Why communication from a ‘locked-in’ child is a miracle we must question

If Jonathan Bryan can communicate we should celebrate, but hard evidence is needed before we change how severely disabled children are cared for

There has been much coverage lately - including in the Times, the Mirror, the Daily Mail, and tonight's CBBC documentary special - of the story of 11-year-old Jonathan Bryan and his remarkable ability to write poetry, keep a regular blog, and communicate with his parents, in spite of his severe and debilitating cerebral palsy. Now Jonathan - who communicates via a spelling board with the help of a facilitator who carefully watches the movement of his eyes - is campaigning for other severely disabled children to be taken out of special educational needs classes and taught in regular classes, just as he is.

Jonathan has been disabled since birth, when doctors warned that he had suffered such severe brain damage (as Jonathan's Guardian article last year explained, "the MRI scan of my brain was one of the worst the technician had seen") that he may never be able to run, walk or even recognise his parents. With such a bleak prognosis, the progress Jonathan appears to have made is truly remarkable - "nothing short of a miracle", as his parents describe it.