This commitment is even more inspiring given that Anna, who has cerebral palsy, needs a powered wheelchair to provide her with independent mobility.  Her previous power chair, provided through local contacts would break down frequently, often leaving her stuck for several hours until her parents could arrange to pick her up. In March, Priority, working with Newlife funded a new powered wheelchair that will provide Anna with the independence she needs to get on with her life.

The new wheelchair is slimmer and better fitted to Anna. “It’s letting me do what I want to do and now I can chase the children at school!”

This September Anna is due to start her degree course in teacher training at Canterbury University and is very excited about going. However her local authority has still not confirmed that they will fund the carer that she obviously needs to be away from home and live independently. As her Mother says “the fraught experience of trying to establish how Anna can access support at university has served to show huge gaps between what the government promotes and how that is delivered at any local level.” Despite this Anna is confident that things will work out, but seems calmly resigned to the fact that there will always be a struggle when it comes to accessing the correct support that she needs.

This reaction comes from many frustrating experiences. At 4 years old, when applying for a wheelchair from the local authority, her mother was told “but she’s terribly young, does she really need one?”. Later, after an application for a wheelchair had been with the local authority for 18 months, they were told it had been ‘lost’.

More recently, when deciding which university to attend, Anna came away from one feeling that she just wasn’t welcome. They told me the course was “very stressful, obviously trying to put me off”. Canterbury however seems to be different, with good facilities to support Anna’s needs. But this simply highlights the different levels of service provision around the UK.

Anna’s mother expects this to continue: “Children’s services, despite all their own weaknesses, do at least have the impetus of statutory requirements (children have to go to school, must be cared for etc). Once you come under the ‘Transition’ team it seems you become a whole different ‘problem”.

The new wheelchair is allowing Anna to look to the future. Her Mother is delighted:

“Your donation, via Newlife, has made a real difference to us and the wheelchair makes it possible, in the vital, practical sense, for Anna to achieve her ambitions.”

It also meant that Anna could to go to this summer’s Glastonbury festival, where she saw many of her favourite bands, including Stevie Wonder. Fortunately the good weather meant there was little of the infamous Glastonbury mud to get stuck in!

Hannah already has a tricycle which she received in 2003 and which she absolutely loves but she has now outgrown it and it is also extremely worn on several parts such as the knee supports. Following a major operation in 2005 a trike is more important than ever to Hannah because she now has one leg shorter than the other and a trike not only allows her to exercise and keep fit, but also helps to straighten her leg which twists frequently.

Hannah’s Mum explained that a new tricycle was vital so that she could share outdoors activity with her daughter and because of the physiotherapy benefits.  She also mentioned that her daughter sleeps better when she has been on her trike and is less restless.  Perhaps most importantly, a trike provide happiness and fun and this she summed up by saying: ‘it brings a smile as wide as the ocean to her face.’

Priority , working with Whizz-Kidz was able to fund the trike, which Hannah received August 2009 and she absolutely loves it as you can see from the smile on her face.  The pictures below were taken in December 2009 and show Hannah on her beloved red trike.  Speaking of the difference, the equipment had made, Hannah’s Mum said:

“Hannah is very severely disabled and the bike provides one of the only ways for her to get exercise. It is also a great way for her to meet other children – kids who would be put off by her big wheelchair will come up to her when she is on her bike and ask questions or just admire it.”

Since his accident, Max has learned that, to achieve full inclusion of disabled people in society, 2 barriers need to be overcome: firstly, physical, and secondly, the barriers in peoples’ minds. This has led Max to become involved with many disability-related organisations, in an attempt to overcome real obstacles and prejudices.

Max’s fitness regime (using a reclining exercise cycle) led him to the idea of the Everything Is Possible In Life Cycle – a 714 mile-long campaign, riding a recumbent trike, from Aberdeen to London. He has been training since 2002 – most recently near his London home, on a specially adapted 3-wheeler to get used to cycling with traffic.

Max sees this as an opportunity to change how disabled people are perceived, and to begin to shift the attitudinal obstacles that he comes across daily, by communicating his positive can-do message to the public. So, he will be encouraging the public to ride a leg of the journey with him to demonstrate perception-changing in action.

Max Burt says “People with disabilities are usually perceived as having the common experience of being ‘less able’. This is perhaps the only reason why such diverse people are lumped together into one group called ’the disabled’. After all, what does a blind person have in common with a wheelchair user?

I hope that my journey, as well as highlighting the positive common experience that disabled people share in overcoming obstacles, will also celebrate the often ingenious abilities that disabled people have, and demonstrate that everything is possible. Now, I want to get this message across to as many people along my route as I can”.

Pablo was clinically diagnosed with infantile epilepsy at an early age and this has led to his severe developmental delay. He is unable to weight bear or walk without specialist equipment or assistance and because he has no speech, he communicates by making noises, eye pointing and touch.  Pablo is also prone to frequent and repeated infections due to a blood disorder.

To enable Pablo and his family to go out more and access parks and countryside, The Priority trust, working with Newlife, funded an all terrain buggy for Pablo in the summer of 2009. The buggy also provides him with the postural support and positioning he requires.

Pablo’s Mother says: “He’s happier and more content. You can see in his face and body language that he’s much more happy and confident outdoors, which he loves.”

His parents are extremely pleased with the buggy and the difference it is making for Pablo and the family. Pablo is now much less isolated. Before, with his wheelchair, he needed to be indoors or on flat surfaces. The buggy is much more manoeuvrable and allows him to interact better with his brothers, enjoy parks and be outside more. As a family, they’ve also been on holiday together and Pablo was able to join family walks in the countryside.

Pablo’s Father adds “Having the all terrain three wheeler has enabled Pablo to enjoy and be able to access places that otherwise would have been impossible…without this buggy he would have been isolated and unable to join in many of the family outings.

This buggy has allowed Pablo to have experiences and enjoyment that he would have totally missed otherwise.  We are so certain that many of these outings have brought him immense happiness

We cannot emphasize enough how much this equipment has made a difference in Pablo’s quality of life”.

In 2007 Amelia was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II. This neuromuscular condition affects people in different ways. Amelia was able to walk on her own until she was 18 months old, when her condition deteriorated and she now needs a wheelchair to move around independently.

In June 2009 Amelia was given her ‘Koala’ Permobil powered wheelchair, through the support of The Priority Trust. As soon as she received the chair, she worked out the controls and just got on with using it. She is now able to move around at home, move toys from room to room and push her doll in its pram.

Amelia goes to nursery several days each week and ‘walks’ there herself and interacts normally with her friends. Her Mum said “we were worried how she would get on at nursery, but she just went straight in and got on with it.” The riser facility allows her to sit at table height with her peers and take part in all activities. Later this year she’ll start full-time school and can’t wait! The ‘Koala’ will significantly improve her life experiences at this crucial developmental stage.

Her Mum adds “With her ‘Koala’ Amelia can play with her friends, choose where she wants to go and scare her parents by driving too quickly! The riser facility means that she can press the button at the pedestrian crossing, choose food in the supermarket and reach her toys.”

Hanna was born with Cerebral Palsy and while she has some use of her hands and arms and can feed herself she cannot mobilise unaided unless she is crawling and this she can do for short distances.

She loves her mainstream school but as she has got older it has become more difficult for her to join in and feel involved with the other non-disabled children in her class.  Hanna even told her mum that she wanted ‘to go back to class R because the children in class 1 can walk.’ To help address this, Hanna’s Mum applied to Whizz-Kidz for a specially adapted tricycle so that her daughter could get around independently and keep up with the children.

Hanna’s needs were assessed to make the required adaptations, such as supportive seating so that she could be safe when riding and foot-sandels to maintain her feet in the appropriate position when pedalling her trike as well as a push pole to guide the trike if needed.

Thanks to The Priority Trust’s generosity, Hanna’s was able to receive her trike in May 2009 and as these pictures show, it has made an enormous difference to her life and she is getting full use out of it at home and at her school.  This gives her the opportunity to exercise her legs which is beneficial for muscle tone and her general health.  Best of all, thanks to The Priority Trust, Hanna is able to enjoy the freedom of independent mobility and play and have fun with her friends.

Amy’s family approached their local wheelchair service but they were unable to provide Amy with a powered indoor/outdoor wheelchair which would meet her needs.

For Amy to live an independent and active life she needed a wheelchair that met her social, educational and clinical needs. Through the support of The Priority Trust Amy has recently received an indoor/outdoor chair with a riser function called an Otto Bock. The riser function is important because it means that Amy can to raise herself up when she wants to, have eye contact with her peers and reach things like equipment at school.

The chair is ideal for use at school where it gives Amy her independence, but it also allows her to get out and about in the village where that she lives and enjoy the nearby countryside with rough and hilly terrain

Amy’s Otto Bock has already made an enormous difference and the fantastic news is that it will hopefully continue to do so for a long-time to come as it should last for five to six years. Speaking about the difference, Amy’s parents commented:

“Amy’s Wheelchair has certainly given her a new found independence, it’s a pleasure to see her doing the things she wants to do under her own steam.”

Codie is 6-year-old is a little girl, with Cerebral Palsy, who received a buggy in March 2009 through the fantastic support of the Priority Trust.

Codie’s Mum had applied to Whizz-Kidz for a buggy so that the family could do more, go out more and enjoy the outdoors by doing things such as walking on the moors.  Codie’s present manual wheelchair was too heavy and unsuitable for many outings on grass or uneven terrain.  Speaking about what it was like before receiving the buggy, Codie’s Mum said:

“Getting Codie in and out of the car more than once a day is a nightmare!”

Gina, the Whizz-Kidz therapist, met Codie and her Mum and recommended a make of buggy called a ‘Kangoo’.  This is three-wheeled buggy which is lightweight, durable and built to handle many different types of surfaces and uneven ground.  The buggy also supports Codie’s posture properly (very important for Codie who needs total support).  Thanks to the amazing help of the Priority Trust, Whizz-Kidz was able to handover this life changing piece of equipment in mid-March 2009.

Speaking of the difference that the buggy has made Codie’s Mum said:

“It has made a huge difference to our lives as family, and if you could pass our thanks on we would really appreciate it.”

These fantastic pictures show Codie in her Kangoo buggy attending an outdoor’s football party. As Codie’s Mum said:

“This family outing would have been really difficult to attend in her normal chair.”

Imaan is 5 year old girl living in the west of England  who has a diagnosis of global developmental delay, microcephaly and epilepsy. She has profound learning disabilities and is unable to communicate verbally. She has disturbed sleep patterns and episodes of hyperactivity. Imaan and her family applied for an all-terrain buggy to enable the family to go out together and give them greater independence.

Feedback received suggests the buggy is already proving beneficial.  The basic buggy provided by the occupational therapists could only be used indoors and on well-paved surfaces. The new buggy that The Priority Trust grant funded helps Imaan travel over and access areas that were previously inaccessible.

Imaan is getting greater enjoyment from life because of the new equipment.  She enjoys rolling around on grass, which the family does not have at home, and which she would previously have found difficult to access with the old equipment.  The new buggy helps her to get to parks and woodland that she would have struggled to get to before.

Libby is a 2 years old who lives in South Wales and has a diagnosis of Spina-Bifida and Hydrocephalus, Talipes and Bilateral hip dislocation. Libby has some independent mobility as she can commando crawl and sit independently. But she is unable and unlikely to walk. Libby is also incontinent and requires catheterisation twice a day. Libby’s speech is developing; she has a few words but is not yet stringing sentences together.

The family applied for a powered wheelchair to enable Libby to become more independent and access nursery and school playgrounds and enable her to join in family outings. The sit to stand facility on the chair would allow Libby to access different surface heights and participate in more activities, which will help her overall development and education.

The equipment was delivered on the 24th June. Libby’s father has said that the powered wheelchair has exceeded their expectations and her physiotherapists have confirmed that it meets all of Libby’s needs.

He went on to say that the transformation in Libby’s behaviour has been incredible. There has been a noticeable increase in her confidence and in her communication.  The support that the new equipment provides has helped to reduce her pain, which in turn has increased her mobility. She is more able to get to her physiotherapist appointments, which in turn has meant that the physiotherapy team can help teach Libby how to use the wheelchair to make the most out of it.

Jack lives in Scotland, is 4 years old and has a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. He was born prematurely at 29 weeks gestation. Jack has no learning or communication difficulties and attends a mainstream school with full time one to one support. Jack is able to crawl on the floor but he is unable to weight bear or walk without specialist equipment and requires constant supervision as he has very poor balance. He uses a specialist buggy for his mobility needs outdoors and requires assistance with his care needs and with activities of daily living.

Jack is a full time attendant propelled manual wheelchair user when outdoors and due to the arrival of Jack’s baby brother, his Mother required a double buggy to be able to take both children out. Their standard double buggy was not comfortable for Jack and did not provide the additional postural support he needs.

Jack’s mother has confirmed the buggy has made a significant difference to the family’s everyday life and for external access, the buggy meets Jack’s needs perfectly.  The double buggy has helped tremendously with transporting both Jack and his younger brother. The postural support is helping Jack to relax and reduce the pressure on his joints, decreasing the amount of pain he experiences. This, along with his ability to relax his stomach muscles due to the postural supports, has increased the quality of his life dramatically. The buggy has also substantially reduced the strain on his mother’s lower back.

David is 11 years old and lives in Scotland. He was born pre-term at 30 weeks gestation and has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. David does have reduced muscle tone but following intensive therapy is growing in strength and is now able to independently transfer. David has no communication or learning difficulties and attends a mainstream school with full time support and is registered as visually impaired. David is a full time manual wheelchair user and he is able to self propel on appropriate surfaces and over short distances.

The family applied to Newlife for a powered wheelchair as he tires easily and this is impacting on his independence as he cannot keep up with his peers. David would benefit from a powered wheelchair as he is due to start secondary school and currently would require assistance to mobilise around the campus. A powered wheelchair would also allow David to socialise in an age appropriate way outside of the home.

This wheelchair with modified seating was delivered in early August.  David’s Mother states that the new chair has been wonderful for his independence and for helping him to get around school.  They are happy with the equipment and have confirmed that it has made a significant difference to David’s life. The new chair has helped with David’s back pain because it has a much better support, which means that David no longer has to lie down during the day and can now access the school campus and keep up with his friends all day long.

David’s mother is ‘absolutely happy’ with the equipment and the service and wishes to thank all concerned for the help given and the wonderful work that we do.

Alex is 7 years old, lives in Surrey and has a diagnosis of severe autism. He is unable to communicate verbally and uses a PECs system to make his wishes known and does not have any difficulties with his hearing or vision. Alex is able to walk independently but has no sense of danger. Alex displays challenging and self-harming behaviour; he regularly physically attacks and injures other members of the family. Alex attends a SEN school full time and requires a specialist buggy when away from home to ensure his safety as with no awareness of danger, he will run into roads. Alex is physically strong and when distressed will often refuse to walk. Provision of the buggy will allow mum to take Alex out without worrying about his safety.

Update: This equipment has been delivered and we are currently seeking feedback from the family on the beneficial impact this equipment has brought.

Alphonso is 9 years old and lives in London. He was clinically diagnosed with infantile epilepsy which has led to his severe developmental delay. Alphonso is also prone to frequent and repeated infections due to a blood disorder. Alphonso attends a special needs school for his physical and learning difficulties. He has no speech and communicates by making noises or eye pointing. Alphonso is able to weight bear and can assist with transfers but he is unable to walk without specialist equipment and assistance and is a full time manual wheelchair user requiring attendant assistance. The application to Newlife was for an all terrain buggy which will enable Alphonso and his family to go out and access different places and terrains. The lightweight buggy will also provide Alphonso with the postural support and positioning that he requires  and can be easily transported in the family car.

The family is very happy with the buggy which although very lightweight, is strong enough to bear Alfonso’s weight, which the previous equipment did not.  The family appreciate its’ lightness, which makes it easy to use and transport. The footrest had to be adjusted but the family were able to do that easily.  Alfonso is now able to take part in family activities in the countryside, which was not often possible before, and all-in-all, since the arrival of the all-terrain buggy, his quality of life has definitely increased. The family commented that the application process was very simple and the staff  were very friendly and helpful.

Lottie is 3 years old and lives in south west England. She has a diagnosis of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2. Lottie was able to walk independently until the age of 18 months when her condition deteriorated and she is now dependent on a specialist buggy for all of her mobility needs and is unable to move about independently. Lottie does not have any learning difficulties or communication difficulties and attends a main stream nursery. The Family applied for a powered wheelchair with high low facility. This equipment would allow Lottie to interact and develop in an age appropriate way and access the same surfaces / heights as her able bodied peers. Lottie is due to start school in the coming months and this equipment will significantly improve her life experiences at this crucial developmental stage.

The equipment was delivered in late July and Lottie’s Mother confirms that they are very happy with the wheelchair – ‘it is wonderful’.  She states that Lottie is a different person, is enjoying everything and is really happy.

The wheelchair has made a significant difference to Lottie’s life, she is now able to participate with her peers at nursery and she shows her friends what her wheelchair can do. She can now keep up with them on the playground and is equally involved in all indoor and outdoor activities. Lottie’s Mother is more than happy to help in any way she can and is going to forward some photos by email.

‘Everybody was so kind and helpful. Everything was so quick and easy.’

In September 2008, when the Occupational Therapist from Dragonmobility first met Keira at the request of Keira’s OT, she was shy, withdrawn and clinging. She had undergone a lot of medical interventions in her short life, and at the age of 2 had a natural tendency to cry and ask for cuddles when presented with anything new.

Keira has an undiagnosed neuromuscular condition which causes severe weakness, particularly in her lower body, and has caused dislocation of hips and knees. Her parents spent a lot of time carrying her around, and as she approached her third birthday and was beginning to grow fast, this was becoming increasingly difficult.

Despite her problems, her parents and OT knew that she would be capable of taking more control of her life, given the right tools. Priority together with a number of charities and the local wheelchair service, clubbed together to raise the £18,000 needed to provide the family with a SnapDragon powerchair with customised seating and five years technical support.

Because Keira’s need will change as she grows, Dragonmobility will provide whatever revisions to seating and service for the powerbase are necessary to maintain the personal mobility she becomes accustomed to and relies on.

Priority, with generous support from the Presidents Club was able to donate the final £6,000 necessary to get Keira the chair, and on 18^th March 2009, Keira visited the Dragonmobility workshop in Cambridge to collect her very own pink SnapDragon.

Keira had begun to realise a little of what the SnapDragon could do for her, but was still nervous, and still used to asking one of her parents to carry her, instead of making her own way. Her parents were also beginning to realise what kind of challenge having a 3year old in a powerchair, with all the issue of safety and discipline would bring.

A visit to Keira’s home only four weeks later, showed a total transformation. She was out in the garden, dashing about on the grass. She was moving so naturally in her SnapDragon that it seemed like an extension of her. When Mark, her father, offered a cup of tea, and went into the house, she was quite happy to stay and entertain on her own. She played like any three year old, and when her father came back out, she played with him in and out of the spaces under her sister’s trampoline, and took us to meet their neighbour.

The neighbour said she was a different child since getting the chair; talking and playing and mixing like any other child, instead of being the shy, trapped little soul she once was.

Mark reported that it only took Keira a week to become used to her SnapDragon. She had great fun with her friends having an Easter-egg hunt on Easter Monday, whereas before she would have been sitting on the sidelines.

And when she starts school in the village with all her able-bodied friends she will be equipped to learn and grow and develop her abilities and potential without being limited by passivity and lack of confidence. The one thing Keira has now is plenty of confidence!