It may only be January, but 2019 is a big year for The Sequal Trust as in September we will be celebrating 50 years of our communication disability charity! With this huge anniversary coming up we thought we’d spend some time reminiscing and take you back to where it all began!

Before the Sequal Trust

Our communication disability charity started its life in the 1960s not as The Sequal Trust but as the POSSUM Users Association. POSSUM stood for Patient Operated Selector Mechanism and was the very first speech aid developed for the use of people with disabilities. Before this, it wasn’t an accepted idea that these people could be helped to reach their full potential, but thanks to research chemist Reg Maling who developed the device and Roger Jefcoate the user’s association was born!

New Beginnings

The communication disability charity was rebranded in 1969 to The Sequal Trust, with Sequal standing for Specialist Equipment and Aids for Living. Although the name had changed, the mission remained the same; to empower our members to reach their full potential through the provision of suitable communication aids. Since then, our communication disability charity has raised thousands of pounds and funded devices for people all over the UK, to help them live more independent lives.

Moving Forwards

With the continued support of our members, donations, trustees and patrons, we hope that our communication disability charity can help even more people every year. Our team hope to attend several of our regular events such as Kidz to Adultz to offer impartial advice about devices, living with disabilities and advancing technologies. Through education and support, we hope to increase our reach, raise more money and supply even more individuals with devices.