Alison Douthwaite

I started volunteering for 1Voice as a trustee because I really want to support the important work they do to support and connect AAC users. My daughter uses AAC; learning how to use it and building confidence in expressing herself is exciting and inspiring. But it can also be lonely and difficult. Not seeing or meeting anybody who communicates like you is tough.

When our daughter was 5, we heard about a local branch 1Voice event. It was the first time any of us had met other AAC users. It was really powerful. Being in an environment where others understood to give our daughter time to respond; hearing from adult AAC users about their lives; seeing everyone having fun and speaking to other parents who really get it were things we couldn’t get anywhere else.

Years later, we plucked up the courage to go to a 1Voice national residential weekend and it was amazing. There were fun activities, inspiring presentations, ideas about how to help our daughter’s literacy development and, most importantly, the disco!! For our daughter, the 1Voice disco is the absolute highlight and especially cool because the DJ was a young AAC user like herself.