| 'Pen felt on brown paper bags' at an exhibition of works by adults with disability at Norwich City Library. |
Ideas from around the world
Funding for disability allocated so that there can be access to Conductive Education
for all who would like it – this is one of the things wished for on the ideas list on the World
Cerebral Palsy Day website –
The first world cerebral palsy day was at the beginning of this week, on 4 September, which was also day six of the Paralympic Games.
I imagine that the world that those Paralympians are living in at the
moment, in London, is very far removed from the worlds of many of the people who
have shared their ideas on the World
Cerebral Palsy Day website. Ideas
that they believe, if turned into reality, would make their lives better.
No flashing cameras, roof-raising cheers, or gold, silver and bronze medals, for those who have submitted ideas
that include waterproof joysticks for motorized wheelchairs, canopies, bras
that do up one-handed, and the development of a worldwide education system for
teaching children with cerebral palsy!
Although no medals are being awarded, when the voting finishes at the end
of this month one of the ideas will be a winner and it will be seen through
to fruition during the next year.
Many of the ideas on the site would
certainly benefit many people with a disability, whether cerebral palsy or otherwise, be they Paralympic
sportsmen and sportswomen or not.
Perhaps there will be someone out there who will be inspired to develop some
of the others ideas, those that do
not make it to the top spot. Maybe for example the video made by a
physiotherapist from Sri Lanka will catch someone’s attention and more people
will take up the baton and continue along the road to developing a worldwide
education method for children with CP!
World Cerebral Palsy Day and Conductive Education
There are one or two ideas on the list that deal with conductive education.
In fact a couple of them have already received several votes.
I have included one of these ideas below, the one about allocation of
funding. Something mentioned in it interests me very much and I would love to
hear more about it.
‘Conductive Education provides valuable supports and training to kids with
cerebral palsy during their early development stage. This program exists in
Australia but due to the limitation of funding and also the lack of emphasis by
the government, it has not been widely used. Hence kids do not receive the
maximum benefit from Conductive Education. I have come across Countries where
Conductive Education is being used as their main source of early education
(from pre-school to primary) for CP kids and significant benefits can be seen.
I have a kid with CP and have seen the benefit my child has gained from
conductive education. I would like to see the government allocate its funding
for disability more effectively in areas such as Conductive Education.’
I agree. I too would love to see funding allocated, for both children and
adult, so that clients can access Conductive Education. It would be nice to see
it being done in England and in Germany and in other countries in the world too, as well as in Australia.
I wonder where the writer of this idea has —
‘…come across Countries where Conductive Education is being used as their
main source of early education (from pre-school to primary) for CP kids and
significant benefits can be seen.’
I do hope that, if this idea wins
enough votes to come in first, we will get to hear how these other countries
have made this possible, and which countries they actually are. Even in Norway,
where there is government funding for
Conductive Education, it is a very separate part of the children’s main
education.
Perhaps some of you can tell me more about this.
Where is what this idea-writer
wishes for Australia actually happening?
