A couple of weeks ago, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting the Cerebral Palsy Alliance to learn a little
bit about what they are doing in the ACT. Before I visited the centre, I am
ashamed to admit, I knew very little about cerebral palsy and the effects on
families who care for those with cerebral palsy.
For those who don't know a lot, here are a few important facts about cerebral
palsy:
- Cerebral palsy is a physical
disability that affects movement and posture.
- Cerebral palsy is the most
common physical disability in childhood. Worldwide, the
incidence of cerebral palsy is 1 in 500 births.
- Cerebral palsy is due to
damage to the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after
birth. However exact causes are not known.
- Cerebral palsy is a life long
disability, however there are many treatments that can help those with cerebral
palsy
- Although cerebral palsy is a
lifelong disability, there are many interventions that can help reduce its
impact on the body and the individual’s quality of life.
Information
taken from: https://www.cerebralpalsy.org.au/
The Cerebral Palsy Alliance in the ACT works with around 70
families in Canberra (and another 50 families in surrounding areas). For most
of these families, the Cerebral Palsy Alliance is their only access
to specialised treatments such as physiotherapy, occupational
therapy, speech pathology specifically for cerebral palsy.
The centre also has a great playroom (pictured below) where they assess
the children's abilities, and determine the extent and type of cerebral palsy.
There is also a wonderful Toy Library where toys that have been modified to
suit the needs of a child with cerebral palsy can be loaned out to families.
These toys are not only fun for the kids, they are vital to assist the kids to
learn important developmental skills. These modified toys, services and
equipment come at a very high price. Often too much for families to be able to
afford. It is only though the work of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance that
these families are able to access these services.
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| Assessment Playroom |
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| Modified toys and educational equipment |
Sadly, funding is very limited so the team at Cerebral Palsy Alliance
work hard to raise the much needed funds to continue the amazing work they are
doing with the families. I met with Kellie Edwards when I visited the centre
and was amazed to find out the amount of work she and her team do to raise
these funds.
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| Kellie, Chris & Lyndsay. Some of the wonderful team at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. |
One of the key partners the Cerebral Palsy Alliance has in raising these
funds is Westfield. For the past few years Westfield has held Give Ability Day
in their centres as an event to raise funds for Cerebral Palsy Alliance.
This year it is going to be bigger and better.
On Saturday the 6th of July, both Westfield Woden and Westfield
Belconnen will be hosting a fantastic day from 9am to 4pm. There will
be will be jumping castles, face painting, petting
zoos, a champagne bar, craft tables and live music. For more information visit
Westfield website for Woden Events and the Belconnen Events
There will also be volunteers selling "helping hands" that you
can purchase for $5 with all the money going to support this wonderful service.
What can you do?
- If you live in, or near
Canberra please visit these shopping centres and join in the fun. Bring
your families and invite your friends.
- If you are coming anyway,
please think about sparing an hour or so to volunteer. I will be
volunteering on the day and it would be great to have you helping
out. If you're keen to help, please
call 02 6258 3200 or email Christine at cleruez@cerebralpalsy.org.au.
- If you are
not in the area but want to donate. Visit https://donate.cerebralpalsy.org.au/
My family and I will be attending the Belconnen Westfield GiveAbility
Event. It would be great to see some familiar faces and even meet a few of my
readers that I don't know personally. Feel free to drop me an email or let me
know on Facebook if you are going to be there.
