CHILDREN who have lived their entire lives without a voice are now able to communicate thanks to a life-changing piece of technology.

Pupils at Sandside Lodge School in Ulverston now have the use of Smartbox Eye Gaze technology - and it's all down to the sale of soft toy dogs by a hotel chain.

The hi-tech piece of equipment uses recognition software to track the eye movements of a pupil using it. These movements are then fed back into a computer allowing the child to interact with the screen.

This interaction is far beyond what their disability would usually allow, and gives them freedom to express themselves.

The school was able to buy this piece of technology thanks to a donation from English Lakes Hotels. Through their charitable arm, they donated £5,203 towards the cost of the machine.

Susan Gill, headteacher of Sandside said the lives of her pupils will be changed by this new technology.

She said: "A thing that it does is give them a big influence over their own life. It's quite liberating. Instead of relying on an adult, they can communicate without relying on interpretation."

Over time a pupil using the learning software and games on the Smartbox will learn to use their eyes to communicate with the adults and carers around them.

By looking at different parts of the screen, they will be able to artificially verbalise their needs, their moods or thoughts.

County councillor Ben Berry, who is an executive for English Lakes Hotels, said a contact at Sandside led his company to offer their help to fund the new equipment.

He said: "The hotels have a charitable club called 'Sam's Club'. We raise money from the sale of small toy dogs in each hotel bedroom. It lets us give money to worthy causes every year.

"It's fantastic because we sell so many of them we can provide money to charities all over the county."

It has been a long 18 months since Mrs Gill first saw a demonstration of the Smartbox technology. However, after seeing the potential it had to improve the lives of her pupils, she set out to secure funding.

The school identified more than £2,000 it could raise on its own for the £7436 machine. The rest of the funding coming from English Lakes Hotels.

Mrs Gill said: "At the moment there are five users but it could be expanded."

If the use of one machine is successful, the school could apply for extra funding to provide Smartboxes for each pupil who needs one.

They would be able to take them home, and integrate them into their lives.

Mrs Gill said: "The really important thing for our youngsters is that they can have a voice. It might not be their own voice, but it is a voice."