Different View Of Bringing Baby, And Young Person Up.With Special Needs.

Bringing up a child with special needs is very different and more time consuming. The upside to this is that the love is second to none from the young child and us the grandparents. Cheryl's diagnosis is Cerebral Palsy. This is a conditon that occurs through lack of oxygen to the brain which happened at birth. It was not genetical and no reason could be found for it. This is the part that really annoys me. If there is someone in the medical field to blame then thousands of pounds are payed out but when there is nothing to prove negligence, no money forthwith. The only benefit is that extra money comes from the DLA. Wow! I wonder if anyone in authority ever hears of the expenses that occur in special needs? It is hard enough when one is bringing their children up with the cost of clothes in normal circumstances and other important items, but this is a different subject. Again this too is another story......

Now that our Cheryl is older all personal care and play is up to the carer to ensure activity. She cannot pick up play items so this is the hardest task to ensure play and not boredom. We have found many devices that help in this by way of a DVD player an Ipod a computer with special software and a special keyboard that can be accessed through a device attached to Cheryl's thumb. The greatest invention that I have seen.

In order to not be bored Cheryl loves the outdoor and loves visiting places of interest, so I make sure that's what we do. Shopping for clothes is the tops for her too and shows me what she wants by pointing. Things that we never thought about when our children were young like going out and having friends and the likes do not happen with Cheryl.

To have friends one must have a daily contact and be able to use ones hands and most important is speech or I should say a clarity of. Cheryl can use many words and sentences but for people who are not around regularly find it difficult to understand in many instances. When you are around often then the words are soon picked up and Cheryl has a great personallity that others think so brilliant.

Cheryl's love is when we have an evening out. Now that she is nineteen we can go to the local club anytime she desires. When the music begins I take Cheryl in the wheelchair onto the dance floor and wizz those wheels around and she loves it. Yes, we can even stay in tune to the beat whilst she waves her arms vigorously to the music.

At bed time Cheryl must sleep with a pillow inserted between her legs to keep her in the position that she is comfortable with. Otherwise she would be like a fish out of water as she cannot sleep on her back and cannot turn herself around. She sleeps very well and because she tires easily she is in bed at 9.30 on the days that she is in college.

Cheryl began college at nineteen after being at her local Special School and this is her first term out of three years. She attends Beaumont College near Lancaster on a day to day basis rather than residential which she did not want as Cheryl is too family orientated at this time. She will learn many things at this special needs college that other children take for granted. Some examples being how to make her voice work for her and learning to give her own instructions for things like, crossing the road only when the green light is on and stopping for the red light. She tells her key worker when to go and when to stop. This is enticing her to use her vocabulary and she is very clever in many areas.

If I forget anything at home that I should send the college, Cheryl makes dam sure I hear her. She will repeat more that once or twice if I get it wrong and never gives up until I get it.
Cheryl is so very funny too and loves to hear jokes of any kind. She is always the first to get what the jokes are about and far quicker than me. The love that she shows to us is second to none and we love the very bones of her. Sorry Cheryl, them bones them bones, them dry bones?

The worse thing for Cheryl is that sometimes she has bad muscle spasms. These are far worse than cramp and can be excruciating. She also has arthritis in her small dainty feet and her toes are never straight but curl up and cause horrific pain. But out of all this she is infectuous to all she meets and people never even think there is anything wrong with her other than being in a wheelchair. How wrong they are. We are just thankful that she loves life and loves learning and that she does so brilliantly. It is a pleasure to have shared in Cheryl's life and my dreams for her future are now well in place. That's another story I will continue..........................