Jamie’s calendar grid set

Jamie’s calendar grid set

I have cerebral palsy, but I don’t let it hold me back from living a full life

Jamie is 40 and has cerebral palsy. He lives in South Yorkshire with his partner and two children. Just like any other family, they have a very busy life. He has never let his condition hold him back from living a full life.

 “Using Grid 3 has completely changed my life”

Using Grid 3 to communicate in everyday life has enabled Jamie to transform his world.

Cerebral palsy can affect different areas of the body and vary in severity from person to person. Jamie cannot hold a pen or communicate verbally; he has difficulty with coordination and controlling body movements, and he struggles to be understood by others.

Doing more with Grid 3

Jamie is a high-power symbol user and has been making his own grids for some time, using a joystick to operate his device.

Before using The Grid 2, Jamie was completely illiterate. He is now able to read, write and construct sentences. He taught himself to use the software, read symbols to communicate and use grid editor to personalise grid sets that help him manage his busy life. When it was released, he transferred to Grid 3 and never looked back.

“I could see how much better it was and I upgraded to Grid 3. With a few remote support sessions from Smartbox I was up to speed and making my own grids again”.

He now creates brilliantly useful symbol-based resources. One of these is a comprehensive calendar grid set, that he is excited to share with other Grid 3 users.

The calendar app

“I can’t hold a pen to write in a diary and I make my own grids… So I got thinking – could I make a diary like a grid?”

After four months of hard work (and plenty of tea!), Jamie’s calendar app for Grid 3 was complete.

The calendar grid sets are essential for saving important dates, appointments, planning family outings or just getting organised in general! You can find them by searching ‘calendar’ when you go to add a new grid set from the community.

Download calendar 2018

The calendar is bright and colourful, and very easy to use. You simply select your month and date, then start adding your events into the grid.

We worked with Jamie to develop his calendar grid sets for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 – so you can get stuck in straight away and start planning for December and the new year!