Brainwave makes it 500 Plus!

Somerset children’s charity, Brainwave is celebrating a major milestone in its history with 513 families now on its unique, tailor made Programme. Brainwave, established in 1982 in Bridgwater, works with families to deliver individual, home based therapy and exercises for children with disabilities and Development Delay to reach their full potential. This can be anything from walking to recognising numbers. The Charity looks after a whole range of children with conditions including Cerebral Palsy, Down’s syndrome and Autism. Christine Cryne, Brainwave’s Chief Executive Officer, said: ‘The Charity has doubled in size in only five years. To cope with the increasing demand, the Trustees decided to take the services to the families to reduce their travelling time. In the last three years, we have set up new Centres in Essex and Cheshire as well as running satellite clinics in Scotland and Ireland. This has helped us reach so many more families that need us and we are delighted to have reached this milestone’. As a thank you to all Brainwave’s current and prospective supporters, the Charity are holding a reception at the Bridgwater Centre on the evening of 17 June (from 6pm until 8pm), which is being hosted by Brainwave’s Trustees. Attendees will have the chance to hear about the Charity’s successes and future plans. Expected honoured guests include Katherine Crouch, BBC 2’s Gardener of the Decade, and Clinton Rogers. Editor’s notes 1. Places on the programme are available for children at the South West Centre. For more information see www.brainwave.org.uk ; email: enquiries@brainwave.org.uk or phone: 01278 429089. 2. Brainwave’s team of physiotherapists, occupational therapists development therapists and teachers seek to transform the lives of children with disabilities. By working with parents, giving them relevant therapy equipment and teaching them correct handling skills, they are empowered to actively participate in their child’s development. 3. Families are invited to the Centre for a two day Initial Assessment where the child is assessed and a programme designed for the child. On the second day the family are shown how to undertake the exercises, which they then carry out at home, retuning to the Centre every 4-6 months when the exercises are adjusted. 4. Brainwave currently has around 500 families on Programme and the enquiries are growing at 30%. 5. See the charity’s video at http://uk.youtube.com/BrainwaveCentre . 6. Brainwave uses mainstream neuroplasticity techniques in its programmes. Most of it therapists NHS trained. 7. Katherine Crouch lives in Ilminster and has designed over 100 gardens in the South West since 2000. The BBC Gardener of the Decade competition consisted of the five of the previous Gardener of the Year title holders going head to head at the Eden Project, with five garden tasks to be judged, independently of the BBC, by the Eden Project staff to RHS standards. 8. Clinton Rogers has been a journalist since the age of 16 and now reports regularly from the West. He joined the BBC, after a number of years working in newspapers and radio. He is Chief Somerset Correspondent covering the whole of Somerset for BBC Points West.

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