We're well into February now and Christmas already seems like a lifetime ago. The arrival of February has not only brought hope that Spring is just around the corner but also the start of another month in The National Year of Communication.
This month's theme and indeed next month's too is 'Early chatter matters - from bump to birth and beyond'. This centres on the importance of nurturing communicational development from a young age.
So how is MERU going to get involved? Well, out of all the monthly themes this is one of the more challenging months for us to get involved with as early years communication isn't one of the more prominent aspects of the work that we do. This is not to say that we don't have any involvement in early years communication at all. In fact our involvement will stem from a case study of a young boy who we have worked with for a while now. He has cerebral palsy and has recently started using a MERU, Bugzi wheelchair.
You may well wonder what a wheelchair has to do with early years communication. The answer is simple. Many of the children who use MERU's Bugzi wheelchair also use communication aids when they are older. The use of the Bugzi allows children to develop their switching skills from an early age, which therefore aids their ability to use a communication aid effectively.
We will be posting this case study in a few days but in the meantime please let us know what you think about our plans for The National Year!
