Andrei is 21 and he has Fragile X Syndrome, which affects his learning ability. He has been coming to Communication Space for group and individual sessions for more than ten years.
Alternative Communication is helping him in so many areas of his life. He uses the centre’s visual timetable and timers to understand what is going on through the day, which helps him stay calm.
He continues to make progress with his communication book. He can put together simple phrases and knows around 300 symbols. He can ask for help or ask for a break if an activity is getting too much. He has even started keep fit exercises using visual prompts. Now Andrei is working on the skills he will need to start using a tablet to communicate.
Communication Space write on their website:
People think that it’s all good here. And it really is good. But it didn’t happen by accident. It is the result of our accumulated experience and constant effort, which we put into creating a welcoming space, building a good team, putting together our programme, establishing our relationship with families. It’s good here because we don’t rely on formal interactions where the teaching task or organisational task is the most important, but on humanity.
What is for sure is that without the ability to communicate, it would all fall apart. Finding ways to communicate with those who can’t use speech is the key.