to activate the machine’s voice, giving her access, over time, to thousands of words.
“It’s a huge freedom for her,” says her mom Sarah. “It opened up a whole new world.”
Katie attends the Bloorview School where she benefits from Integrated Education and Therapy for children with physical and/or communication disabilities. Physical, occupational and speech therapies are integrated into the child’s day as part of the educational programming. This enriched early learning environment maximizes a child’s potential in communication, intellectual, physical, and social skills development.
Last year another of Katie’s dreams came true, when, in spite of being unable to walk, she donned a pair of pink slippers and took her place in ballet class. At her first recital there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Watch Katie’s Ballerina Dreams : Film Possible Entry.
