The SKUG Centre, Norway

“Most children here go to schools with both disabled and non-disabled children and mostly the disabled children don’t take part in performances. Quite a lot of children have listened to and enjoy music but have never done it themselves.”

SKUG aims to allow everyone, no matter what their abilities, to take part in music education and to perform and enjoy creating music, light and image. The Apollo Ensemble is a key part of the enabling technology.

"The fact that you can use any normal switch, floor pads, other sensors, game controllers, and now also switch boxes makes it unique and means it can cater for almost any adaption needed. That is perhaps the biggest advantage if you compare Ensemble with any other system, and for SKUG it enables us to adapt to teaching and performances at all levels."

“When we have had new people here, we have had phone calls from parents who have seen what we’re planning,” said Elin. “They say, ‘My son can’t do anything’ and we say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll find something’.

“To go from that to showing them that they can take part in a performance is incredible.”

The difference that kind of experience can make in a young person’s life is fascinating for the staff to watch – and very moving for the parents of those involved.

Elin said: “Often, as disabled people, others just see their wheelchair, but when they can play in a rock band, they feel completely different. That’s all they talk about.”

SKUG is unique in Norway, where there are few places which cater specifically for children with disabilities. Because it is such a large country, travelling to its headquarters in Tromsø would be impossible for many people, but staff have found ways to reach those in more remote areas and help them benefit from the technology too.

“We were teaching one student remotely for two or three years, tutoring him and as his teacher. He lives four hours from Tromsø,” said Elin.

“The possibility of doing remote work has been good for him. He was performing with a local wind band with a switch-controlled computer, and we could send him the files to use in his performance.”

Although they were able to help one student in this way, staff believe people with disabilities would benefit from more widespread music teaching designed for them, and offered from a young age.

Elin hopes that the work she and her colleagues are doing, using the purpose-built equipment from Ensemble, will inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

“I hope it will spread,” she said. “With Apollo Ensemble, we’re showing the possibilities.

“If more people could get started doing music themselves when they are quite young and have all the possibilities of any other child, it would make a big difference.”