Thomas 23 has overcome so many of the challenges of being born with Cerebral Palsy with severe movement, hearing and speech difficulties. He is now at the College of West Anglia studying amongst other things how to coach sport. He uses a laptop to prepare the presentation he will give to the students and then runs the session. Sport has added so much to his life, when a lack of communication and ease of movement could have left him feeling completely isolated.
Thomas was one of unidentical triplets born at 29 weeks He has a wonderful family, who worked very hard to give him all the best chances he could have. He had therapy from birth and also attended a weekly session, provided free of charge by the charity Little Discoverers, until he was 5yrs old, based at Lynnsport. Lynnsport was chosen as a base by Little Discoverers because it speaks of activity, keeping fit and having fun.
The charity was set up while I working as his paediatric physiotherapist, to address all aspects of development, movement, communication and socialization. West Norfolk had a lack of therapists and without all the therapies a child would not maximise their potential. These sessions instilled a feeling of celebrating what Thomas could do. When he first came he was happy just to be in a non hearing world of his own often closing his eyes and not relating to the other families. Working in a group really helped him become aware of other children and gave the family a much needed support network.
Thomas needed to do daily physiotherapy but like any young child could easily get bored. To motivate him the family bought an adapted bike. This allowed him to strengthen all his body and gain spatial awareness, while having fun and taking part in a family activity. Thus, begun his involvement with sport and the realization that through sport and mixing with other people, he could widen his world and give himself so many challenges and fun.
Let’s inspire other people to overcome their difficulties, by building this community adapted/accessible sports hub (known as Ash) in the heart of the Lynnsport. Providing a safe, welcoming space for all those with disabilities, where they can develop, increase self-esteem, keep fit, make friends, have the opportunities of accessing different sports and so much more.
Please support us to support others by helping us to build this hub, in any way you can and follow us on our website, Instagram and facebook pages.
Thank you.
