Milly
By Becky Crump
My name is Joe. My friend's name is Ben. We are in the same class at school. Our class is 3B and Mrs Burton is our teacher.
On Monday, something good happened. A new girl joined our class. She is called Milly. I like Milly because she smiles a lot.
Milly came into our classroom in a special chair with wheels on. Mrs Burton says it is called a wheelchair. Milly needs a wheelchair because her legs don't work as well as mine and Ben's and all the other children in the class.
Mrs Jones is Milly's helper. She pushes Milly's wheelchair and helps her to do some exercises. On Tuesday, Milly did her exercises with Mrs Jones. They did them while we did PE. Mrs Jones helped Milly to stretch her arms. Then she helped Milly to stretch her legs. It looked fun. Milly was laughing; Mrs Burton said that they were to make Milly's body stronger.
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On Wednesday, Milly wasn't at school. She went to a special place called Brainwave. The people at Brainwave looked at Milly's exercises and gave her some new ones to help her to get even stronger. Brainwave helps children like Milly to learn to do things better. I hope they can help Milly.
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On Thursday, Mrs Jones helped Milly out of her wheelchair so that she could stand up. Mrs Jones held her tightly so that she did not fall. Next, Mrs Jones and Mrs Burton held Milly extra tightly and helped her to walk across the classroom. Milly loved it but had to go back into her wheelchair for a rest.
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Friday was the best day of the week. Me and Ben played running races at playtime. Milly was watching us and asked Mrs Jones if she could play, too. Mrs Jones laughed, strapped Milly in tightly and then pushed Milly's wheelchair as fast as she could. Me and Ben ran fast, too. Milly kept winning but me and Ben didn't mind. We like Milly and we are glad she is in our class.
Nathan's Wheels
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Just then, mum came in and said that it was time to go. She put his schoolbag onto his lap for him to hold and pushed him out to the car. She smiled brightly at him.
'You'll be fine, Nathan', she said 'It will be fun'.
When they arrived at Meadow Green Primary School, mum helped Nathan out of the car and pushed him across the car park to his new classroom. They had got there early so that Nathan could meet his teacher before the other children arrived.
Inside the classroom was a tall lady with long blonde hair and glasses. She was sitting at the desk and looked up as she saw Nathan and mum enter the room.
'Hi', she said kindly. 'You must be Nathan. I am Mrs Clark and don't you worry. You are going to have a fabulous time at Meadow Green.'
'Hello', whispered Nathan shyly.
'He's a bit nervous, Mrs Clark', mum explained. He is worried that the other children might not understand about his wheelchair'.
'Ah, well, here's an idea', said Mrs Clark. 'When we have Circle Time this afternoon you can talk to the class and tell them all about yourself. They would love that'.
'Okay'. Nathan agreed.
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Then it was dinner time. Nathan sat next to Joe and Sam and they talked about cricket. After dinner, it was science and then Circle Time at last.
Nathan asked Mrs Carpenter if he could come out of his wheelchair. She helped him out and supported him while he stepped into his walking frame. Nathan held on tightly and carefully walked towards the circle. Everyone turned to look at Nathan and waited for him to speak.
'My name is Nathan' said Nathan. 'You've already seen me in my wheelchair. I need it to move around the school and the playground. Sometimes I can use this walker as long as I don't get too tired.'
'I've never seen a wheelchair. Can I have a ride?' shouted Joe.
'Maybe one day', Nathan grinned.
'But remember, everyone' said Mrs Clark 'this is not a toy'
'I think it's cool' said Amy. 'The wheels are purple'.
'Why are you in a wheelchair?' asked Rosie.
Nathan was pleased that everyone was so interested and did his best to explain.
'When I was born I was really ill and the doctors and nurses had to give me lots of special care. The part of my brain that helps you to move was damaged and so my legs don't work as well as your legs do.'
The class went very quiet. Nathan knew that it was hard for them to understand but he wanted to help them. Charlie put up his hand.
'Yes, Charlie' said Mrs Clark.
'Does that mean you can't do P.E?' he asked.
'No way!' said Nathan 'I love P.E! I can throw and catch a ball and I do exercises with my mum to help me move more easily.'
'Wow!' said Charlie 'That sounds just like a gym class'. Everyone laughed.
'And,' said Nathan, 'I play cricket in a disabled cricket team'.
'Wicked' said Sam, looking impressed.
Mrs Clark smiled and walked over to Nathan.
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'I am sure we would all love to see you play cricket one day. Your mum tells me that you are very good. Welcome to our class.'
The bell rang for the end of the day and it was time to go home. Everyone said goodbye to Nathan and said that they would see him in the playground in the morning. Nathan smiled. Everyone was so nice and he knew he would make lots of friends. Mum was right. It was going to be a lot of fun.
SCHOOLS
"The first time any professional had attempted an assessment that covered all areas of development. Previously it's been fragmented with each Consultant only looking at their particular concerns. Brainwave brings all areas together."
DOWN SYNDROME TESTIMONIAL - EMMA
I think Brainwave is brilliant. I'd been looking for this type of help, and although it took me three years, I know I've found it.
The therapists are fantastic; they are so supportive. At the Initial Assessment, they really gave us hope and made us feel there is something we can do to help Emma. They were there to help us, and to teach us how to help Emma.
So many people you see suggest that you do a bit of this, or that you do that, it can become quite mind-boggling. To have a clear and structured programme written down in a simple list that you know is addressing all her areas of development, is brilliant. You know then that you're doing as much as you can.
Although Emma had just taken a few steps when we started Brainwave a couple of months ago, I still can't quite get my head around seeing her walking about now. We started with working on her balance, and now she's doing so well.
I think Brainwave is brilliant. I'd been looking for this type of help, and although it took me three years, I know I've found it.
The therapists are fantastic; they are so supportive. At the Initial Assessment, they really gave us hope and made us feel there is something we can do to help Emma. They were there to help us, and to teach us how to help Emma.
So many people you see suggest that you do a bit of this, or that you do that, it can become quite mind-boggling. To have a clear and structured programme written down in a simple list that you know is addressing all her areas of development, is brilliant. You know then that you're doing as much as you can.
Although Emma had just taken a few steps when we started Brainwave a couple of months ago, I still can't quite get my head around seeing her walking about now. We started with working on her balance, and now she's doing so well.