What is CALM?
We are a small charity offering one to one physical therapy sessions for children affected by long-term movement conditions.
The man behind CALM
The man behind CALM
The man behind CALM
Meet Alex. He has been working in the health and fitness industry for many years. He has an MSc in Sports Science and Exercise Physiology and his main interest is in rehabilitation and recovery work.
Back in 2013, Alex was involved in an new rehab process that laid the foundations for the rehabilitation therapy that CALM kids are now benefiting from. During a year-long movement based rehabilitation process, he worked with a young man struggling to overcome his physical limitations due to his Cerebral Palsy. The results showed dramatic improvements in posture, muscle tone, coordination and balance.
From this work it was clear that by repeatedly challenging the body and it's nervous system to perform highly coordinated movements, significant improvements were achievable.
Alex has since used these techniques to great effect to help manage a wide range of physical and neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s Disease, Stroke, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Charcot Marie Tooth Disease and Cerebral Palsy.
Why do we do this?
The man behind CALM
The man behind CALM
There are, sadly, many long-term, complex, chronic and/or neurological movement disorders affecting children and young people in the UK today.
These include undiagnosed and degenerative disorders such as cerebral palsy, long-term painful conditions like Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis as well as the consequences of illness, trauma or head injury.
The impact of a deteriorating condition is acutely apparent when the child is back at home and having to deal with the practical realities of being at school, undertaking daily physical activities, developing peer relationships and keeping up with friends. At the same time they are also having to come to terms with sometimes severe limitations to their mobility.
For families, treats such as days out and holidays require meticulous planning, and the impact on each family is tremendous.
Our Mission
The man behind CALM
Our Mission
There are very few sustainable and positive approaches – beyond medication and often painful surgery – for children affected by long-term movement conditions. These can be caused by many conditions including, for example: childhood stroke, cerebral palsy, brain trauma, hypermobility and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.
Physiotherapy from the NHS is an important part of the overall management of conditions like these, especially during the early stages. Unfortunately, what it can offer long term is extremely limited or non-existent.
Children Achieving Lifelong Movement (CALM) is a very small, local charity through which fully funded one to one physical movement therapy sessions are provided to these children to increase their lifelong movement.