“My name is Jai Harrison Howell and I am twenty one years young and I have quadriplegic cerebral palsy and non verbal.

I am super active and I love being out, my favourite thing in all the world are Apple products and music. I’m always at gigs and festivals, my favourite bands are Elbow, Coldplay & Pink Floyd.

I also have a girlfriend Holly and we have been together for nearly three years.

I’ve been studying for three years now at Wirral Metropolitan College in Merseyside, where I am completing an independent living course, which involves cooking, maths, English and life skills, which I love. I’m also doing a Gateway award (Gold level after achieving bronze and silver) with Wirral Mencap, this involves charity work, wheelchair football, photography, art & drama. I have recently found out because of my communication skills on the iPad, I can stay on next year.

Phab creates opportunities for children and adults of all abilities to enjoy life together

Close to my heart is a charity called PHAB, a national charity with many clubs in the uk. My family run a club with 150 plus members. Normally we meet every Wednesday and have a great laugh together doing things like live music, guitar workshops, massage, accessible taekwondo and Zumba. https://iamphab.org.uk check us out

We also go away on free holidays to Outward bound centres such as Bendrigg Lodge in the Lake District (https://www.bendrigg.org.uk/). We do loads of fun things such as rock climbing, zip wires, canoeing, proper action stuff, which I love. Our PHAB club has also created the PHAB Hub. PHAB HUB is a community centre with its own charity shop, low cost supermarket, where members can work and achieve retail qualifications. They also have hobby hub which offers free yoga, guitar workshop, craft, dance and advice on PIP and all that sort of stuff. I’m hopefully going to get a work placement there soon.

Recently I won an award at the House of Lords for backpacking/interrailing around Europe for a month. I visited 14 countries and got to see loads of sites. I went with my brother & PA.

All of the above would not be possible if it wasn’t for my iPad and communication software proloquo2go. This enables me to communicate and thus gives me the confidence, I need to succeed to get me where I am today. I can’t thank Ace centre enough for all the help provided from advice and support to the provisions given. They have also helped with my device connections on my wheelchair, which enables me to communicate wherever I go.

Recently, Sam from the Ace Centre (who I think is ace), gave AAC training to my PA’s, teachers and college staff. This is invaluable as it gets everyone around me, all singing from the same hymn sheet in respect to my communication. I love Ace Centre as the staff there have known me for years and are all so down to earth.”

Thank you ACE Centre!

Will you help us make a difference in more people’s lives by sharing your Ace story? Find out more about how you can share your experiences by downloading our case study information flyer.