Programme for disabled youngsters wins award

The Move is transforming the lives of handicapped children in Moray

By Jane Candlish

Published:

THERAPY BOON: Physiotherapist student Ciaran Coyle in his Bob the Builder guise with Louise Clarke, 14, of Dufftown, the first child on the Move programme in Moray. David Whittaker-Smith

A programme which is helping change the lives of disabled youngsters in Moray by improving their mobility has won a prestigious award.

The Move project sees therapists visit 10 schools in the region and teach children with conditions such as cerebral palsy to walk, sit and stand.

Because of the project’s success, the Moray region is now a Move Region of Excellence, the first area in Europe to receive such an honour.

The Move programme was developed in 1986 in California and is now used in countries throughout the world. In Moray, the project is delivered by NHS Grampian, Moray Community and Social Care Partnership and Moray Council.

A plaque honouring their contribution was unveiled at Elgin yesterday and will now be displayed at the town’s Dr Gray’s Hospital.

Liz Gray, a paediatric physiotherapist at Dr Gray’s, said the idea of the project was to provide a curriculum for learning to move, in a similar way to curriculums for academic subjects.

She said that improving the youngsters’ mobility helped them learn in other ways and would aid them in adulthood.

Ms Gray said: “One girl came to us when she was three and would scream when she was touched. “Three years on she is walking independently and going up and down the stairs.

“Another boy learned to walk because his parents wanted him to be pageboy at their wedding.”

She added: “We have children aged from two to 15 and help them in a wide variety of ways, teaching the child to build up strength to lift up his head so his mum can feed him, helping a youngster to learn the techniques to sit unaided at a table so they can take part in a birthday party, or even walk a short distance independently, each of these can make a world of difference.”

Chief executive of Move, Peter Holland, said: “An awful lot of children have no movement and professionals often give up on them.

“We want to change that attitude. Because of Moray’s policy of inclusion in education, this programme is available for every child across the region.”