Dan finds his voice
Student Dan now has his own unique voice with a Walsall accent.
Student Dan now has his own unique voice with a Walsall accent.
Dan, a third–year student at National Star, uses an electronic communication device to speak, called an AAC device, but he hated his electronic voice, which he said made him sound like a robot.
‘I wanted to sound like my family and where I am from. I am proud of where I come from,’ says Dan.
Two years ago, Dan launched an appeal on social media to find a voice donor. His local radio station, BBC West Midlands, stepped in to help.
Several people sent in voice samples for Dan to listen to. He chose Eli, who is currently at drama school in New York. ‘I chose Eli because he has a storytelling sort of voice. He sounded calm and cool, and I loved his accent,’ says Dan. National Star supported Eli to record more than 2,500 phrases that were then converted into Dan’s new voice.
‘I love my new voice,’ says Dan. ‘It’s fantastic and it’s made me really happy.’
For Sarah and Matthew, Dan’s parents, it was an emotional moment when they heard Dan’s new voice.
‘This has been so important to Dan and to see how the new voice has given him such confidence. We can’t thank National Star enough for making this dream become a reality,’ says Sarah.
‘Since Dan started at National Star he has developed and grown as a person. He is more independent and has improved his ability to cope with different people and situations.’
Since receiving his new voice, Dan has wanted to meet Eli to personally thank him and earlier this year, we were pleased to make this possible. At National Star we are passionate about our ‘Find My Voice’ project.
We understand how important it is for young people, like Dan, to have their own age–appropriate and regional appropriate voice.
Catrin Viveash, Head of Fundraising, said: ‘It is thanks to the generous support of trusts, organisations and individuals that National Star is able to play a part in making this happen’.
