Sharing the support

Hugh (9) has been accessing therapy at Northcott Toowoomba for over a year with a particular focus on Speech and Occupational Therapy to support communication and motor planning.

“Hugh’s brain is super-fast but his body can take a moment to catch up”, explains Mum, Michelle.

“It’s all motor planning – Hugh just needs people around him who see his abilities and encourage them and that’s what we’ve been fortunate to have with all our therapists”, she says.

Working with their therapy team, Michelle found an iPad app that really works for Hugh.

“He struggled at first with writing but now we use the app Its much quicker for him to use the app word banks. We have core word banks and then specific groups for school etc.

Making a difference with community fundraising

As well as helping Hugh, Michelle and husband Luke wanted to ensure it was available to other children. Through their local company, Meat Cellar, they provided Northcott with licenses for all our therapists to use the Clicker Writer app. 

“It fitted with our business values to do this. We already knew the app made a difference for Hugh so we were keen to share it with others.

“Hopefully that has the ripple effect of helping kids access the curriculum, have more success in writing and get their message across,” says Michelle.

The family are keen to keep supporting Northcott. For a few years, they have undertaken an annual fundraising trek and this year walked 3.7km from Maroochy Surf Club to Mooloolaba Surf Club to raise funds for Northcott.

Walking is particularly challenging for Hugh due to his difficulties with motor planning and muscle tone, and his walking speed is comparable to that of a child under 3.

This year, Hugh raised money to buy Switch Toys for Northcott Toowoomba. These toys were instrumental in his early therapy 7.5 years ago, aiding in his speech and motor development, while also boosting his confidence and social skills.

Hugh at the start of his fundraising walk for Northcott.