A NEWLY qualified doctor from Rudheath was “astonished” to find his PhD thesis had been published as a book.

Dr Alexis Egerton, who has the Athetoid form of Cerebral Palsy, graduated from Glyndwr University in November with a PhD in Philosophy.

The 40-year-old, who lives on King Street with his mum Thelma, waited for six months for what he thought would be a bounded version of his thesis, entitled ‘The Effectiveness of the Present Funding System for Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) 2006-11’ but when it finally arrived, Alexis was in for a pleasant surprise.

“I didn't know it was going to be an actual book as in a textbook,” said Alexis.

“I was getting impatient and frustrated about the long wait so when it finally arrived I was pretty astonished.

“It is pretty impressive to see your own name on a published document alongside Dr Binsardi’s name, who was my PhD supervisor and edited the monograph for me.”

Alexis, whose condition is due to a shortage of oxygen at birth, chose to pursue his PhD following his own personal experiences of using a device similar to that of Stephen Hawking.

He now hopes his research can help to broaden society’s knowledge of alternative communication.

He said: “When I first started my PhD I really struggled to obtain the literature for my review, specifically on the funding of AAC.

“There was a lot of literature on everything else regarding AAC but very little on the funding which is instrumental as if you don’t have the funding, you can’t have the key equipment, however ground breaking it is.

“Since the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who has a son with speech language and communication needs, did his review of this area, more light has been put upon this sphere meaning there has been a greater amount of awareness and interest from society as a whole.

“My research shared some commonalties with the Bercow Report and consequently I am very proud that I have played my small part in progressing this area of knowledge further.”

To purchase a copy of Alexis’s book, which costs £12, email sandra@northwestacademicpublicationsonline.co.uk