If you met seven-year-old Eli this summer, he would have been able to tell you his name and a couple of numbers. In just two months he has mastered a way to tell you not only that he is hungry or wants to play, but what he wants to eat and play with.

Eli is one of 24 non-verbal children on the autism spectrum who have been given an electronic device to support their learning after the Malta Trust Foundation’s E3 project raised €84,283.

Thanks to this augmentative communication tablet, he is now able to string sentences together, communicate better with his parents and siblings and specify how he feels.

“I finally have my little boy… the device is a godsend,” his mother Jo Dawson told Times of Malta.

“Hearing him ask for something he needs, rather than self-harming as he cannot be understood, is such a relief.

“I embrace my child and all the quirks, laughter and challenges, but I cannot stand his self-harming. It is something I feel helpless about so this device is a miracle beyond everything else.

“I also have my mind at rest now that if I’m not around, he can ask someone else to help him out.”

Eli was given the device ahead of the scholastic year equipped with software best suited for his abilities.

On it, he chooses pictures that correspond to what he wants to say. The device pronounces words associated with each picture, and Eli has started repeating words after the device. Sometimes he does not need the device to express what he wants.

For another parent – Sarah Borg Spiteri – the device is “a lifesaver”.

Chace went from not being able to explain what it was he wanted to him telling me ‘I want fish and chips’...

At four years, Chace communicated mostly through hand gestures and a picture exchange communication system – he would point at flashcards to express himself.

Within two days, after being provided with a device last year, he went from non-verbal to requesting food.

Young Eli is now able to string sentences together, communicate better and specify how he feels.

“Chace went from not being able to explain what it was he wanted, bursting out crying and feeling frustrated, to him telling me ‘I want fish and chips’… and calling us mum and dad.”

Using the device has become second nature to Chace – over a year he has developed his motor skills, increased his vocabulary and become more verbal.

“With the help of the device, he started linking the world around him with the words we say. He is now associating words with items without the need of the device,” his mother said, adding that families of children with autism most often cannot afford such devices as they spend earnings on therapy and other aids.

The devices have been tailor-made for children who were identified by the Education Department, while Agenzija Sapport’s ACTU provides personalised training.

The Trust’s E3 project, which aims to empower, encourage and educate young children with different abilities, was cut short earlier this year when schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, together with the support of 21 of its corporate partners, enough funds were raised to ensure these children still received the tools they needed in life.

More information is available on info@maltatrustfoundation.org