The project began thanks to Fay, a girl with Down syndrome who was being treated for leukemia at the Máxima Center. Her parents had a clear mission: to support children who have difficulty communicating through pictograms. During Fay's treatment, these cards allowed her to understand what was happening and to make clear what she needed. Under the slogan ‘Support Fay with her idea’, her parents launched a fundraising campaign that began at Fay's funeral.
The result
Speech therapist Laura van Keulen-Zwemer, who works at the WKZ and the Máxima Center, says: ‘Together with a supplier of communication aids, the speech therapy team and a number of child life specialists from the Máxima Center and the WKZ, pictograms were selected and edited to make them suitable for our children. These can be children like Fay, but also children with a neurological condition who are temporarily unable to speak or who are on a respirator. Even non-native speaking children can benefit. An existing set of pictograms was adapted with the help of a working group and word lists. The result: magnetic pictograms that can be used on specially purchased magnetic boards.’
Innovative app
In addition, an app was purchased in collaboration with a speech aid company. Laura: ‘The children can click on an icon in the app and a (child's) voice pronounces the word or phrase. We have two iPads in both the Máxima Center and WKZ to try this out. In the coming months, we will be experimenting with both the magnetic cards and the app to see which works best. In the meantime, caregivers in fifteen departments will be trained to use the materials. The next step is already in sight: an animation with pictograms to explain a medical procedure.’