Your Christmas donation could help people like Eoin
When Eoin was diagnosed with MND, it was devastating. But his practical side soon took over and he decided to bank his voice. Eoin couldn't bear the thought that one day he wouldn't be able to communicate with his family - and it was really important to them all that his Irish accent was captured. It's distinctive to him, and he wanted his family to be able to hear his voice, filled with love for them, for many years to come.
"Even though MND took my voice, I can still read a festive story to my children."
Because of generous people like you, the MND Association helped Eoin to bank his voice. Eoin now needs constant ventilation to help him breathe, and he is unable to speak. But with the help of his voice bank, Eoin can now 'say' an infinite number of words and sentences. He's even recorded his own set of personal messages, which are saved for his loved ones, forever.
Eoin has recently recorded a message especially for you, using his banked voice.
Listen to Eoin's Christmas message
To Eoin's wife Jenny, and their children, it doesn't matter that his banked voice is not a perfect natural copy of his voice, it matters that they can still hear Eoin.
"Hearing the stories read out in Eoin's voice, the children and I sometimes forget that Eoin is living with MND and in that brief moment it is just Daddy reading a bedtime story."
Thousands of families will hear their loved one's voice and heartfelt messages this festive season and beyond, thanks to your incredible support.
Your support matters
How your gift this festive season could help people affected by MND
For many young families, Christmas is a wonderful time to settle down and enjoy a festive tale together. It's a time when they can switch off from the busy world and escape into magical lands.
Your help is needed to make sure that when a loved one loses their voice to MND, those precious moments aren't lost forever.
Voice banking
Around 9 in 10 people with MND will be affected by the weakness in the muscles which help someone to speak. But someone's voice is a big part of their identity. Without it, people living with MND can experience loneliness, frustration, fear and low self-esteem. With your support, someone with MND could bank their voice, enabling them to record multiple sample words and phrases that create a synthesised version of their voice. This can then be used to create new phrases and sentences, so someone can communicate their everyday thoughts and needs.
"I often set up planned conversations around a particular topic to engage with my children using a series of saved messages."
Message banking
This is where words, phrases or longer passages that are used frequently are recorded. It's also an opportunity to save special messages for loved ones. When replayed, these sound exactly as recorded. Thanks to your support, Eoin used a message banking service so he can continue to talk with his family all year round, and communicate his feelings. Eoin recorded messages so he can still tell his children how much they mean to him in his own unique voice.
By donating today, you could help someone with MND to bank their messages. You'll be helping them to communicate emotions in a way that may not be possible with a standard synthesised voice. Sounds and reactions, such as someone's laughter, can also be recorded.
Other communication aids
While Eoin and his young family have embraced the technology around voice banking, it's not for everyone. It may be that someone's voice has changed too much already. Your donations can provide essential funding to help people living with MND communicate in different ways. Everyone's different, so it's really important we can provide the best solution for each person.
Through our Communication Aids Service, people can access low-tech solutions, like a communication board or eye-pointing frame. Or a high-tech solution like text-to-speech devices, communication apps and equipment. With the support of Speech and Language Therapists and our expert teams, families can continue to communicate as MND symptoms progress and conversations become more difficult. But without you, this simply couldn't happen.
Children and Young People service
Eoin and his family also received support through our Children and Young People service.
We were dreading explaining the diagnosis to our children. Through their partnership with Barnardo's, the MND Association arranged for us to see a child psychologist who guided us through the best way to do this. The charity also helped by speaking with teachers at the children's school and providing a memory box for the future.
£20
could help provide funding for people living with MND to bank their voice.
£50
could help provide communication aids so people with MND can continue to communicate with friends and family.
£100
could help people bank their voice, by ensuring laptops and headset microphones can be loaned out for recording.