Alexis Egerton has the Athetoid form of Cerebral Palsy. He attended Hebden Green
Special School from 2 years old until he was 17 years old.
Until he was 16 years old he communicated by pointing at letters of the alphabet and
signs called Bliss Symbols on a board. He then met David Mason (a Clinical Scientist)
who had built Professor Stephen Hawking Communication Device (AAC) and offered to
build a similar one for Alexis if he could raise the necessary funding to purchase this
essential equipment.
On leaving Hebden Green Special School he then went to West Cheshire College of
Further Education at Handbridge in Chester where he learnt to use the English language
and attained a Pre-Vocational Education Certificate along with a GCSE in English and a
B Tec First in Business and Finance.
At 19 years old he attended Mid Cheshire College at Hartford near Northwich, where he
attained a B Tec National in Business and Finance with Distinction and entered for the
annual B Tec National Award Competition making it as far as the regional finals in 1994.
At 21 years of age Alexis progressed onto Halton College in Widnes Runcorn to study
for a B Tec Higher National Diploma in Business.
To top up his HND into a degree he moved onto the Manchester Metropolitan University
for 18 months where he graduated with a BA Hons in Business and Administration, his
dissertation was entitled;
The Evolution of the Japanese Car Manufacturers, Can the Success be Sustainable?
He then took time out to help in the family business building a website amongst other
things and to do voluntary work for Scope, and conducted two surveys for them as well
as delivering data training sessions for Scope’s staff and other groups.
In 2001 he went to the North East Wales Institute’s Business School in Wrexham to
study for his Masters Degree in Business and Administration graduating in 2004 with an
MBA with a Dissertation entitled:
To what extent are educational institutions assisting in the achievement of Social
Normalisation for the physically disabled?
He then went on to do some research work for Cheshire County Council’s Sure Start
Division and also worked in the family business.
He started to do his Ph,d in 2006 at Glyndwr University in Wrexham, this work was
entitled;
The Effectiveness of the Present Funding System for Augmentative Alternative
Communication Equipment?
He completed his Ph,d in the summer of 2011 and graduated in November of 2012 and
was presented by the Glyndwr University with the Alpha Kappa Prize for achievements
in completing this research degree for what it contributed potentially to the local
community. Surprising enough to Alexis, his research was published into a monograph
entitled; “Funding Systems for Assistive Technology (AT) or Augmentative and
Alternative Communication (AAC).
This publication assists the reader to contextualise the past and present funding systems
for this key assistive technology.
A copy of this text can be purchased for the small sum of £20 to cover the publishing
costs and (£8 of each copy sold will be donated to the Ace Centres) from;
[email protected].
Thank you !
Dr. Alexis Egerton
(AAC User).