We’ve created a new animation for families caring with a child with hemiplegia to share with their child’s school and other people that work with them to help them understand the condition better.
HemiHelp – the charity that supported families with children who have a condition called hemiplegia – became part of the Contact family in 2018.
Since then, Contact has continued to support families living with hemiplegia with vital information and resources.
Sign up to receive our free HemiHelp e-newsletter full of the latest information and news for families caring for a child with hemiplegia including our upcoming parent workshops and family events.
Dad of twin boys, Graeme Longstaff, originally planned to complete the London Marathon next weekend running with an incubator (aka the ‘runcubator’) – until he discovered that the event’s rules didn’t allow it.
Undeterred , he changed his plans to complete the 26.2-mile distance running between the 3 hospitals where his twin boys Ted and Bert were born 9 weeks early. They spent their first few months of their lives in hospital until they were strong enough to come home.
It wasn’t until Ted was two years old that he was diagnosed with hemiplegia which affects his right arm and leg.
Graeme said: “I’ll be doing my run on behalf of two charities: Contact and Bliss, who support families with premature or sick babies. We were told very early on that the boys many have some issues in the coming years being as they were born so early. Because of this, the first few years of their life was spent going to appointments to consultants , physiotherapy, scans etc. Contact and Bliss are two great charities who help people when they have no clue what is happening and are always there to offer help, guidance and support. To us they have been invaluable and I’m sure that’s the case for many others out there.”
Ted and Bert are now energetic 7 years olds.
Graeme continues: “Today, Ted is a super-happy little dude. He might not be able to climb trees and ride bikes like his twin brother, but he’s a bright kid with a positive outlook and huge passion for football which he plays every Saturday morning. There’s been many up and downs, head bumps by the dozen along the way as well as lots of trips for various leg splints to be made and trialled to help Ted from tripping over himself. We wouldn’t be where we are today without all the help and support from HemiHelp and their online community. From funding support to day trips to just being there to listen when no-one else will, they have been such a big part of our family and will remain so.”
Help raise vital funds for Contact and Bliss
You can donate to support Graeme’s marathon distance run to raise vital funds for Contact and Bliss at www.gofundme.com/f/theruncubator
If you would like to join Team Contact and run the London Marathon for us in 2023, get in touch today – email [email protected]. We have places and would be there to support you in your fundraising journey from the word go!
GB’s first-ever Paralympian badminton champion, Dan Bethell, is determined to use his success to inspire other children with disabilities to embrace the benefits of sport – and has asked us to help him spread the word!
Dan, who won an incredible silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, has right-sided hemiplegia.
He says: “HemiHelp, part of the Contact family, is an amazing charity which gave myself and my family lots of support and information over the years. With their help, I want to get the word out to the next generation of Paralympians: sport has the power to positively change people’s lives, no matter what your circumstances.”
Take a look at our information about sports and fitness bodies across the UK which provide opportunities for children, young people and adults with disabilities.
If your child has been inspired by Dan’s badminton success, there’s a series of disability Para-badminton festivals taking place across the country right now – why not try it out?
Take a look at our Holidays, Play and Leisure page which provides some information about what play, leisure, and short breaks options may be available, and where to find more information. It also has information about arranging holidays for disabled children and details of organisations which provide grants for these types of activities.
Well done to the winners of our competition to win a signed copy of BBC Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse’s new disability-inclusive children’s book, ‘Dance with Oti: The Bird Jive’!
Congratulations to Alexandra, Harry, P James and Romana!
‘Dance with Oti: The Bird Jive’ follows a class of children as they meet at Mrs Oti’s dance studio for the very first time. Some are nervous, some are excited. We follow them as they learn The Bird Jive and are surprised by an unexpected visitor!
Oti worked with our HemiHelp team to research her character Martin, who has hemiplegia, and Naira, who has a cochlear implant.
We were lucky enough to have four signed copies to give away in a raffle. A huge well done to our winners, including Romana above!
Oti says of her book: “I wanted my book to make all children feel included and show that dance is for everyone! I believe my dancer Martin is the first character with hemiplegia in a non-specialist picture book.
“As part of my research, I got in touch with a fantastic charity called Contact, which supports UK families with disabled children – whatever their disability or medical condition – with the vital advice and information they need.
“I was blown away by all the services Contact offers families just like Martin and Naira’s in my story. As well as support for families living with hemiplegia through the charity’s HemiHelp service, Contact also offers a free parent helpline, workshops, parent guides, and the other practical and emotional support which Contact provides to thousands of families every year.”
On Wednesday 7th July, Lizzie from HemiHelp was presented with a giant cheque for £2,281 by members of Wellingborough Prep School’s Year 5 charity committee.
The school has raised an amazing £2,800 in total for Contact’s hemiplegia services over the past year. Events have included a Wheelathon (scooting around the school corridors), pizza night, and Wear Red day during lockdown!
— Wellingborough Prep School (@WboroPrep) July 7, 2021
The school decided to support Contact after a student with hemiplegia started there. They received HemiHelp’s Schools Pack, which helps mainstream schools support students with hemiplegia.
The students really enjoyed the opportunity to be creative and come up with new ideas to raise money, and they were delighted to have someone from Contact come to thank them in person. In fact, one actually thanked us for the opportunity to fundraise!
Lizzie said: “It was so great to meet the children and be able to explain what a difference their amazing donation will make to families living with hemiplegia. The fundraising ideas they’d come up with were so creative, and what an incredible total given that they’d been in lockdown for a lot of the year.”
If you or your child’s school are interested in fundraising for Contact, please get in touch with our fundraising team at [email protected]
Oti Mabuse, star of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and ITV’s The Masked Dancer, has released her first children’s book. And working with Contact, Oti has made her book disability inclusive – fantastic news!
‘Dance with Oti: The Bird Jive’ follows a class of children as they meet at Mrs Oti’s dance studio for the very first time. Some are nervous, some are excited. We follow them as they learn The Bird Jive and are surprised by an unexpected visitor!
Oti worked with us to research her character Martin, who has hemiplegia, and Naira, who has a cochlear implant.
Oti says: “I wanted my book to make all children feel included and show that dance is for everyone! I believe my dancer Martin is the first character with hemiplegia in a non-specialist picture book.
“As part of my research, I got in touch with a fantastic charity called Contact, which supports UK families with disabled children – whatever their disability or medical condition – with the vital advice and information they need.
“I was blown away by all the services Contact offers families just like Martin and Naira’s in my story. As well as support for families living with hemiplegia through the charity’s HemiHelp service, Contact also offers a free parent helpline, workshops, parent guides, and the other practical and emotional support which Contact provides to thousands of families every year.”
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