Blog – Johnny’s Story

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.

Blog – Rose’s Story

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.

Blog – Dr Kirsty Colquhoun

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.

Our new Charity of the Year Partnership with QA’s Glasgow office

We are delighted to share that colleagues at QA’s Glasgow office have voted to support Cerebral Palsy Scotland as their Charity of the Year.

This collaboration represents far more than a year of fundraising, it’s a shared commitment to creating meaningful, lasting impact. QA’s passion for inclusion and accessible tech aligns with our charity’s vision, and the Glasgow team’s enthusiasm has already inspired us.

Over the coming year, we’ll be working closely with QA’s employees in Glasgow to raise awareness, spark conversations, and deliver initiatives that directly support the people we serve. From creative fundraising challenges to knowledge-sharing projects, we’re eager to see what we can achieve together.

Most importantly, this partnership will help us reach even more individuals who need our support, and it will strengthen the work we do every day.

To everyone at QA: thank you for choosing us. Your belief in our mission means the world, and we can’t wait to embark on this journey with you.

Here’s to a year of collaboration, impact, and making a difference to the lives of people affected by cerebral palsy in Scotland.

Visit the QA podcast and listen online to episode: When diversity gets left behind: DEI failures in tech
When Technology Goes Wrong – Podcast | QA

Why Cerebral Palsy Scotland is supporting Payroll Giving Month

Payroll Giving Month in February each year is an opportunity to shine a light on a form of charitable giving that many people are unaware of, despite it being one of the simplest and most effective ways to support charities.

Sometimes called Give As You Earn (GAYE), payroll giving allows employees to donate directly from their salary to a charity of their choice. It’s an easy, flexible way to support causes that matter, without having to fill out online forms for every donation.

For employers, Payroll Giving can increase employee engagement and provide useful insights into the causes your people care about. You can also earn recognition through government-recognised quality marks.

For Cerebral Palsy Scotland, regular donations through Payroll Giving provide reliable, sustainable funding that supports us to continue our work.

Despite the benefits, Payroll Giving remains underused, and many people either don’t know it exists, don’t realise they can choose their own charity, or assume it is complicated to arrange.

By supporting Payroll Giving Month, we hope to help more people understand this option and make informed choices about how they support the causes they care about through their workplace.

Everyone can help!

As an employee:

Find out if your employer already has the scheme set up.
If they do, encourage them to promote it more widely during February.
If they don’t, let them know that it’s something you want them to consider.

As an employer:

Use Payroll Giving Month as an opportunity to remind colleagues of the benefits and how it works.
If you don’t have a scheme set up, you could ask colleagues if this is something they would make use of through feedback surveys or polls in team meetings.

For more information and resources about Payroll Giving, visit the campaign website here: Payroll Giving Month