It-Can-Help is a voluntary service which assists disabled users, for whom the computer is their principal means of communication, to get more out of IT by using new systems, set up accessibility aids and get online.

During the past two years It-Can-Help (ITCH) has been making spectacular progress towards achieving its goal of total coverage of the UK by the end of 2003.

Having attracted just 55 new clients in 1999, the group achieved an almost five-fold increase last year, pushing the new client total to 256. By the end of June this year 246 new clients had already been added to the list, putting a full year total of more than 300 new clients within grasp. On top of that, volunteers have made a total of 1,062 client visits during the past 18 months, a six-fold increase over the 170 visits made in 1999.

At the end of June last year ITCH was operating in 23 counties in England and Wales. A year on and this number has risen to 39, a leap of 41 per cent. A Scottish ITCH network is nearing completion and a local contact is in place in Northern Ireland.

Much of this success is due to word-of-mouth reports circulating in local communities about the excellent work being done by ITCH and its volunteers.

Successful publicity campaigns in local media, links to some specialist websites, publicity in Ability and road shows organised by the BCS Disability Group, have all helped to raise public awareness.

Local community involvement with ITCH is another essential ingredient to the mix. A man suffering from motor neurone disease (MND) asked for help to set up a wheelchair-mounted laptop computer synthesiser, for personal communication and for his work away from home. The laptop was funded by a local branch of the MND Society and the Tyne and Wear Medical Physiotherapy Department made a wheelchair mounting free of charge, to a design and specification provided by ITCH project leader Ken Stoner, who suffers from MND himself.

In another case, the teenage victim of a road traffic accident had suffered brain damage, was deaf, unable to speak and bed ridden. She badly wanted to use a computer to communicate with family and friends. An ITCH volunteer obtained a laptop computer and got it repaired free of charge. Now the young woman spends hours every day using her laptop to speak.

Many clients have written to thank ITCH for the help they have received. A typical example is a recent letter from an elderly resident with Parkinson's disease who lives in a care home in the Midlands: “An accident had left me wheelchair-bound and unable to use my computer, because I couldn't get my legs under the table on which it sat.”

A volunteer made a wooden stand that raised the computer thus enabling the client to drive straight in and operate it from his wheel chair. The volunteer also upgraded the client¹s email software, offered tuition on its use, and gave him one-key access to the internet.

The letter ended: “For all this help so generously and freely given, may I say a very grateful thank you. It has given me the ability to resume email contact with all my old friends and made life that much more worthwhile.”

The BCS DG's role as principal sponsor and mentor continues to be vital to ITCH's success. The help it provides enables ITCH to operate more efficiently and with lower overheads than would otherwise be the case.

ITCH has helped over 700 people since it was establishment in 1994 and is now managed by a steering group of 12 people, three of whom are disabled. As its reputation continues to spread and with the help of additional sponsorship, ITCH is well on the road to improving the quality of life for many more hundreds of disabled people.

IT-Can-Help Network
PO Box 6163
Basingstoke
Hants RG23 7PB
Phone/fax: 01245 223250
Email: info@itcanhelp.org.uk


Issue 40, 2001

About us Our partners Terms & conditions Jobs at Youreable designed by