BBC Computer Literacy Project

Christopher is 4 years old. He's bright, mischievous and full of life but he's severely physically handicapped. Now, micro-technology is beginning to change his life, enabling him to do things the rest of us take for granted.

After 13 years of silence, the chip has given Michael Waelchli a voice. Patrick Murphy is deaf and blind, but he can now read, take notes, use the telephone, send and receive letters and get the latest news from his television. Young Julia Mason has never been able to speak or write, now for the first time she can communicate with the outside world.

The chip can help blind children to learn Braille, and convert it to print for their teachers. It can help deaf children to learn language, and good computer programs can stimulate and reward those with learning difficulties.

A talking bus stop and wheelchairs that climb kerbs, that raise and lower, or that can be operated by two switches, the versatile chip is the key to all these. It can also improve muscle-control, and help you learn to drive.

Kenny Matheson and Pat Magee both work from home, thanks to the chip. Rhoda Carratt is blind and holds down a secretarial job with the help of some enabling micro-technology, and a new information system on computer finds the best aid to help a person at work.

Britain leads the world in inventing aids for disabled people. This programme follows the development of a number of different types of aid, from the Micromike to the Electronic Book. It looks at some of the pitfalls, the achievements, and sources of help and advice.