William has used an eye gaze since he was about 5 years old.

Speech therapy itself started when William was very young. We used sign language, we read books, we were always talking to him, singing and listening to music, we would mimic his noises so he could see our mouths move while making different sounds, we did activities for improving tongue control – we did it all. Then we started with the eye gaze which was one more language for all of us to learn – challenge accepted!

To start, it was all games at first and sessions would only last about 5 minutes for William. Learning to control your eyes to use a system like his is very tiring and takes time to build endurance. It takes immense control and reward has to be high for continued motivation.

We slowly built up the time William could sustain successful usage. There were good days and bad days and that hasn’t changed. He mastered the ‘Look to Read’ and ‘Look to Learn’ over a number of years and now he’s graduated to communication. There are different platforms and software for everything and they all come with a price tag. I swear that having a special needs child is like paying wedding prices for every aspect of their life. With some deliberation on what would work best for William and our team we went with TDSnap.

About a year ago we started working with a more specialized speech therapist to support his development with communication and he’s come a long way. She not only has to teach him but she trains me and the team too. It’s important that we all use the same or similar strategies so that it’s very clear for William. We all need to know where the buttons are and there is a path through multiple pages in order to put together complete thoughts and sentences.

Despite the learning curve, there have been some monumental triumphs like consistently asking to use the potty or asking to go out to the pub and sit on the patio or even telling us he’s hungry.

One thing is paramount – if William asks, we must deliver – that’s what builds motivation for him to use it.

We have parent controls to turn off some options if we know we can’t deliver but his team is so good about following through on things. When he asked to go to the pub, his caregivers took him. They sat on the patio and William was pumped. They shared some snacks, people watched, chatted and came home.

The other day he asked for me. I was in another room and I could hear him clicking the button. “Mom” “mom” “mom” so I appeared and it was all smiles.


These small successes aren’t small. They are HUGE.

William having access to sharing his feelings, asking for what he needs or wants and sharing thoughts on stories he’s read or reading a book all on his own offers him the opportunity to share what’s going on in his mind and allows for some independence.


It takes relentless effort from our whole team and my little boy tries so damn hard and often under circumstances of pain, discomfort, illness or anything that’s silently bothering him – like an itch.

We are currently waiting for a mount that will make the eye gaze portable so we can take it when we go out with William. This is the next level of access and will promote continued motivation for learning a device that isn’t easy. One of the outings planned is going to the library where he can ride the elevator and learn about the concept of up and down – he loves the elevator.


When I think back to where we started, I’m amazed at how far our little warrior man has come. It is magic when I can relish in the not-so-little things and celebrate my boy for all his progress.

I know one day that machine will speak out an “I love you” in the cute, little, boy voice we have it programmed to and that will be a cool day.

~ Keely

Keely is an author and advocate for children living with disabilities. She lives on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, with her husband, her son William who has cerebral palsy, her two daughters and several four-legged friends.