Bobath Scotland has published its latest round-up of action and activity for the period 2018/19.

The Annual Review sets out what the charity has achieved between 1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019.

Highlights from the year include:

• More children and adults accessed our services in 2018/19 than over the previous 12 months.
• The Cerebral Palsy Scotland Conference in 2018 was attended by more people than ever before.
• We demonstrated our commitment to supporting the development of specialist knowledge of cerebral palsy in Scotland through funding and delivering training for NHS therapists.
• We have begun work to embed mental health and psychological support within our core therapy service.
• Our outreach programme has helped to ensure that people across Scotland can access our services.

The Review also sets out the charity’s key aims for 2019/20 as well as interviews with people who have benefitted from Bobath’s services, Bobath therapists, health professionals and donors.

Commenting on the Annual Review Bobath Scotland CEO, Stephanie Fraser, said:

“We are very proud of Bobath Scotland’s achievements this year and how the charity has responded in a range of ways to meet the needs of people with cerebral palsy.

“Around 83% of our income over 2018/19 came from our own fundraising. We could not exist without the continued support of funders and donors and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to ensuring we can continue to support people with CP and their families.

“We were also incredibly touched to receive three separate legacies over the course of the year, which has enabled us to fully fund the fortnightly Bobath Babies group in 2019/20 in addition to supporting our work throughout Scotland in 2018/19.

“We are determined to build on Bobath Scotland’s work in 2019/20, focussed on our beneficiaries and led by doing what will most benefit and improve the lives of people in Scotland with cerebral palsy.”

Read Bobath Scotland Annual Review 2018/19

World Cerebral Palsy Day on 6 October 2019 and the #GoGreen4CP campaign was a roaring success – thank you to everyone who took part!

World Cerebral Palsy Day aims to spread awareness of cerebral palsy and shine a light on the cerebral palsy community in Scotland and around the world.

We hope that Bobath Scotland supporters enjoyed the celebration, whether it was lighting up local landmarks, wearing green, or taking to social media to spread the word and using the #GoGreen4CP and #WorldCPDay hashtags.

#GoGreen4CP

Across the world approximately 215 venues turned green – the international colour of cerebral palsy – on 6 October. Thank you again to the amazing venues in Scotland that joined the #GoGreen4CP campaign and turned green on Sunday night!

• Maryhill Burgh Halls
• SSE Hydro
• Paisley Arts Centre
• Ness Bridge
• Mareel Cinema, Shetland
• Prestonfield House
• The Witchery by the Castle
• St Andrews House
• Victoria Quay

Marathon Fundraiser on World CP Day

Sunday was also a special day for Cheryl and Gary Stewart, who completed their first ever marathon around Loch Ness! They were inspired to run in the event because their twin daughter comes to the Bobath centre for therapy. The pair raised an incredible £1526.00 for Bobath Scotland and deserve a heartfelt congratulations for completing this wonderful accomplishment together. You can still donate to their fundraising campaign online.

Businesses and Supporters Go Green

On Friday, several workplaces in Scotland also took part in early celebrations and fundraisers for World CP Day.

The EnviroCentre staff in Glasgow all dressed in green on Friday, and Kay at Walter Scott in Edinburgh hosted a fabulous bake sale for 150 guests! Both events were a huge success, raising both funds and awareness for CP and Bobath Scotland.

Over the weekend Bobath Scotland supporters donned their green to mark the occasion and spread the #GoGreen4CP word, sending and sharing pictures across social media. Everyone looked great – thank you for participating and sending us your pictures!

Take Part in 2020!

It’s not too soon to start thinking about next year! If you know of a venue, group, or workplace that can get involved in World Cerebral Palsy Day 2020, let us know! Contact our Community Fundraiser madeline.pleming@bobath.scot 

The sixth Cerebral Palsy Scotland Conference and Exhibition brought together a record number of delegates to discuss key issues facing the cerebral palsy community.

Held on 3 October at Hampden Park, the conference is Scotland’s only event focussing on cerebral palsy (CP) and aims to bring together all people with experience of CP – either directly, through family or professionally.

Over 300 people registered to attend the day, which was organised by Bobath Scotland and supported by Digby Brown Solicitors. And over 40 exhibitors had the opportunity to showcase specialist equipment and services to the CP community in Scotland.

The keynote presentation from Dr Joy Nisbet highlighted her recent report into the lack of available mental health support for people with CP and the continuing work at Bobath Scotland to ensure all the charity’s services are “psychologically informed”.

Workshops on the day covered topics including access to healthcare for girls and women with CP, discrimination in employment, reflection on walking aids, research into static versus dynamic standing for people with CP, and resources for communication. There were also a number of practical sessions including a boccia taster, a pre-school play session run by Bobath Scotland’s therapists and a dance workshop.

Robert Softley Gale, Artistic Director at Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, and actor Jack Hunter closed the day with an entertaining interactive discussion on representation of disability in the arts.

Commenting on the conference, Stephanie Fraser, Bobath Scotland CEO said:

“At Bobath Scotland we work hard throughout the year to deliver individual intensive therapy, therapist-led groups and other services to support children and adults with cerebral palsy.

“The Cerebral Palsy Scotland conference is a highlight of the year.  It is an important opportunity for us to host a day of discussion and knowledge sharing that brings together the whole CP community; the event remains the only one of its kind in Scotland to focus exclusively on cerebral palsy.

“The atmosphere throughout the day was really positive.  We are privileged to work with Digby Brown Solicitors in developing this event over the years and we are extremely grateful for their continued support. The conference would simply not have been possible without them.”

Access Presentations from Cerebral Palsy Scotland Conference 2019

PowerPoint presentations from the conference are available below, with more added soon:

• Joy Nisbet – Mental health, wellbeing and cerebral palsy
• Kenny Thoms – Using technology to overcome physical barriers in cerebral palsy
• Ross Milvenan – Avoiding discrimination in employment – employees and carers
• Sonali Shah – Exploring access to healthcare for girls and women with cerebral palsy
• Rikke Moen – Static versus dynamic standing – what to choose? A clinical reflection on available evidence
• Grant Douglas – Challenge yourself and change the world: The story of the S’up spoon
• Kathryn Cubby and Sandra MacKay – NHS and Bobath working together on the Right Start project
• David Reilly – Cerebral palsy and the importance of remaining active
• Jan Kerr – #AccessibleLevenmouth
• Claire Harrison – Assistive Technology – information, ideas and resources for communication and access to learning

A husband and wife team from Larbert who have a twin daughter that comes to the centre for therapy are running the Loch Ness marathon on 6 October in aid of Bobath Scotland.

Cheryl and Gary Stewart chose to run in the event because it falls on the same day as World Cerebral Palsy Day.

And to show their support, Highland Council will be recognising World Cerebral Palsy Day by lighting part of the marathon route green.

After a tricky twin pregnancy Amber and her sister Harper – now three years old – were born 10 weeks early.  Just before her first birthday, Amber was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a physical disability that affects movement and posture.

Cheryl said: “We quickly had to adapt to life which included daily therapy, hospital appointments and some very steep learning curves.

“Amber was lucky enough to be granted a fully-funded therapy block at Bobath Scotland last year.  This came at a time when we were feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the support Amber needs.

“Bobath showed us how to bring all her therapy requirements together and incorporate it into everyday life.”

The pair have never run a marathon before, but when they realised the Loch Ness Marathon and World Cerebral Palsy Day shared the same date, Cheryl said it “sealed the deal” for them to take the challenge on.

Cheryl added: “We’re running the marathon in the hope we can give others like Amber access to the amazing therapists at Bobath Scotland. Amber loves coming to Bobath – the therapists make it so fun. It’s also been amazing for us as parents – the sessions give us confidence, skills and ideas to help Amber participate in things and to get Harper and Amber playing together.

“Amber loves stories and reading, and the therapists showed us how to incorporate that interest into the therapy. Although her biggest limitation is her upper limbs, within a few sessions at Bobath the therapists had Amber turning pages of a book by herself, which was such a great motivator for her.”

On 6 October along with hundreds of other runners, Cheryl and Gary will cross Ness Bridge in Inverness, which forms part of the marathon route. And in recognition of World Cerebral Palsy Day, the Highland Council will be turning the lights along Ness Bridge green, the colour that is internationally associated to the condition.

A spokesperson for the Highland Council said: “We are delighted to be participating in World Cerebral Palsy Day’s global #GoGreen4CP campaign, which will see cities in 75 countries lighting their landmarks green to raise awareness of the condition.

“We are proud to support World Cerebral Palsy Day, and we wish Cheryl and Gary the best of luck for the marathon.”

Virginia Anderson, Head of Fundraising at Bobath Scotland said: “We cannot thank Cheryl and Gary enough for committing to this marathon to raise money for us. We are really excited that they are undertaking this run on World Cerebral Palsy Day, which makes this challenge even more special.”

You can donate to Cheryl and Gary’s fundraising campaign here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cheryl-stewart7