New challenges for Harri

I was very privileged to attend a conference on communication for people with disabilities. It was sponsored by Agosci. The guest speaker was Caroline Musselwhite for ACC (augmentative and alternative communication).
I was able to gather information for improving the supports around Harrison, to make him a better communicator. Over the next couple of weeks we will be purchasing specialised communication equipment and incorporating new communication plans at both his schools.
Harri was elevated to team captain for his 10 pin bowling team, when the current captain was unable to continue bowling this season. In his first game as captain, he lead the team to victory 3 - 0, with 20 over average and 42 over average in 2 of his 3 games.
Regards Matt

Drug trial for brain injury recovery

Harri has been on a trial of a drug called Stilnox for nearly 10 months. The drug is not a new drug, it has been used in treatment for insomnia for many years. just over 10 years ago it was discovered to have benefit in rehabilitation for brain injury patients. Over the course of the trial, Harri has made slow but steady increases in his methods of communication.
The first trials for this treatment were in South Africa, Dr Wallie Nel, and at the moment that is where the majority of experience remains. A South African television crew doing a story on the trial has interviewed me and taped with a skype appointment we had with Dr Nel. Both ABC (Australian Story) and Channel 9 (60 Minutes) have run stories of this treatment through the story of Sam Goddard.
To the best of our knowledge, Harri is the youngest person on this trial in Australia, in fact we do not know if there is any other children on this trial in Australia.
We will keep you posted on future developments. Regards Matt

Harri gets better with adaptive technology

Harri has been making fantastic progress with the switch technology, which will result in him using this technology for communication. I want to share with you a video of Harri using the switch to control a game. The game is "sink the ship", he needs to anticipate the ships movement. Harri can be seen waiting for his moment. Finally he sinks the ship with 1 shot. I think he is a champion.

This week also sees Harri receiving an award for the 10 pin Bowler of the Week. Harri scored a 58 over his average, with a score of 198.