I had a friend many years ago who had severe cerebral palsy and his family had learnt to communicate by asking him questions with yes or no answers – he could tap your hand once for no and twice for yes. Look at children as individuals and think about what works for them, encouraging everyone to find their voice. Jonathan survived, and, OK, he is stuck in a body here that doesn’t work very well, but, actually, what has been transformed out of that is something that none of us would have thought of in the early days.

Painstakingly slow progress in communicating with the outside world was dotted with little victories, with little joys that made carrying on worthwhile.This is why we are committed to supporting charities that are fighting to raise awareness of a child’s education rights. Was Jonathan dying as the beautiful field suddenly became his enemy, but Jesus’ strong and reassuring presence was with Jonathan. Having struggled with cumbersome communication books which didn’t have the words he wanted to say Jonathan was introduced to an E Tran frame through which he learnt to use eye pointing to achieve literacy and numeracy.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Jonathan Bryan's charity, Teach Us Too. g. through the use of technology and students with difficulties accessing their learning to have additional support from trained teachers. The queue that formed after Jonathan's presentation, at the book sales table, was the longest in the whole conference!

Following my lead, we slow-waltzed around the board, synchronised to the music of the word in my head. Writing style: My colleagues kept mentioning that Jonathan's language was far superior than an average 12-year-0ld and even adults, including themselves. By Year 5, two years after I started literacy and numeracy lessons, I had caught up with my peers and joined my local primary school full-time,” he wrote in his Guardian testimony . He wrote his story using his eyes through a laborious but highly effective system that he learned with the help of his Mum and his carers. With the sibilance of the oxygen silenced, I inhaled deeply, the fresh air revitalising my new body and filling my soul with joy… the atmosphere was saturated in a deep, contented peace.