Stephen

Stephen is a very happy chappy who is 11 years old, we met him at Garden City Special School and he instantly stood out due to his great determination. When Stephen was younger his Mum would take him regularly for physiotherapy at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital until he became too heavy to carry. She then heard of one of the only schools in Kumasi offering physiotherapy as part of their daily schedule. This school usually does not take children who cannot walk, but somehow Stephen managed to pass through the assessment process and was accepted into the school.

Stephen had been attending school for 2 years, but the family had observed little progress to his development. Due to the high numbers of students within the school Stephen was yet to receive any therapy. Family First advocated for Stephen at school and pushed for physiotherapy to become part of his Individual Education Plan (IEP). Stephen now receives weekly physiotherapy as part of his special education, with a focus on being able to stand independently and walk with support. We now hope to work with the school to understand Stephen’s academic potential.

Stephen also attends Family First Physio and Speech and Language Therapy, both at our centre and we work with the family at home to train them in activities that they can do to increase Stephen’s independence, such as teaching self-feeding and dressing.

Inspired by Stephen, we started a bamboo adaptable equipment project. First, we had parallel bars made for Stephen and his walking really took a positive advancement, he could then take around 10 independent steps, however his balance and posture remained a barrier. Through donations we have now developed a posterior bamboo walking frame and accessible ramp in his home, and Stephen is able to walk around with his walking frame and explore the surroundings outside his home.

Stephen has started on Baclofen medication to reduce some of the spasticity, in hope that he will gain more control over his movements. And due to the increased exercise and therapy we hope Stephen will be doing we also expect him to require more energy so are starting him on a Project Peanut Butter growth sachet, which is a specific, high-quality nutritional supplement and is energy dense.

We are currently seeking sponsorship to cover Stephen's monthly care:

Physiotherapy - 100ghs

Speech and Language Therapy - 70ghs

Baclofen medication - 20 ghs

Project Peanut butter - 20ghs

Total per month is £28

or two people at £14

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