Eight-year-old Johnathon comes to Cerebral Palsy Scotland for specialist physiotherapy. Mum Caeleigh told us, “We realised something was wrong at a baby class when the other babies were sitting up and Johnny wasn’t.” Johnny went on to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was two years old.

“We first met Cerebral Palsy Scotland when they were doing outreach work in Lochgilphead. Their team are so specialised, and we hadn’t previously been able to access that type of support because we live in a rural location.”

Five years on, Johnny is thriving, but his cerebral palsy can make him exhausted, and he relies on his mum and dad for additional support. Mum explains, “He gets frustrated because he can’t quite understand why he gets more fatigued than other children at school. But he is also so determined. It’s like he wants to say, ‘Well I can do it, don’t ever tell me that I can’t, because I know that I can.’ I love that about him.

Cerebral Palsy Scotland are there whenever we need them, we know if we call or email, they will provide us with advice and support straightaway. I’ve got a counselling session coming up with their psychologist, which is amazing. Without Cerebral Palsy Scotland, Johnny wouldn’t have had access to physiotherapy. I think I would still be at rock bottom and we’d be lost. The therapy and support we have received has been genuinely life-changing.”

To help us continue our life-changing services, please make a donation to our Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month campaign.

Rose was born alongside her twin brother in February 2021. Both twins had some difficulty breathing after they were born, but while her brother stabilised, Rose had an extended period without oxygen. This damaged her brain and caused cerebral palsy.

Rose and her family first attended our parent and baby class, Baby Buds. When she was two, our physiotherapists and speech and language therapist visited her locally in Fife, working with Rose’s family and nursery teachers, over several sessions. This year, Rose and her parents attended a communications course at Cerebral Palsy Scotland. Rose’s mum Louise tells us, “The communications course we attended recently was phenomenal. Rose loved it and wanted to demonstrate everything she had leaned at home.”

Rose uses a wheelchair and a walker. She struggles with speech, but loves to sing along to songs she recognises. She will start primary school later this year.

Louise explained, “What’s different about the care and support we receive from Cerebral Palsy Scotland is that they are specialists. They aren’t working across all different conditions, and they know exactly what our children’s needs are. Rose had a seizure in 2024 and we called Cerebral Palsy Scotland straight away for advice. If we didn’t have Cerebral Palsy Scotland, we would feel very lonely.”

Please make a donation now to our Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month campaign.

Kirsty Colquhoun is a doctor and Sub Dean of University of Glasgow Medical School. She also has cerebral palsy. At school, Kirsty was discouraged by her guidance teacher when she expressed an interest in becoming a doctor, “He told me, ‘Well I’m colourblind, so I couldn’t become an electrician’ implying I couldn’t be a doctor because I have cerebral palsy.”

Kirsty has gone on to have a successful medical career and is now a consultant in the NHS. Kirsty tells us, “I’m not defined by my disability. I’m not a ‘disabled doctor’. I’m Kirsty the doctor.”

“Often when children with cerebral palsy reach 18 and they are discharged from children’s services, they fall into the abyss. If you are an adult with Parkinson’s or MS, you continue to have access to healthcare physicians who understand your condition and can help you.

With cerebral palsy, there is none of that.

As both someone with cerebral palsy and someone working in the medical field, I can tell you that Cerebral Palsy Scotland bridges the gap for the many adults with cerebral palsy who struggle to access specialist services.”

Please make a donation now to our Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month campaign.

My name is Barry Smith, and I am 46 years old. I suffer from Cerebral Palsy, which is a physical disability. Because I suffer from this, I use a power chair, and I have a lightweight voice output communication aid, so if people don’t understand what I’m trying to say to them, I can type it in. I lived by myself, but I received support from SDS and ILF to help with tasks that I found challenging on my own, such as feeding and cooking for myself, and I appreciated it more. Down to me having this, I get SDS and ILF  funding to help me get support for what I can’t do for myself.

Last July, I went to TRNSMT at Glasgow Green for two days, and all year I couldn’t wait for it to come back around again, so I saved up for it. One thing I remember from last year is that when I went into the Disabled Toilet, I found it was tough to close the door behind over. When I went back again this year, they had a van which had a wheelchair lift.. What I saw this year was they made the access better for disability people in the disabled bit; they had a tent for everyone could go and tell out. Three more things to talk about on the access, they had people sign for deaf people to the music, which I think was very good. One more thing, a Beatson volunteer can get you food and soft drinks, you only need to give them your bank card and they chip and pin, but you can’t ask them to get you an over-18’s drink, which I think is right because some people can’t drink because they’re on medication.

The music over the two days, which was the Saturday and the Sunday, was out of this world. Some of the bands were playing that I had never heard of before, but they sounded so good. I can’t wait to go back next year.  Before I end this report, I would like to thank four people who made this happen for me: my Mum, Laure, my PA, Paul, my PA, and the accessibility