Sponsor Charlie T
Child’s Name: Charlie T
Child’s Condition: Asymmetric Cerebral Palsy, Global Developmental Delay
Cerebral visual impairment and Seizures
Attended Heel & Toe Since: April 2016
Brain damage caused by hypoglycaemia at birth. Started fitting at 9 months so a brain scan was done and CP etc diagnosed
Recieves – Conductive Ed
Charlie T’s Story
Say ‘Hello’ to Charlie. Charlie has Cerebral Palsy, meaning he can’t walk without support and has limited use of his right hand. Non-verbal, his brain damage has left him visually impaired and he sees mostly in 2D with little depth perception.
Before raising money with Heel & Toe, Charlie and his family struggled to receive any funding, due to NHS SALT (Speech and Language Therapy) services being overstretched and having their financial resources reduced.
Since joining the charity, Charlie has attended regular SALT sessions since July, helping his and his family’s communication with each other. He has also just started Conductive Education.
Because of his disability, Charlie needs to practise a range of essential stretches that will aim to reduce the tone in his legs. These stretches can be very uncomfortable for him and he does not enjoy them.
However, his favourite aspect of Heel & Toe is playing. This allows him to learn, develop and exercise in a way that is fun and engaging and to complete his stretches without seeing them as a chore.
A keen swimmer, Charlie also loves music, especially when his grandma sings nursery rhymes to him. He is a huge fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Thomas the Tank Engine.
Despite battling his disabilities on a daily basis, Charlie will achieve anything once he has set his mind to it. A natural charmer with a fun-loving and gentle personality, he is, unsurprisingly, an extremely popular member of his nursery – parents tell of their children often speaking of their friend Charlie – and this is demonstrated further by the lovely bond he has with his therapist at Heel & Toe, interacting well during sessions.