Princess Alexandra praises school for its work with cerebral palsy sufferers (From Haringey Independent)

Princess Alexandra praises school for its work with cerebral palsy sufferers

6:56pm Wednesday 8th July 2009 in

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THE ONLY school for children with cerebral palsy in the capital was admired by its royal patron today.

Princess Alexandra, the Queen’s first cousin, spent 45 minutes at the London Centre for Children With Cerebral Palsy in Muswell Hill.

The centre runs term-time and holiday classes and therapy for newborn babies to children aged 11.

After spending half an hour shaking hands and asking questions about how people’s children were getting on, the princess remarked that the centre’s work brought “such comfort” to parents there.

She also witnessed a children’s comic performing songs and opened a play area at the rear of the school, which was renovated using a £3,000 donation from Barclays Bank.

Jokingly calling herself a “negligent patron” on account of the fact that this was her third visit since the centre was set up in 1962, the princess, aged 72, commented on the staff, who use the Hungarian conductive teaching method whereby children are encouraged to live and act as independently as possible.

She said: “There are so many young people who are so involved here. The children seem very happy, and it is such a comfort to the parents.”

She was presented with a posy and a card by two children from the school, which she called a “great treat”.

Rebecca Wallace, 44, of Golders Green, mother of nine-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer Luca, said she was impressed by the princess.

She said: “She had empathy and she was interested in how our son was getting on at the school. I was quite surprised — I liked her. I noticed she was introduced to all the children which was good and she showed a general interest in the school.”

The centre was established by Peter Rigby, a former mayor of Hornsey, after he learned about cerebral palsy through a friend who had a child with the condition. The disorder, which stems from brain damage at birth, results in impaired mobility and coordination. Most of the children who go to the centre also have trouble with speech, and some have sight and hearing difficulties.

Several of the parents said the work done by the team of teachers, some who have specialist training in developmental and movement disorders, had meant their children’s lives had been transformed.

Patrick Pallott, 45, from Chigwell, has a son Joe, who suffered a brain injury during birth and is now quadriplegic. He and his son paid regular visits to a specialist centre for cerebral palsy sufferers in Budapest for three years before he found the Haringey school.

He said: “When we took him to Hungary it was like a light had been switched on. Without this school, I don’t think he would be able to do 80 per cent of what he can do now - he wouldn’t be able to walk. And they work so hard he sleeps like a dream. It’s so important to start while their bones are still growing – we do stretching for an hour a day.”

The centre now hopes to do outreach work, passing on its specialist knowledge to teachers in mainstream schools.

Carole Luckwell, the interim head of education said: “We want to have more contacts with institutions in Budapest, where the conductive system came from, and send staff on exchanges there. I don’t think there are more than a hundred centres in the UK that use this technique.”