‘Docs said Ruby would not talk but she proved they were wrong’
SAM WILLIAMS A DISABLED youngster has spoken for the first time thanks to a computer Daily Star Sunday readers helped to buy.
Ruby Longman, ten, used the machine to tell classmates: “I’ve got something to say.”
She was born with rare neurological disorder Rett Syndrome, which stopped her from walking and talking.
But now the £10,000 Smartbox has finally given Ruby a voice.
The machine, which works through eye-gaze technology and is similar to the one used by scientist Stephen Hawking, will allow her to make her own choices.
Mum Timi Samples, 50, said even something as simple as picking which drink to have will mean the world to Ruby.
Timi, inset with Ruby, said: “This will be life-changing. She’ll be able to communicate with us and tell us what she wants.
“Before it was guesswork. She was treated like a newborn. If she cried, it was elimination to work out what was wrong.
“But now she’ll be able to say what’s wrong, she can point out a body part if it’s hurting.”
The family bought the Smartbox, which attaches to Ruby’s wheelchair, thanks to an appeal earlier this year.
Generous Daily Star Sunday readers were among those who dug deep to help.
To work the machine, Ruby moves her eyes over pictures or phrases that come up on the screen to command it to “speak”.
And during an assessment and practice session at Alfred Salter Primary School in Rotherhithe, south London, she spoke her first words. Timi, who is from Bermondsey, said: “We’ve heard her speak twice now and it was very strange but so exciting. “The first time was when she was playing a game. I was saying I didn’t think she liked it. And then Ruby said, ‘I’ve got something to say’. I just wanted to cry with excitement. “We were always told she couldn’t understand language or wouldn’t be able to communicate but she is proving that wrong.”
Two years ago Timi discovered a doctor in Texas had taught a child with Rett Syndrome to read and write.
It gave the family hope, and a fund-raising campaign hit its target after it was highlighted in the Daily Star Sunday.
Timi added: “It was just amazing, we raised the money in months. We’ve tried to thank everyone we can.”