Sir Bobby Charlton welcomes families to Brainwave's new NW Centre

On 16th October children’s charity, Brainwave is opening the doors of its brand new North West Centre to families all over the north of England - and who better to do the welcoming than football legend Sir Bobby Charlton. Christine Cryne, Brainwave’s CEO, said “Sir Bobby is well known for all the work he does with youngsters to encourage them to reach their full potential and this is what Brainwave is about too. We work with families to provide home based therapy programmes for children with a range of disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy and Down’s syndrome and other conditions such as development delay. Goals (but not the football kind) are set for children and exercises devised to get there. Sometimes these goals may be quite small, such as a child feeding themselves but this small step of independence means as much to the child and its family as a goal in the European Championships”. Sir Bobby Charlton is well known for his goal scoring. During his long playing career with Manchester United he scored 249 goals topped up by a further 49 for England. Of course, Sir Bobby is also famous for his part in England’s winning team at the 1966 World Cup. Sir Bobby is due at the Centre at 11.30am and there will be a number of families from the region visiting the Centre ready and eager to meet him. Brainwave works with families to deliver individual home based therapy and exercise programmes that help children with disabilities and developmental delay to achieve their potential. The modern Centre with therapy rooms, a state of the art sensory room and family area with a kitchen and play area provides an ideal environment for working with children for disabilities and other conditions Places on the programme are available for children at the North West Centre. For more information see www.brainwave.org.uk ; email: enquiriesnw@brainwave.org.uk or phone: 01925 825547. Contact: Christine Cryne: 07970 096366 Press information: Jane Adkins, Tel: 01935 813114 or email: jane@aheadforpr.co.uk Editor’s notes 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. See the charity’s video at http://uk.youtube.com/BrainwaveCentre. 4. Brainwave uses mainstream neuroplasticity techniques in its programmes. Its Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists are NHS trained. 5. Sir Bobby made his league debut for Manchester United in 1956 against Charlton at Old Trafford. He went on to play a starring role in Alf Ramsey’s side that won the 1966 World Cup, scoring twice in the semi-final win over Portugal. Charlton went on to win 106 caps – three as captain - and is still England’s record goal scorer with 49 goals. In June 1984 Charlton became a director of Manchester United, a position he still holds today. Already awarded the OBE and CBE, he became Sir Bobby Charlton in June 1994.