Eye Tracker for Connor
Donation protected
Hello! My name is Connor and I will be 6 years old this year. I like dinosaurs, Spiderman, Batman, Superman and all other super heros. I also like diggers, graders, rollers and everything construction related. I enjoy playing with friends, exploring and learning. I’m mostly like any other six year old boy. I say mostly because I’m not quite as abled as most other six year olds.
I was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, and was not breathing at all. I was resuscitated and placed in the NICU, where I spent the first 3 weeks of my life. But the damage was done. My parents, Mark and Carmen (nèe Peters) van der Linde, took me for an assessment when I was 4 months old, and it was confirmed that there were developmental delays. I have been receiving Therapy (Physio, Occupational and Speech) on a weekly basis ever since. Eventually a diagnosis was made and the neurologist called it: Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy.
When I turned three I had to move to a preschool and my parents placed me in the New Hope School in Pretoria, South Africa. There I also receive all 3 therapies on a weekly basis.
My disability lies mainly in my arms and hands. I have learned to walk, even if it is in a wonky manner. But when I fall I am not able to get up again. I have very little to no function of my hands. When I try to do something with my hands, my arms go into spasm (action induced). This of course means that I need help with my everyday living. I need someone to dress me. I need someone to feed me. I need someone to help me use the bathroom.
I am cognitively on par for my age group and hope to start grade 1 next year. My receptive language skills are excellent and my parents think I’m a clever little sausage. I however have problems speaking clearly and very few people other than my parents understand me, which might lead to dangerous situations if I should hurt myself. All of this will further more present a new problem once I get to grade 1 and am not able to write using my hands or even use my hands for typing on a normal computer. This would probably lead to me not being able to get a good education or for me to reach my full potential.
Last year my speech therapist arranged for me to test an eye tracker/gazer. And it worked wonderfully. This machine calibrates with your eyes, and you can then use your eyes as a mouse on the computer. This machine would help me learn to write (type) in a much faster way than trying to write or type with a traditional head pointer on a touch screen computer.
The big problem is the cost of this machine (approximately 240 000ZAR). My mom and dad and lots of friends have started saving up for this machine but this is taking forever and I will not be able to get it by the time that I am going to Grade 1 where I want to learn to read, write and do sums.
Your support will help me to reach my full potential and attain greater independence and security. I want to show my family and friends that I am a "Legend in the Making!"
I was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, and was not breathing at all. I was resuscitated and placed in the NICU, where I spent the first 3 weeks of my life. But the damage was done. My parents, Mark and Carmen (nèe Peters) van der Linde, took me for an assessment when I was 4 months old, and it was confirmed that there were developmental delays. I have been receiving Therapy (Physio, Occupational and Speech) on a weekly basis ever since. Eventually a diagnosis was made and the neurologist called it: Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy.
When I turned three I had to move to a preschool and my parents placed me in the New Hope School in Pretoria, South Africa. There I also receive all 3 therapies on a weekly basis.
My disability lies mainly in my arms and hands. I have learned to walk, even if it is in a wonky manner. But when I fall I am not able to get up again. I have very little to no function of my hands. When I try to do something with my hands, my arms go into spasm (action induced). This of course means that I need help with my everyday living. I need someone to dress me. I need someone to feed me. I need someone to help me use the bathroom.
I am cognitively on par for my age group and hope to start grade 1 next year. My receptive language skills are excellent and my parents think I’m a clever little sausage. I however have problems speaking clearly and very few people other than my parents understand me, which might lead to dangerous situations if I should hurt myself. All of this will further more present a new problem once I get to grade 1 and am not able to write using my hands or even use my hands for typing on a normal computer. This would probably lead to me not being able to get a good education or for me to reach my full potential.
Last year my speech therapist arranged for me to test an eye tracker/gazer. And it worked wonderfully. This machine calibrates with your eyes, and you can then use your eyes as a mouse on the computer. This machine would help me learn to write (type) in a much faster way than trying to write or type with a traditional head pointer on a touch screen computer.
The big problem is the cost of this machine (approximately 240 000ZAR). My mom and dad and lots of friends have started saving up for this machine but this is taking forever and I will not be able to get it by the time that I am going to Grade 1 where I want to learn to read, write and do sums.
Your support will help me to reach my full potential and attain greater independence and security. I want to show my family and friends that I am a "Legend in the Making!"
Organizer
Anja Hinze Hadley
Organizer
Karratha WA
