Story
<div>Hello Everyone,</div>
<div>So it's that time of year again when I ask you to empty your pockets and sponsor me to do the dreaded Manchester 10k run IN FANCY DRESS on 20th May 2012.</div>
<div>This year is a little more significant for me however and I feel sure that as I cross that finish line I will have a tear in my eye. I hope this 'story' helps you understand why.....</div>
<div>I want to tell you about a young lady who has Autism. She is in her teens and uses no speech. She can sign 2 words. She uses about 3 pictures to help her communicate. She can get physically agressive. She finds it really hard to interact with people.</div>
<div>Then she starts a brand new therapy which uses a communication aid called a Vantage Lite. This aid is her 'voice' and speaks for her based on what she presses.</div>
<div>After 15 minutes she is using 3 words and taking turns with an adult.</div>
<div>After a few sessions she is using about 10 - 15 words and starting to make short sentences (i.e. 'more eat).</div>
<div>Following a few more sessions she starts putting 3 words together. She can use 'I' and 'you' and starts using 'we' to ask others to play with her.</div>
<div>Following a few more sessions she shows she can name colours, body parts, ask for 'more', request the next song on a cd, use words creatively when she doesn't have the word available (i.e. saying 'drink fall' when she wanted to pour something out of a cup), she uses more vocalisations, tells us what she 'likes', will take turns and share her space with others........</div>
<div>This isn't actually a story - I work with this young lady and everything I have just described ACTUALLY happened. It's based on an approach called LAMP and it is changing the lives of so many young people with autism. She has made amazing progress - so much so that we were asked to tell her story at a recent national network day.</div>
<div>Unfortunately the above young lady doesn't have her own device yet and they cost over £5000. Everyone who knows her is trying to raise this money, from her class-mates selling cakes and bacon rolls to talk of a possible sponsored pub crawl! The sequal trust are also now helping us with the fundraising and that is why I am asking you to donate so I can raise £500 to them to help contribute to her campaign.</div>
<div>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</div>
<div>So please dig deep and donate now.</div>
<div><a href="https://mail.lgflmail.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=c26637c525ef4b2a8ab542d543cb4b9f&amp;amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.aacandautism.com%2f">www.aacandautism.com</a><span style="color: #009933;"> / <a href="https://mail.lgflmail.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=c26637c525ef4b2a8ab542d543cb4b9f&amp;amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.thesequaltrust.org.uk%2f">www.thesequaltrust.org.uk</a> </span></div>
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