A Kent woman hopes the power of technology will enable her severely disabled son to do something he has never done before – call her Mum.

George Cooper-Donaghy was born with epilepsy, profound learning difficulties and movement problems.

Doctors are still unable to diagnose exactly what his conditions are, but they told his mother, Claire Cooper, he will never be able to walk, talk or control his arms enough to do sign language.

The 33-year-old, who is a full-time carer to the eight-year-old, said he often gets frustrated as he cannot get across what he wants to say.

But now tutors at the youngster’s specialist school, Five Acre Wood, in Maidstone, have tried him with a piece of computer equipment called Eye Gaze.

While in a seat, an in-built camera tracks the position of eyes, allowing users to move a cursor and select things on a screen.

George looked at a farmyard scene and was able to select animals when he heard their names or sounds.

Claire, of Coronation Road, Bay View, hopes that one day he might use the system to choose words on a screen to speak for him – similar to how scientist Stephen Hawking communicates.

The mother of two said: “I never knew how much George understands. I treat George as any typical eight-year-old would be treated.

“We talk to him and everything, as you would, but it just proved George was understanding what we were saying.

“He is doing a lot of things that doctors said he would never do. He is working really, really hard.”

“He is doing a lot of things that doctors said he would never do. He is working really, really hard” - mum Claire Cooper

She added her son can now hold his head and sit unassisted for 30 seconds, something which requires all his strength.

The mum is now trying to raise £12,000 – enough to buy one Eye Gaze machine for his home and another for his school.

A charity bike ride and fun day is being organised for Sunday, July 21, which sets off from Five Acre Wood at 9am to The Castle pub, High Street, Eastchurch.

Joining the riders will be George’s five-year-old sister, Iris.

From 2pm there will be a fun day with auction prizes, including a signed Arsenal football shirt, a Chelsea soccer school session, a caravanning holiday and VIP tickets to Sugar Hut Village nightclub, Essex.