Cerebral Palsy Scotland

Bernie Hunter: Lockdown dancing

Over the past few months our lives have been far from normal; we have seen big changes due to COVID-19. The lockdown restrictions are in place for a very important reason, to keep us all safe of course but it doesn’t mean that we can’t still cheer people up during this uncertain time.

In May, the country was well into lockdown and the weeks were going slowly so I wanted to do something to cheer people up. Along with my family, we decided to dance at a safe distance in our street. The weekly Clap For Key Workers was always a heart-warming moment so I thought that it would be nice to start dancing after everyone clapped and this is exactly what we done.

We danced to the song ‘Saturday Night’ with all of our neighbours watching and joining in, it was lovely to see people coming together at a safe distance. I got some real enjoyment out of dancing out of my wheelchair in the street too, it was something that I never thought would happen- strange times indeed. At the end of the dance, I could feel joy as everyone was clapping and smiling. The feeling that you have made a difference to someone’s day is brilliant.

My neighbours played their part too by staying out to support us, providing the music and filming the dance which we greatly appreciated. Like most neighbourhoods, people don’t really have time to chat to you as everyone has busy lives but since lockdown, that has all changed.

I would just nod and say hi to my neighbours before this situation so people didn’t really know anything about me apart from that I use a wheelchair for my mobility which is totally understandable. It was really interesting to see the reactions from people when I came out of my chair and danced, I felt like people were getting to see a different side of me which I was glad about. I love to show people that my Cerebral Palsy doesn’t stop me, I can still do activities and dancing in my street was perfect to raise awareness about disability.

We danced again at the beginning of June, this time to the song ‘Macarena’ and I noticed that everyone was more confident to chat to me. People were now cheering me on whereas before they were kind of shy. So, something positive has come out of lockdown- who would have thought.

I am delighted that I managed to raise some funds for Cerebral Palsy Scotland too by doing the dances, a special thank you to my neighbours who kindly donated- the total is £280 which will go a long way to helping children & adults living with Cerebral Palsy.

Keep safe everyone!

We’re changing our name, and here’s why

In April 2020, Bobath Scotland changed name to Cerebral Palsy Scotland. We want to share with you the reasons behind this move.

Why change?

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Changing our name is one part of much wider work we are continuing to do to increase awareness of cerebral palsy and enable us to reach everyone affected by cerebral palsy across the country.

There is not enough support and services for families and individuals living with cerebral palsy. We hope our change of name will help us raise our game and close this gap so that every person with cerebral palsy can participate and achieve to the best of their ability – this is our key aim.

The name Cerebral Palsy Scotland is also more reflective of the charity today. Providing therapy using the Bobath concept is still the core of what we do, and our superb team of therapists will continue to offer individual therapy to children and adults and run our many therapist-led groups.

But we want to make it much clearer that we now do more, such as:

  • Providing online information about CP and the local support services that are available to people with CP
  • Creating opportunities for families, children and adults with CP to meet each other and to access learning, such as through our annual conference and social groups
  • Supporting families and individuals with their emotional wellbeing
  • Working for changes in policy that improve the lives of people with CP

What else has changed?

As part of this project, we have brought all our online information into one website so that both current and new supporters can easily find the information they need and understand the range of services we provide. Our new website went live in April 2020.

We aim to be clearer and more consistent when we communicate, including how we describe who we are and what we do, the language we use, and the way we look. A strong identity will help us build support and allow us to have a bigger impact.

More support for people with CP and their families

Eighty-five percent of what we spend as a charity comes from our own fundraising efforts. All these changes will help us to raise funds – and hopefully secure additional funding – to provide support and information for people with CP.

We are proud of our services and we want more people to benefit from them and build their skills, knowledge, and confidence. These changes will help to ensure we can have the greatest impact and continue to support as many people living with CP as we can across Scotland.

Who is helping us with this?

We are pleased to be working with Passion4Social, a social enterprise, on this project. They actively increase employment opportunities for disabled people and share many of our values.

Any comments?

If you have any comments on our change of name, please contact Anna Hunter, Communications Manager: anna.hunter@bobath.scot