Cerebral Palsy

He would love to be able to hold a crayon or pen like his classmates and be able to make his own marks.

It is fantastic that they might be able to design anything that could give him some kind of independence Sharon Norton, Kieron's mother Now a group of 75 students from the University of Sheffield's faculty of engineering are hoping to make at least some of his wishes come true.

Each year the students are set a business challenge focussing on industrial problems.

But this year course tutor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon was so moved by Kieron's plight she decided the project would become "Making Kieron's life easier".

Elena said: "This is not just a way of teaching our students that engineering can be used in more 'human' contexts, but that it is also a professional responsibility of the engineer to consider issues such as disability." And she said the project had fired the students' imagination.

Premature birth Kieron and his family, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, met the students to explain what would make his life easier.

He has asked for them to help find a way of being able to drink from his cup without help, and to hold his camera.

Paul Emery, 23, a fourth-year aerospace engineering student who has signed up for the project, said: "I am re...