Between January-March 2023, Cerebral Palsy Scotland ran a survey in order to get an insight into what services were being used by the cerebral palsy community, how easy these services were to access, the issues that mattered to them, and challenges they were currently facing.

We also asked for feedback on our own services too. Our overall aim was to use all of this feedback to shape our own services now and in the future, and to make them as useful as possible to the cerebral palsy community.

Some of the key survey insights are below. You can read the full survey summary here. 

Adults with cerebral palsy are struggling to access therapy and other services

• Of the 134 people who responded to the survey, 120 were adults
• Adults with cerebral palsy reported they are struggling to access therapy – 43% said they were not accessing therapy for their cerebral palsy
• Adults are also struggling to access other relevant services. Outwith Cerebral Palsy Scotland, 74% could not access psychological support elsewhere and 69% could not access social events elsewhere.

People want Cerebral Palsy Scotland to offer a range of services, and see therapy as our most useful service

Of those surveyed, 54% felt therapy was our most useful service. A majority of respondents said it was ‘extremely important’ that Cerebral Palsy Scotland offer:

• Individual therapy (73%)
• Psychological support (63%)
• Information about cerebral palsy (68%)
• Awareness raising about cerebral palsy (78%)
• Signposting to other services (63%)
• Campaigning on behalf of people with cerebral palsy (73%)

Lack of health and care services and support is a key issue for the cerebral palsy community

When asked, ‘What would be the most important issue for Cerebral Palsy Scotland to campaign and/or raise awareness on?’, 44% said they wanted Cerebral Palsy Scotland to campaign for more health care support and services for people with cerebral palsy.

Just over half (53%) of all respondents felt that a lack of support and services, including a lack of funding within the NHS, was the most important issue they will face in 2023.

Read the full survey summary

 

Cerebral Palsy Scotland has responded to the UK Government’s consultation on the Disability Action Plan 2023-24.

The proposed Disability Action Plan 2023-24 will set out the immediate action the UK Government is taking to improve disabled people’s lives.

Our response speaks to a range of issues raised in the consultation, including:

• The lack of specialist statutory services available to adults with cerebral palsy
• Supporting the proposal to create guidance for playground accessibility
• Supporting the need for increased disability inclusion in emergency planning and in resilience work. Our response highlighted the lack of inclusion or a joined-up approach to supporting disabled people and people with cerebral palsy during the Covid pandemic.
• Highlighting the need for a cerebral palsy register in the UK, to enable quick and effective identification of people with CP across the country in order to improve services for people with CP and for future emergency planning.
• Supporting the proposed Disability Enabled Badge scheme but to ensure the scheme does not become a ‘tick box’ exercise and has continuous learning and improvement built in.
• Supporting the inclusion of Frame Running in any multi-sport event.
• Welcoming the government’s plan to raise the profile of assistive technology.
• Ensuring the proposed SEND Improvement Plan references and includes children with physical disabilities.
• Improving transitions to adulthood for people with cerebral palsy, and highlighting the lack of services for people with cerebral palsy to transition into.

Read our full consultation response and find out more about our campaigning work.

Today we have published our Annual Review, highlighting the impact of Cerebral Palsy Scotland’s work over the past year.

Read Annual Review 2022-2023

The Annual Review, published to coincide with World Cerebral Palsy Day on 6 October, provides an overview of the progress made by the charity between March 2022 – April 2023.

This has been the first year we have been able to plan and deliver an unrestricted year of activity since the Covid pandemic, allowing people with cerebral palsy and their families the opportunity to enjoy multi-disciplinary therapy sessions, group activities and in-person events.

Some of the highlights of the past year include:

• Completing 1,125 therapy sessions with children and adults with cerebral palsy
• Reinstating our fortnightly Baby buds play and therapy sessions for children aged 0-2 and their families
• Publishing our new Strategic Plan 2023-2026
• Delivering our ninth Cerebral Palsy Scotland annual conference in October 2022
• Raising awareness through policy work and our Cerebral palsy awareness month social media campaign
• Launching our first fully accessible fundraising challenge

Read Annual Review 2022-2023

 

Read our Autumn newsletter and catch up on our latest stories and news.

In this edition, Karen talks about how Cerebral Palsy Scotland has supported her young son Jack to make the most of his abilities, and how we’ve helped to give the whole family some much-needed breathing space.

“I would advise anyone with cerebral palsy to get in touch with Cerebral Palsy Scotland because you understand it to a level that I don’t think you can find elsewhere.”

We also hear from Alan, who recently came back to Cerebral Palsy Scotland as an adult, having come for therapy many years ago as a young child. He explains how the therapists have really helped reduce pain he was experiencing, and also to complete day-to-day tasks much quicker and easier.

As well, the newsletter lets you know about upcoming events that you can get involved in, including our Annual conference and exhibition taking place on 3 October in Glasgow. There’s also a policy update on what we’ve been doing to advocate for people with cerebral palsy and their families.

Read the newsletter

Cerebral Palsy Scotland has received £10,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund in Scotland to support its fun play and therapy group for babies and their families.

Baby buds is the charity’s fortnightly group for children aged 0-24 months and their families. The group welcomes any family who is concerned about their child’s motor development, or who have been given a diagnosis of cerebral palsy.

Run by Cerebral Palsy Scotland’s team of specialist therapists, Baby buds is full of messy play, sensory exploration, songs and stories. Sessions are designed to provide opportunities to help children develop movement to enable play, exploration and communication.

The therapy team are also able to give parents and carers guidance on how to help their child when they are with them every day. The group is also important in allowing parents of young children with cerebral palsy to meet each other, at a time when many can feel isolated.

Commenting on the award, Isla Campbell Lupton, Head of Fundraising and Communications at Cerebral Palsy Scotland, said:

“We are extremely grateful to have received this award from The National Lottery Community Fund, which has been made possible through the generosity of National Lottery players.

“Our Baby buds group is a really important part of what we do to support children with cerebral palsy. The group allows young children to benefit from regular specialist support at an age where targeted input is critical in enhancing their development, as well as providing an opportunity for parents to meet others in a similar situation.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to The National Lottery Community Fund for enabling us to continue running this much-needed service.”

The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said:

“National Lottery funding can make amazing things happen in local communities across the country. This project delivered by Cerebral Palsy Scotland is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others.

“National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is helping to support this vital work which is making a real difference to so many.”

For more information on Baby buds, and to register your interest, visit our Baby buds webpage.