Help for baby with Cerebral Palsy.

clever_username

Hi everyone, my first visit in here and I'd like some advice on behalf of a couple of friends.

Their baby was born at only 26 weeks and spent the months up until his due date in hospital. Obviously he had a lot of problems during that time such as bleeds on the lungs and blood clots in his brain, at one point early on there was talking of switching off his life support because he was getting worse and worse and the chances of him surviving were next to nothing.

Good news is he is a little miracle and beat the odds and is genuinely the most cheerful little baby I've ever met!

Unfortunately his left side is very weak and he lacks a large amount of strength and dexterity and the doctors have put him under the umbrella of cerebral palsy.

I'm just wondering what sort of help they would be able to receive for him to make things easier. They both work but don't have a large amount of money.

Any suggestions would be very helpful!

GlasweJen

If the wee one is no longer in hospital then they can put in a claim for DLA which is based on care needs at his age.

An award of DLA will increase their tax credit award (if they get any) and will open the door to things like help from the family fund who buy furniture, aids and can give money towards holidays for severely disabled children.

MrsManda

You may be able to claim the care component of Disability Living Allowance. Application and details can found here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/FinancialSupport/DisabilityLivingAllowance/DG_10011925

DLA can act as a passport benefit so if it's awarded you may be able to claim Carer's Allowance, and disability premiums if you already claim any income based benefits.

You may be able to get direct payments: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CaringForSomeone/CaringForADisabledChild/DG_10018531

Your midwife should be able to point you in the right direction for support. Have you had a needs assessment done by health and social services?

nannytone_2

cerebral palsy affects everyone differently, from mild problems that barely affect the sufferer to severe disability.
my grandson had viral encephalitis at 18 months and was left with full body cerebral palsy. in the early days he couldn't even swallow, but over the course of 4 years he improved so much, to the extent that he was eating everything and anything ) not in the same way as unaffected people eat, but he found his 'own way') and he had started walking in a frame.
he was also worse on one side, and was unable to sit unaided, but he was a mean 'roller' lol
he too was the happiest of kids, smiled and laughed from the second he woke up to the second he fell asleep.

now a bit of advice......
do you have an OT, if not get one!
and physio is essential. my daughters in laws are quite well off and paid for a private physio, twice a week as the community physio only saw him for half an hour a month. he was developing scoliosis because of the lack of physio!
the keyword is 'fight!' because it can be a battle, but a very worthwhile one.
and most of all enjoy!
good luck.