He’s inspired by his brother, Kerr, who travels in a wheelchair and speaks with blinks and a communication device.
With a dip of his bike into the Pacific Ocean, Skye Wattie launched his coast-to-coast cycling journey in Port Renfrew, B.C., May 19. Sometimes accompanied by Kerr in a bike trailer and supported by their mother, Gail Fisher-Taylor, Skye and his family are on a journey until Aug. 4 to empower the voices of people with limited or no speech, and to make accessibility and inclusion for the more than three million Canadians with disabilities a national priority.
They’re calling their education and fundraising campaign Kilometres for Communication, and Skye and his mom are in Vernon today meeting at the Schubert Centre with a group of “Cool Communicators,” people who speak in alternative ways. Skye will talk about what motivated him to start Kilometres for Communication, and to ask each of the Cool Communicators about what their most important issues are.
Kerr, Skye and Gail want Canadians to understand that most people who are without speech are able to communicate in alternative ways if given the supports they need. However, too often there are long waiting lists for those services and a lack of funding for communication devices and assistance.
From B.C. to Newfoundland, Skye and his family will wheel into communities large and small to meet with people who are communicating in creative ways: by blinking, nodding or raising their eyes to indicate the word or letter they want, by using head pointers, switches or eye gazes on sensitive computers to speak or write. They want Canadians to hear the stories of people who speak in different ways. They are asking each of them to tell their stories so that no one in Canada will ever again equate not being able to talk with not having anything to say.
There are an estimated 375,000 Canadians with limited or no speech. Many have conditions like cerebral palsy, MS or ALS, which prevent them from moving the muscles in their mouths which enable speech. Others have had strokes, or serious car accidents. Or they have autism, aphasia, cancer, developmental delay, Alzheimer’s, or other medical conditions.
Kilometres for Communication is a project of the Canadian Chapter of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). Donations will fund alternative communication services, supports, education and technology and can be made through the website: http://kilometresforcommunication.com
