He cannot move and needs round-the-clock care - but that did not stop Jacob Trossman having a barmitzvah.

The 13-year-old was born with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, a degenerative disorder which affects the central nervous system and has left him able to communicate only through blinking.

With one blink, Jacob instruct a computer to read the blessings before and after his Torah portion in front of 120 guests at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.

Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl of Beth Tzedec Congregation said the event had a wider significance.

“Jacob’s simchah was a statement by him and his family of the importance of the inclusion of Jacob and other challenged members within our community,” he said.

The simchah in May included Jacob being lifted up in his wheelchair during the dancing.

His mother Marcy White explained that the family was determined to ensure Jacob celebrated becoming a man.

“The only question was what form it would take,” she said.