I CAN secures £3,500 funding

I CAN receives funding from technology company Arm thanks to DLD campaigner

Not content with writing an awareness raising blog for I CAN and setting up her own website to shine a spotlight on Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Ellen Dormer, a student from Sefton and her Uncle Patrick have paved the way for I CAN to receive a £3,500 award from leading technology company, Arm. 

The grant from Arm’s Community Fund means that the charity will be able to purchase specialist communication technology devices for pupils with DLD at both its Dawn House School, Mansfield, and Meath School, Surrey, to empower pupils to interact with friends and classmates, to achieve greater independence and connect with the wider world around them.

This fantastic opportunity arose when Ellen, who has DLD herself - a hidden condition that impacts on literacy, learning, friendships, and emotional wellbeing - asked family and friends to help her to raise awareness of DLD. Her Uncle Patrick got involved and asked Arm - the company where he works – to support Ellen’s campaign. Patrick received an overwhelming response from  colleagues as a result, and Arm offered to provide further support for Ellen in helping others with DLD to find their voice. Ellen’s local Speech and Language team suggested to Ellen that she may like to consider supporting I CAN.

Speaking about her determination to raise awareness of DLD, Ellen told I CAN:

“I just want to help other children and young people with DLD so that the hurdles I had to overcome and the challenges that I faced when I was younger are not repeated. I am really pleased that my Uncle and Arm were able to provide some funding for communication devices for I CAN’s two schools. Thanks to them, pupils at Dawn House and Meath School with DLD will now have a voice.” 

I CAN are enormously grateful to Ellen and Patrick for their tireless campaigning to raise awareness of DLD and to Arm’s Community Fund for their generosity. This kind donation will make a massive difference to pupils at both of I CAN’s schools and give them the opportunity to get their voice across using augmented communication devices best suited to their needs and preferences. DLD affects approximately two children in every classroom and this much needed boost of support offered by Arm will make a huge difference to I CAN’s pupils and empower children and young people.

Recently, Ellen has made a documentary about her experiences of Developmental Language Disorder, which you can watch here.