family stories

Suhayb's story

Suhayb had an MRI scan in 2023 which showed extensive periventricular leukomalacia. He also has a confirmed diagnosis of quadriplegic cerebral palsy and has CVI (cortical visual impairment).

Given Suhayb’s needs, he requires support with every aspect of his care and as a result, life has to revolve around his needs, regular hospital visits and medical professional appointments.

Suhayb loves his family and responds with smiles when he can hear them nearby. He is generally a happy boy when he is given attention, and loves music and singing as well as noisy sensory toys.

Suhayb has been issued with a Snappi Buggy but unfortunately, as standard, these chairs do not come with a sun hood or rain cover. It is important that he has these items so he can stay warm, dry and keep the sun out of his eyes. Without these items Suhayb’s usage of the chair is limited which means they can’t leave the house as much as they’d like to.

These two items alone cost almost £300! Something that should be a basic necessity for children like Suhayb. Your support to our charity means we can continue helping children like Suhayb.

Freddie's Story

Freddie has a diagnosis of autism with a learning disability and PICA. He had outgrown his current pushchair and was able to bang his head on the metal bars which was causing him harm and, unfortunately, he wasn't being given any support from services.

Freddie is non-verbal and can find communicating his needs and wants difficult which can become frustrating for him. Because of this, he can hit his head against others and hard surfaces or the floor. Freddie loves being outside, but he has no sense of danger. He can’t be left without any restraint otherwise he will run off or possibly stop to eat non-food items.

Freddie’s mum doesn’t drive and had to rely on family members for transport, otherwise they weren’t able to go out into the community whilst ensuring Freddie stayed safe.

We purchased a Special Tomato Jogger for Freddie after receiving their application. With a more suitable pushchair, Freddie and his family will be able go out without the added pressure, stress and worry that Freddie is going to come to any harm.

Nyla's story

Nyla was diagnosed with neuronal migration disorder and developmental delay, amongst other medical issues, at 7 months old. This hugely affects Nyla's day to day life in lots of ways. She has struggles with eating, drinking, talking, moving around and playing, but as a family they always find new ways to manage.

Nyla is a very strong and determined little girl who knows what she wants. She loves her older brother and enjoys going to daycare. She also likes looking at herself in the mirror, playing with her dolly and dancing to music.

Nyla was issued a Snappi Buggy but, unfortunately, as a standard they don't get supplied with a sun shade or a rain cover. Given Nyla's needs, it's important she stays warm and dry so we were extremely happy to be able to purchase these two items for her.

Theo's story

Theo was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum disorder in 2022. He is a happy boy, full of life and giggles. He loves flicking through books, playing in his kitchen corner and copying words with his wooden alphabet board.

Theo is pre-verbal. He can label certain things, but a sentence or conversation is beyond him right now. Instead, he chooses to communicate through gestures, expressions, and body language, using his eyes and face to tell us what he wants, or dragging us by the hand to the biscuit tin…often!

Routine is a comfort for Theo, he knows what to expect with use of minimal words and the fear of being overwhelmed by something different. The smallest details can matter to Theo, things other children wouldn’t notice, like the floor mat being out of place or a chair not being tucked under the table. Theo can become distraught by these things and if you didn’t know these quirks of his you’d be quite stumped at the sudden distress.

Along with the tie of routine, a big challenge that affects our family is Theo’s response to the outside world. He loves being outside, but has no awareness of personal safety. When he runs, he doesn’t look back. In shops and busy places, he becomes overstimulated and a struggle to handle. Knowing his responses significantly determines how we plan our days and, as such, our worlds have become quite small. Having a pushchair provided to us by Jasper’s smile has given us the confidence to venture out with Theo, reassured that when places get over whelming, he has the correct safe and secure equipment.

ETHAN's story

Ethan is a delightful young man who is autistic and has a learning delay. He loves to be outside and enjoys bouncing on his trampoline at home. Whilst Ethan’s smile can light up the world there are times when the world around him is hard for Ethan to understand. He finds sleeping and eating to be tricky but is not yet able to tell us what he needs. At times these feelings get the better of him and he becomes very sad and upset. At these times he can become very physical in his reactions as he tries to make sense of what is happening.

Ethan has no sense of danger and would be very vulnerable out in the community so his Mum makes sure that he is safe at all times. It can be very hard for Ethan to go out for a walk in his local area or to enjoy a day out as the crowded places and lots of people may overwhelm him. Ethan finds too much sensory stimulation to be very hard.