Children celebrate birthday of one-eyed camel

Children with additional needs prepared food and gifts for a one-eyed camel's birthday party

Children with special educational needs helped celebrate the birthday of a one-eyed camel at a zoo.

They visited Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire and prepared food and gifts for a birthday party.

The zoo paired with a software firm to create a new picture-led communication tool, which gave children who struggled to talk the chance to interact.

Laura Black, a speech and language therapist who helped Woburn and company Widgit produce the tool, said it was fantastic seeing it "being used in real life".

Guides with picture symbols were on hand for pre-verbal children and those with limited vocabulary so they could indicate what they liked and disliked.

By pointing to the relevant symbol, the children could share whether they wanted to get close to an animal or not.

The visual aids were able to help those with communication difficulties

Ms Black said: "To see the joy on these families' faces, to see them be so independent and set up for the birthday party was amazing.

"They were able to follow the visual plans by themselves and it was able to support their understanding."