This is Amy and she has autism.
We live in Cork and there are nine of us in our family - myself (Stuart),my wife Deirdre and our seven children(Jessica 11, Chloe 10, Jack 8, Christopher 7, Lauren 5, Amy 3 and a half and Sophie 2).
Thanks to Irish Autism Action and help from family and friends we where able to collect 165 old mobile phones to get her an iPad. She is starting out on the road of PECs and uses the Grace App along with a lot more apps for autism.
We would encourage any families out there to start collecting. We started out using Facebook to put the word out and friends soon jumped on board and shared our story. We even had phones posted from England! You would be surprised how many people are willing to help.
Also, text everyone in your phonebook and keep pestering people. We got two local businesses to come on board so people had some place to drop them. It took us around 2 weeks to collect 165 phones.
We are still collecting for two more boys with autism! Just keep at it and don't be afraid to ask.
Thanks again to everyone who helped out.
Dee and Stu.
204 families have registered to date. 20 iPads and 2 iTouch's have been delivered. To register for your collection pack email geraldinep@bpi.ie . If you have a query on the initiative please email jen@autismireland.ie .
