Researchers tune in to disabled children

Researchers at Dundee University are investigating how non-speaking children can tell their stories. The department of applied computing has won Pounds 137,000 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to look at ways in which children with disabilities affecting communication, such as cerebral palsy and Down's Syndrome, can use creative writing to converse with family and friends. A number of children with severe communications disorders will be trained to use Talk:About, a computer-based system.

The research team will work with the children, their teachers, therapists and families for a year to see whether using their classroom writing for conversation helps them to communicate more effectively.