Gillian Moore, parent of a student at the Hollybank School in West Yorkshire, England, writes about her son’s experience with Camera Mouse:

"Being the parent of a child with multiple and complex needs is interesting, frustrating, and at times, exciting...

Exciting is how I would describe our first encounter with Camera Mouse. After several years of being told by ‘experts’ that my son Andrew could not use any switches or other devices to access communication aids or computers, coming across Camera Mouse was an exciting realisation for both of us.

I first saw Camera Mouse at an exhibition held at Hollybank School in November 2001. I immediately arranged for Andrew, then 8, to test the system. This was a great success and we began weekly sessions the following January. These continued until October 2002 when the Local Education Authority (LEA) agreed to fund a full time place for Andrew at Hollybank School.

Using Camera Mouse gave Andrew a whole new perspective. He was able to play games and really prove his early reading skills by using sentence-building programmes. The confidence that he has gained from these sessions is immeasurable; he has now been able to try and use switches with increasing success.

Christopher, Andrew’s brother, joined him during one Camera Mouse session. Both boys were surprised that Christopher found it very hard to do. This was a complete role reversal for the brothers -- and one that they both enjoyed.

The future for Camera Mouse and Andrew remains exciting. He is blissfully happy at Hollybank School; this move has also continued to increase his confidence. Being at the school has meant increased access to Camera Mouse, plus a wide range of switches and adapted toys. In time, we will probably look at buying him his own system to be used with a laptop. For Andrew, the future is bright!”