The benefits of the MOVE Programme

At MOVE,  we believe that everyone, regardless of their ability, has the right to fulfil their full potential and to live with dignity and the maximum level of independence.  Many children on the MOVE programme have already accomplished more than was believed possible (please see Case Studies) and every child on the MOVE programme does make progress to the best of their ability.

Graeme, pictured right: ‘It’s nice to be like everyone else and I think it’s so beneficial for me to do these things.  It’s all so wonderful to be like everyone else. I think that I am a wonderful person and I am so wonderful’.

• Mobility

• Health
• Learning and Education
• Social Inclusion and Family Life

Mobility: sitting, standing, walking and transferring

As children develop their mobility skills, they can begin to take an more active role in their own life.

• Increases ability to perform everyday tasks

• Increases ability to use communication aids and interact with family, friends, therapists and teachers.

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Learning and education

"Given appropriate tools and support, all children, including those who were labelled as having severe or profound disabilities, were able to express their views, wishes and feelings"
(E. Stone, Consulting with Disabled Children and Young People, Social Care and Disability (July 2001), Ref 741, p.3)

As children and adults begin to move themselves and learn about their environment,  they see things of interest around them and their curiosity is awakened.

• Child is more alert and able to participate

• Being in an upright position and/or being able to move about, gives a person with disabilities greater opportunities for learning. As they move themselves and learn about their environment, so they see things of interest around them and their curiosity is awakened.

• Cognitive development accelerates

• Improved spatial awareness due to better access to their environment

• Reduces barriers to learning

• Improves access to National Curriculum

• Many children already on the Programme have proved the theory that when physical abilities improve, so do communication skills and learning.

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Health

Learning to sit in an upright position, stand or walk independently, with whatever support or equipment is required, has enormous health benefits for a person with disabilities:

• Internal organs have more freedom to function

• Improves breathing, circulation and digestions

• May control deformities

• Those that can weight-bear may find their muscle tone improving and their limbs growing at a faster rate than before

• May reduces severity of dislocations.  Allowing gravity to play its part means that limbs are stretched downwards. This can help to straighten the hips and might therefore benefit people with dislocations.

• Can reduce the impact of degenerative and life-limiting illnesses by helping a child to maintain a better quality of health

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Social inclusion and family life

'Encouraging and helping disabled children to interact with their non-disabled peers has additional benefits to those purely arising from friendship. In the long term, children who interact positively with disabled children are more likely to help change attitudes within society.'
(C. Langerman and E. Worrall, Ordinary Lives: Disabled Children and their Families, A Guide for Donors and Funders, New Philanthropy Capital (2005), pp1-81 (p.21)

While MOVE reaps huge benefits for the child, it follows that the more independent and healthy the child is, the less strain there is on the whole family

• Enables individual choice

• Improves ability to communicate through eye contact and movement

• Increases quality of life and self-esteem through achievement of goals

• Reduced time spent on routine care (which can average at up to 10 hours a day)

• Improved independence means that families have more time to focus on more interesting family activities. For example, if a child can use the toilet independently in a restaurant, then a family outing to a restaurant becomes a feasible option. The more a person with disabilities is able to move around in their environment, the more independent and socially included that person and their family will feel.