National Star helps Caitlin find her voice

National Star has helped Caitlin find her voice. Before she arrived at college Caitlin would often struggle to communicate. She would use words and phrases but not full sentences and found it difficult to interact with others.

Her communication and anxiety were hit by the pandemic and she withdrew into herself. She became anxious, hardly communicated and would not go out of the house.

In 18 months at National Star, Caitlin has shown remarkable progress. The speech and language therapy team have worked closely with her to find techniques to help Cailtin express herself.

Caitlin uses an approach called Colourful Semantics which makes the most of her interest in colour and art. Colours and symbols help Caitlin to identify the elements in sentences and how to put them together in the right order. Each element has a particular colour. For example, Caitlin uses cards with different colours for “Who”, “What doing”, What” and Where”. From the cards she can create a sentence.

Now Caitlin is interacting with her peers and people she does not know and participating in conversations. She is working towards expanding her ideas and responses and asking questions. She has a communication book that she carries with her to support her communicate with others.

The person who has seen the biggest change in Caitlin is her mother Donna. “When family come to visit Caitlin now stays and gets involved rather than withdrawing to her room,” says Donna. “She chats more and has so much more confidence.”

By working with the Emotional Wellbeing Service, Cailtin has been able to reduce the amount of medication she needs to manage her anxiety.

Caitlin, who is Autistic and has cerebral palsy and learning difficulties, is now more social and the happiest she has ever been, says her mum.

Caitlin’s confidence has grown so much that she is now a member of a choir and has performed in front of large audiences.

“Caitin always loved music but she never sang in front of people she didn’t know. Now she can stand in front of hundreds of strangers and sing. We couldn’t be prouder of her.”

“National Star has given Caitlin her voice, the biggest thing anyone could ever do for her.”