Cerebral Palsy Scotland improves the lives of children and adults with cerebral palsy through specialist therapy, support and information. We’re ambitious for people with cerebral palsy. For over 30 years our therapists have worked alongside people with cerebral palsy and their families, helping them develop practical skills which transform daily life. We offer a range of mental health and wellbeing support to our community as well as courses and activities to support independence.
Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in children and one child in every 400 has cerebral palsy. No two people experience cerebral palsy in the same way. How someone is affected will depend on the type of cerebral palsy a person has and how much of their body is affected.
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often feel higher levels of stress and anxiety due to the barriers and challenges they face, which can impact play, education and social development. Therapy for mental health can help children and their parents recognise physical symptoms of stress and begin to use strategies which help them to self-regulate. Our work supporting young people with CP has highlighted their increased levels of anxiety and stress relating to key transitions, particularly for those who have been to mainstream education or employment and who are now navigating college and employment. Some of these young people have talked about trying to minimise the impact of their CP to fit into social situations, but this has often led to feelings of exclusion and isolation.
Support from The Pixel Fund will enable us to deliver a mental health support service for children and young people with CP. This support, delivered by a Chartered Psychologist, and working closely with the wider Cerebral Palsy Scotland team, will help children and young people, as well as parents, implement strategies to help regulate stress and anxiety caused by the barriers they face. The support includes individualised techniques to help the person to understand triggers for stress and anxiety, recognise physical symptoms of stress, and begin to self-regulate their stress and anxiety levels. For younger children, this often requires the use of tools like social stories and visuals to aid communication and understanding. One-to-one mental health support sessions will be offered to children and young people with CP and/or family members. The service is expected to support 25-30 children and young people and their families over the next year.
We know this service has a significant positive impact on those involved. Cerebral Palsy Scotland trialled this service from 2023-25 (made possible by a grant by Pixel Fund and others) and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. In a recent survey of parents with children of CP, all respondents who had been supported rated the service as 5 (on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest) in relation to increased understanding of the factors which affect their child’s mental health and wellbeing and knowledge of ways to support their child’s mental wellbeing.
Reflections from Parents - “Kirstie listened. I felt comfortable speaking to her so did my son. Great connection. Kirstie gave advice on ways to deal with issues.”
“I have found the service extremely useful for both myself and my son. I am very pleased we got access to this and thank you.”