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Lyndon Irvine
Lyndon Irvine is 28 years old and has Dyskinetic-Athetosis Cerebral Palsy. He uses a powered wheelchair, which he controls with switches located in his headrest. Lyndon has recently gained access to a Vanguard communication aid.
He attended Sir David Brand School - Education Support School until he was about 18 years old. Lyndon now lives in CPAWA (Cerebral Palsy Association of Western Australia) permanent accommodation and regularly attends the Opportunities Programme run by CPAWA, which involves various recreational activities. He shares his house with 3 other young men with Cerebral Palsy. Carer staff employed by CPAWA ensure that all their needs are met and that they are able to enjoy living in their community to the fullest. Lyndon’s mother, Gaye, lives close to his house and they are in regular contact. He enjoys music & movies, going out for coffee, nightclubs and sports.
 Lyndon’s greatest challenges were access and communication. When Lyndon was attending the Education Support School, he learnt to use his knee to access a switch to use a computer. He was provided with a laptop and he used his knee to access the laptop. This was his main means of communication at the time. Lyndon was using spelling and sentence construction to get his message across. When Lyndon left school, he was provided with a new wheelchair, as his old one had become inadequate. When the new wheelchair was customised for Lyndon, no one remembered to install the mount for Lyndon’s knee switch. As a result, Lyndon was left with no access method and unable to use of the computer to communicate. Lyndon stayed 4 to 5 years without any means of communication. This was a difficult and frustrating time. In 2003, Lenney (Lyndon’s close friend and advocate) and Lyndon met with Lyndon’s therapists at CPAWA. During this meeting, Lenney strongly promoted for Lyndon’s need to have a communication system. Subsequently, the whole access and communication process was revisited. Lyndon’s access was re-assessed and it was decided that Lyndon’s best option was to use a head switch, as it was believed that Lyndon has better control over his head movements than his legs. Consequently, Lyndon spent a year and a half training to increase the accuracy of his head switching and to learn scanning. After this tedious and long journey, Lyndon finally became much more accurate with his head switch and scanning. Without delay, Lyndon started receiving intensive training on Minspeak in preparation for the trial of a communication device. Eventually after trialing the Vanguard, Lyndon’s therapists at CPAWA, applied for funding from the Community Aids and Equipment Program (CAEP)– Disability Service Commission. CAEP funds the purchase of basic and essential aids and equipment to assist people with disabilities to manage at home.
 In 2005, Lyndon received his new Vanguard. He has come a long way with this new system, but he still has a lot more to learn about the Vanguard and Minspeak before he becomes truly proficient with it. Lyndon’s Vanguard has improved his quality of life enormously. He is now able to express more than just basic needs. He is able to get his message across quicker. He can be more specific about what he thinks and believes. And one of the most important things is that now Lyndon can express his feelings and emotions to the people in his environment. For instance, one of the first things he was able to say with his Vanguard was: “Happy Birthday, Mum. I love you”. This was truly a new dimension for Lyndon and all concerned. This journey was very long and difficult but Lyndon’s determination and perseverance helped him see the light at the end of the tunnel. Submitted by Joëlle Zdravic
Senior Speech Pathologist
Equipment & Assistive Technology
Cerebral Palsy Association of Western Australia
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Trial Evaluation