Cerebral Palsy Scotland

March is cerebral palsy awareness month

March is cerebral palsy awareness month.

This year, we will be sharing content created by people from the cerebral palsy community in Scotland throughout the month of March on our social media channels and website.

Cerebral palsy awareness month is an opportunity to raise the voices of people of all ages with experience of cerebral palsy across Scotland, raise awareness of cerebral palsy, show the diversity of the cerebral palsy community and share what matters to our community!

How can you take part?

  • Look out for cerebral palsy awareness month content throughout March on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn channels.
  • Like, share and add your comments, so that as many people as possible see the content and we can raise awareness of cerebral palsy.
  • Create your own content on social media for cerebral palsy awareness month – be sure and tag us using the hashtags #TeamCPScot and #CerebralPalsyAwarenessMonth
  • You can also get moving for March by joining our Walk ‘n’ Roll virtual challenge. Set yourself a challenge in a way that works for you – using your wheelchair or powerchair, walking frame, frame running bike, trike, feet, or body! The Walk ‘n’ Roll challenge will help to raise vital funds to power our work so that every person with cerebral palsy in Scotland can reach their full potential.

 

Self-Directed Support – new factsheets for people with neurological conditions

On 10 January, the Neurological Alliance of Scotland (NAoS) in conjunction with Self-Directed Support Scotland have published three factsheets to help raise awareness of Self-Directed Support amongst three groups who are in a position to support people living with a neurological condition, including cerebral palsy.

Self-Directed Support (SDS) is the way social care services and support are delivered in Scotland. It aims to give people choice and control over their own support and can be accessed by children, adults and unpaid carers.

The three fact sheets are:
1. Self-Directed Support for adults: Information for Health and Social Care Professionals
2. Self-Directed Support for adults: Information for the Voluntary Sector
3. Self-Directed Support for children: What to Expect – Information for Parents

The Neurological Alliance of Scotland is an umbrella body of organisations that represent people with a neurological condition and those who support them. Commenting on the factsheets, Alice Struthers, Programme Director of the Neurological Alliance of Scotland said:

“We are pleased to publish these three factsheets in collaboration with SDS Scotland. People living with a neurological condition are some of the most vulnerable in society and many are struggling to get by, particularly at the moment with the cost-of-living crisis. By guiding key workers and parents to clear, accessible information, we want to enable people with neurological conditions to understand how to access the support they need, how to uphold their rights and how to exercise the choices they have over that support. SDS is not only available to those with neurological conditions – it is also an option available to carers. We want to see more people being provided with the support that they need to live independently at home and in their communities.”

Mark Han-Johnston of Self Directed Support Scotland (SDSS) said:

“Self-Directed Support has been the mainstream approach to delivering social care in Scotland since 2014. However, we are still aware that many people struggle with navigating the social care system and knowing where to go to get started. We hope these factsheets will help more people understand their rights and how to access the support they need, and to be able to exercise choice and control over that support. One of our main priorities as an organisation is to increase access to SDS for people that still face significant barriers when trying to do so. We are therefore delighted to have worked with the Neurological Alliance of Scotland to ensure more people with neurological conditions and their families, get the support they need.”

Support with the cost of living crisis

Like all disabled people, the cost of living crisis is hitting people with cerebral palsy and their families hard.

Recent findings from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showed that there is “a gap of around 12 percentage points in poverty rates between disabled and non-disabled people”.

Disability equality charity Scope’s Cost of Living Crisis campaign estimates that disabled people face extra monthly costs of £600 on average. Their research also revealed that almost half of all disabled people said they are planning to not turn on their heating even when cold due to the cost.

Plus, a Glasgow Disability Alliance event in early October highlighted cost of living challenges for their members, while the GDA urged policymakers to act on the recommendations contained in their report, Ending Poverty and Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled People in Glasgow beyond Covid-19.

What support is available in Scotland?

Scottish Government’s cost of living support website

The Scottish Government’s cost of living support website collates information on where to get support if you need help with food, heating and electricity, as well as information on benefits.

If you need urgent help with bill payment, contact your local council. Each council offers a different range of support to local residents.

Energy support

The following energy support is available:

The following energy support is available specifically to disabled people:

  • Disabled people who receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Scottish disability payments (Adult Disability Payment or Child Disability Payment) may have received a one-off Disability Cost of Living payment of £150 in September/October
  • Child Winter Heating Assistance is a benefit from the Scottish Government to some disabled children. This winter, eligible children will receive a one-off payment of £214.10.
  • As of this year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will no longer make Cold Weather Payments to clients in Scotland. From February 2023, people who received Cold Weather Payments will get an annual payment of £50 via Social Security Scotland’s Winter Heating Payment.

Other support:

Cerebral Palsy Scotland call for benefits to be increased at least in line with inflation

Cerebral Palsy Scotland have today signed a joint-letter to the Prime Minister along with 18 other long term health condition charities strongly urging the UK Government to commit to increasing social security benefits at least in line with inflation, as pledged by the previous Prime Minister.
We have also signed a separate joint-letter strongly urging the First Minister to commit to increasing social security benefits that are devolved at least in line with inflation.
You can read the letters here.

Report highlights challenges faced by people with CP as they move into adulthood

On World Cerebral Palsy Day on 6 October, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cerebral Palsy launched a report focussing on the difficulties that young adults with cerebral palsy face as they attempt to make the transition into adulthood and detailing how young people with cerebral palsy should be helped so that they may have meaningful, productive lives.
 
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cerebral Palsy is a Westminster forum for Parliamentarians from all political parties to better understand the challenges faced by individuals of all ages with cerebral palsy and their families.
The APPG on Cerebral Palsy want the government and key decision-makers to have an open and honest conversation about what needs to happen to improve the lives of children and young adults with cerebral palsy.
The report – the fourth produced by the group – aims to guarantee that people with cerebral palsy in the UK, regardless of where they reside, have access to high-quality services by shedding light on the areas in which those systems succeed and fail.