In this podcast episode we give speech to the speechless when we interview Kate Caryer from the Unspoken Project which is an innovative theatre group with disabled and non disabled actors.  Kate communicates through a artificial speech device much like Stephen Hawkins  but even with its limitations I think it makes for a very interesting and informative interview.

 

The Unspoken Project (http://theunspokenprojectcic.com/) is seeking funding for 'Speechless, the Musical'  which tells the typical coming of age story of a teenager on the run from her over bearing parents and their limited view of her adulthood; her need for a voice being heartily ignored and her being subjected to highly dubious medical practices that promise a miracle cure. If you are interested in funding this through Kickstarter have a look at this link
(https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/577195567/speechless-0).

Can you imagine life without a smartphone?  These devices have become such an integral part of our lives that to be deprived of access for even a day would seem like a real hardship for most of us.  But there are many members of the disabled community who cannot operate a smartphone and are cut off from social media, SMS and even 'Angry Birds' - all the things that the majority take for granted.  This is why I am so excited by the innovation of Sesame Enable (https://sesame-enable.com/phone/), an Israeli company who have developed a smartphone that you can operate by speech or by head movements.  When I first found out about this technology I was determined to interview the manufacturer and find out more.  You can listen to my interview in this podcast episode.

With the London Marathon just around the corner we decided it was a perfect time to start a 'disability sports' section in our podcast and we were fortunate enough to get Michelle Weltman who is the elite wheelchair coordinator at the London Marathon.  Nobody knows more about disability sports than Michelle and she brings her inside knowledge to our podcast and tells uys what to look forward to at this Years' Marathon.  The link for the Sepentine event that Michelle mentions is www.swimserpentine.co.uk (http://www.swimserpentine.co.uk) and the link for the marathon itself is www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.co.uk (http://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.co.uk).

(http://podcast.disabilitymatch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Michelle-Weltman-previews-the-London-Marathon-elite-wheelchair-races-YouTube-300x157.png)

We are also delighted that our good friend Martyn Sibley has published his book 'Everything is Possible' . It is a very good read and his is the story of the scrapes, skirmishes and silly situations that one man and his wheelchair can get into, given a little self belief and a whole lot of planning.

(http://podcast.disabilitymatch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/everything-is-possible-210x300.jpeg)

You can buy the book online at this link. (http://www.lulu.com/shop/martyn-sibley/everything-is-possible/paperback/product-22593144.html)   I am still reading through the book but it is an engrossing read that I can thoroughly recommend to all of you.