Cerebral Palsy Scotland

Cerebral Palsy Scotland Conference – Keynote Speaker, Charlie Fairhurst’s Speech was Extremely Valuable

On Wednesday 8 October our Cerebral Palsy Conference took place, our keynote speaker, Charlie Fairhurst discussed Family-Centred Care in Childhood Neurology: Challenges, Collaboration, and Change to a full suite. which delivered a strong message on the importance of placing children and families at the heart of care. Many of our attendees at the end of the day said how his speech was “extremely valuable”.

Dr Fairhurst explored how conditions like cerebral palsy require individualised, dynamic, and lifelong support, tailored to each child’s changing needs. Key topics included the complexity of spasticity, the impact of co-existing conditions such as epilepsy, feeding and respiratory challenges, and the need to focus on comfort, function, and quality of life.

The talk also emphasised the role of multidisciplinary teamwork, improved communication, and aligning care with both clinical guidelines and family priorities. Attendees were encouraged to “put the fun into function” by supporting meaningful, enjoyable participation for every child.

Why this matters

This keynote speech resonated deeply with the attendees, which a made up of service users, families, therapist, clinicians and educators because it reinforced the importance of seeing each child as an individual, beyond their diagnosis.

By highlighting the value of family involvement, personalised care, and multidisciplinary collaboration, the session offered practical insight and renewed purpose for those working to improve outcomes and quality of life for children with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions.

How you can help

💚 Want to help us do more?
➤ Donate today
➤ Sign up for updates
➤ Share this story on social media and tag us #cpscot 

 

Cerebral Palsy Scotland partners with Fight The Stroke for global cerebral palsy campaign

Cerebral Palsy Scotland partners with Fight The Stroke for global cerebral palsy campaign

On World Cerebral Palsy Day, Monday 6 October, Cerebral Palsy Scotland was honoured to be the only UK partner in a powerful international awareness campaign led by Italy’s Fight The Stroke.

The campaign brought together organisations from France, Portugal, Luxembourg, Serbia, Brazil and the Netherlands, and featured a striking short film written by Scotland’s own award-winning poet, Jack Hunter.  With the bold message “You’ve Got to Be Ballsy to Have Cerebral Palsy”, the film aimed to challenge perceptions and celebrate the courage, creativity, and resilience of people living with CP around the world.

Watch the film here

Taking part in this global initiative allowed us to highlight not only the strength of the international cerebral palsy community but also the unique voices and talents here in Scotland.

What is the campaign about?

Advocacy and public awareness

The campaign works to challenge misconceptions surrounding cerebral palsy and puts a spotlight on some of the stigma that people with cerebral palsy face, in school, home and work settings.

Community engagement

Events such as World Cerebral Palsy Day and targeted awareness campaigns help broaden the public understanding of cerebral palsy and highlight the potential of every child. They build and strengthen alliances with disability and cerebral palsy organisations internationally, to amplify impact through collective action.

Why this matters

Cerebral palsy remains one of the most common disabilities in the world, yet it is still widely misunderstood. Campaigns play a vital role in changing the narrative, from one of limitation to one of possibility and resilience.

If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to show your support. Please donate to Cerebral Palsy Scotland. Your gift will go directly towards vital services for children and adults living with cerebral palsy across Scotland.

How you can help

💚 Want to help us do more?
➤ Donate today
➤ Sign up for updates
➤ Get involved
➤ Share this story on social media and tag us #cpscot

Cerebral Palsy Scotland partners with Slater and Gordon

To help sustain our vital services, Cerebral Palsy Scotland has secured new funding for our support work through a new partnership with Slater and Gordon. The law firm works widely with families across Scotland who live with Cerebral Palsy, and also is a longstanding partner of Cerebral Palsy Scotland’s sister charity in Wales, CP Cymru.

“Support services are absolutely vital for people living with Cerebral Palsy and our ambition is to help as many people as we possibly can,” says Stephanie Fraser, CEO of Cerebral Palsy Scotland.

“We want to be the lynchpin for people and families across Scotland to access what they need, and our support service is hugely important in us delivering this. We are committed to raising awareness around Cerebral Palsy, both in terms of generally in society, and also in educating and supporting families. It’s lovely to see them developing their skills and knowledge of the condition, so they can be confident parents to their child despite the additional challenges they face.

“Through this fantastic partnership with Slater and Gordon, we are able to sustain our support service, and will look to develop it further as we grow as a charity. The services families want and need continue to evolve, and we want to be in a position to deliver what they need.”

Derek Couper, head of clinical negligence in Scotland for Slater and Gordon, says: “Cerebral Palsy Scotland plays an outstanding role in helping people across the country affected by the condition, and without them, tailored support would be very hard to come by. Their own research shows the struggle that people experience in finding the resources and understanding they need to navigate their lives – which makes the work of this charity absolutely invaluable.

“We are very pleased to partner with Cerebral Palsy Scotland and to help to sustain its support service, which plays such a vital role in the lives of so many individuals and families. We look forward to working with Stephanie and her team going forward to maximise support for people across the country living with this condition.”

Key insights from the Cerebral Palsy Scotland community survey 2025

Between January-March 2025, Cerebral Palsy Scotland ran a survey to get insight into the key challenges facing the cerebral palsy community, as well as feedback on the charity’s services.

Some of the key insights are below.

Read the full survey summary

Outside of Cerebral Palsy Scotland, support for people with cerebral palsy is limited

The survey highlighted that you are struggling to access a range of condition-specific support. Outside of Cerebral Palsy Scotland:
91% are not able to access psychological support for their cerebral palsy
81% are not able to access groups for people with cerebral palsy
45% are not able to access individual therapy

Raising awareness about cerebral palsy is very important to you

The survey showed that respondents greatly valued all of Cerebral Palsy Scotland’s services, and that you want Cerebral Palsy Scotland to offer a wide range of services.

The ‘top five’ services that respondents said were ‘extremely important’ or ‘important’ to them were:

  • Awareness raising about cerebral palsy (96%)
  • Information about cerebral palsy (92%)
  • General advice/support from our Cerebral Palsy Support Coordinator (92%)
  • Training and webinars for professionals that support people with cerebral palsy (92%)
  • In-person therapy (90%)

When asked the question, ’What are the things you wish other people knew about cerebral palsy?’ the most common theme that emerged was a desire for people across society to be more educated about cerebral palsy, and how it impacts those who live with the condition.

Lack of health care services and therapy support is a key concern

When asked, ‘What would be the most important issue for Cerebral Palsy Scotland to campaign and/or raise awareness on?’ the most common theme that emerged was the lack of health care services and therapy support, including the need for more funding so there can be better access to specialist services.

Thank you and next steps

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to the survey.

Cerebral Palsy Scotland is committed to listening to feedback from the community. We will continue to work to develop our services to ensure they meet people’s needs, and to reflect the community’s views in our policy and campaigning work.

 

More children to get a Bright Beginning, thanks to National Lottery

We are delighted to announce that Cerebral Palsy Scotland will receive £164,194 from The National Lottery Community Fund to provide specialist therapy and other support to children with cerebral palsy and their families in three areas of Scotland.

Over the next two and a half years, our Bright Beginnings project will work with 135 children aged 18 months-16 years and their families in Argyll and Bute, the Scottish Borders and the Western Isles.

As well as providing specialist therapy, children and their families taking part in the project will also be able to join interactive family workshops and peer support networks.

This holistic approach will help children and their families to maximise independent living skills, support emotional wellbeing and also help those children that are making the challenging move from primary to secondary school.

Commenting on the award, Isla Campbell Lupton, Cerebral Palsy Scotland’s Fundraising and Communications Manager, said:

“We are deeply grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund in Scotland and National Lottery players, who have given us this opportunity to make such a positive impact on the children taking part in Bright Beginnings.

“This is an extremely challenging time for charities, so we are very thankful to receive this award, and will continue to keep raising much needed funds so we can support even more children and adults with cerebral palsy all across Scotland.”