Every parent wants to know what their child is feeling. For Connor’s family, that wasn’t always possible.

Non-verbal and 13 years old, Connor has autism, ADHD, severe learning difficulties and complex needs. He is creative and enjoys art, swimming and spending time with his little brother.

Without a way to communicate his thoughts and feelings, Connor often became overwhelmed and frustrated. His mum, Kimberley, would try to guess what he needed or what he was trying to express. Kimberley had a picture-based communication system which helped when he was younger, but as Connor’s needs changed, it was no longer enough.

When Connor wanted to say something and didn’t have the right picture available, he struggled and experienced distressing meltdowns. During these moments, Connor would hurt himself by headbutting walls, biting himself or throwing himself to the floor.

It would upset us watching our son hurt himself from frustration, not being able to get across what he wanted.”

Kimberley explains, “A typical day for us would be guessing what Connor needed or how Connor felt with a lot of frustration from him, but also from myself and his dad. We didn’t know what he wanted. It would upset us watching our son hurt himself from frustration, not being able to get across what he wanted.”

At school, Connor began trialling a dedicated speech-generating communication device, and his speech and language therapist noticed he was able to use it to communicate independently.

He used it to type ‘exercise book’ to show where he wanted to place his worksheet and requested additional learning activities. He also began using the predictive text feature, which helped him create messages easily.

This progress revealed Connor’s emerging written language skills. His speech and language therapist advised that a text-based augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system would be particularly valuable for his development.

In May 2026, Variety provided Connor with his own AAC device and within just two months, it has already made a remarkable difference to his and his family’s lives.

Kimberley says, “The ability for Connor to communicate with us has just made every day a little bit easier. It’s shown us that Connor is actually able to spell which is something we weren’t aware of. He’s still learning spelling and how to use the device, but every day he is coming on a little bit more.

“My hopes for the future for Connor with this device is that eventually it will help stop the meltdowns and self-harming behaviours. I feel Connor may now be able to have a bit more independence and my hope increases daily the more that he uses the device.

I feel Connor may now be able to have a bit more independence and my hope increases daily the more that he uses the device.”

“It gives me a lot of hope for Connor’s adult life and that he will be able to communicate with people outside of the family.”

“We are very grateful to Variety for helping Connor and providing our family with this equipment. Without Variety’s support, Connor’s growing development and independence would not be possible.”

Without Variety’s support, Connor’s growing development and independence would not be possible.”

Now a firm advocate for communication devices, Kimberley encourages other parents with a non-verbal child to not give up hope: “I would 100% recommend the AAC device and speaking to a speech and language therapist about them, as this has become a life-changing thing for us and for Connor.

“If you’re watching your child struggle with communication, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There is always a way to help your child communicate. As a Mum that has longed to hear their child have a voice, don’t give up.”

As a Mum that has longed to hear their child have a voice, don’t give up.”

Connor is still at the beginning of his communication journey, but the progress he has already made has given his family hope for the future.

“We are still only two months into using the device so Connor is still coming to grips with using it at home, but the more that time goes on, the higher hopes I have with him and the progress he’s already showing. I just know he is going to be amazing with it.”