Our story
A voice that was always there
Robert and kids like him have beautiful voices trapped inside a body that will not let them out. The least we can do is give them a chance to express their needs, their thoughts and their feelings.
Who is Robert Norton?
Robert James Norton was born in June 2013. Robert is a happy, water-loving boy who attends an elementary school under an ESE program. He has been receiving speech therapy since he was 18 months old. At three he was diagnosed with autism, and Robert is non-verbal.
Robert struggles to communicate, and communication is the essence of human life. Without it, we struggle to connect with the world around us.
Every child is on a spectrum of their own
“If you’ve met one child with autism, you’ve met ONE child with autism.”
That saying is common in the autism community, and it is true. Every child is unique and special in their own way. Some children speak. Some, like Robert, are almost completely non-verbal.
Robert’s family knows his life may not look like the one most of us expect. A first dance, a first love, a wedding, holding a child of his own: milestones many of us take for granted may never come for him.
Without people like us, and the families who stand with us, children like Robert risk being left alone, confused and overlooked, shut out of the world they deserve to be part of. A voice is how they get in.
Why we started Give Kids A Voice
We know firsthand how hard it is to get children the services they need, and how long it takes. We live the frustration, the anxiety of the unknown and the love we have for our children every day.
In 2021, Robert’s mom, Isabel Norton, and Mark Little founded this nonprofit to give other families what we wanted for Robert: a way to be heard. We built our own communication app and give it away, on devices we set up and ship free to families who need them. 100% of your generous donation goes towards our mission. About $100 covers a device, from sourcing and setup to packaging and shipping.
Nearly 200 devices later, we are down to fewer than 25. Help us give kids a voice.
Give Kids A Voice is a project of the Robert Norton Foundation Corp, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your donation may be tax deductible.