Stories

Three year old Oliver is a happy, active and inquisitive little boy with Downs Syndrome. His problems were compounded when he was also diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The treatment for this condition, which includes chemotherapy, affects his immune system making Oliver much more vulnerable to infection so he is not able to mix with other children until his condition improves.

Alice is a 12 year old girl with Niemann-Pick Disease Type C which is a life-limiting and degenerative condition. She has lost the ability to walk, talk and eat and needs 24 hour care and supervision. Alice enjoys stories, music, art and swimming.

Luna has Four Limb Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy so she has very limited use of her arms and legs. A hearing impairment and development delay, further compound this bright little 6 year old’s problems.

George has Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and is reliant on help for all his personal needs such as washing, getting dressed and eating.

Ellie has very poor balance, both when standing and walking. All her muscles are weak, which affects the use of her arms and legs. A lack of core strength also means she cannot bend so she needs help with basics like getting dressed. The general muscle weakness makes her unstable and if she stumbles she cannot break her fall as she lacks the normal reflexes in her hands and arms.

Henry is a 15 year old boy with global developmental delay accompanied by other health problems, such as visual impairment (he is registered blind), epilepsy, diabetes and hip dysplasia. He is unable to transfer himself from a sitting to a lying position.

Nash is a 13 year old boy who is severely affected with autism. He also suffers with very severe atopic eczema over his whole body which causes him constant distress and discomfort. He only manages to sleep for about one hour per night so his mum is on 24/7 alert.

4 year old Jake has athetoid cerebral palsy and severe visual impairment which results in lots of involuntary movements. Co-ordinating a controlled movement is very difficult for him. Jake needs assistance with eating and he cannot walk or sit unaided.

Sherbourne Fields School is an all-age special school which provides outstanding education and pastoral care to a broad spectrum of students with special needs - many of whom have severe and complex medical conditions. The school has a number of students who are unable to access computers or tablets in the usual way due to a variety of disabilities and problems with controlling their movement.

14 year old Kare can only walk short distances and needs a wheelchair to get around on a daily basis. But that has not stopped this remarkable young athlete from reaching outstanding levels of achievement in her chosen Paralympic sport.