Organiser: Aspace (Cerebral Palsy Association).
Collaborating organisation: Ramon Molinas Foundation.
Dates of implementation: 01/09/2016 – 31/08/2017.
Respite care, a support network for family members who care for someone with cerebral palsy
For the third consecutive year, the Ramon Molinas Foundation is collaborating with Aspace (Cerebral Palsy Association). After cooperating with the Resources and Assistive Technology Centre’s improvement programme in 2014 and with the acquisition and installation of six interactive digital whiteboards to improve the learning process of children with cerebral palsy at the organisation’s School of Special Education in 2015, the RMF will provide grants for disadvantaged families so that they have the opportunity to benefit from the Respite care programme.
Respite care is an important support network for family members who are caring for someone with cerebral palsy. Often the primary carers, family members also need a break for work, familial and personal reasons. The programme aims to provide them with an opportunity to relax, away from the difficulties which come with caring for a person who suffers from this disorder. In addition, Respite care aims to provide a playful, social and quality environment directed at people of any age with cerebral palsy.
339 families will benefit from the programme, made up of four initiatives
Aspace has four different proposals for attending to the needs of the 339 families that will take part in the programme: weekend respite care, leisure groups, the summer house and the holiday programme. All four of the programmes aim to provide an environment of social inclusion and community, encouraging autonomy and strengthening the participants’ individual abilities.
Weekend respite care is the first of the programme’s four proposals, a service which provides stays for two or three days on a monthly basis that can be adapted to the preferences and needs of the families. Users have the opportunity to spend the weekend in nature, where they can take part in fun activities, workshops, go on walks and play group games, among other things.
Secondly, Aspace offers fun, inclusive outings during the weekends. The one day leisure groups help the autonomy of their participants to grow through the creation of monthly meetings where users can make their own decisions, and choose their timetables and break times. Users of the Centre of Occupational Therapy in Poblenou (Centro de Terapia Ocupacional del Poblenou), the Centre of Occupational Therapy in Badalona (Centro de Terapia Ocupacional de Badalona), the Comprehensive Centre of Montjuïc (Centro Integral de Montjuïc) and the Pilot Centre (Centro Piloto) of the organisation will benefit from over forty outings during the period of collaboration between the two institutions.
The second two methods in the respite care programme take place in the summer period. The first of these is the summer house, a service which was developed at the School of Special Education in Aspace. With the participants divided into groups by age and type of disability, the summer house includes fun and cultural activities over July, starting at 9am in the morning and finishing at 4pm in the afternoon. Lastly, the organisation offers the summer holidays programme, a scheme held in July and August for people with cerebral palsy who want to enjoy their holidays away from their immediate family, with people of the same age and with the same interests and motivations.
Cerebral palsy, an irreversible, but not degenerative, condition
Cerebral palsy is a permanent psychomotor disorder which causes limitations in the activity of the person affected. It is an irreversible disorder, but not degenerative; those affected will have it their whole lives, even though it will not deteriorate. For this reason, people with cerebral palsy often suffer from other problems that also require treatment. Although no cure exists for the disorder, it is possible to achieve a certain degree of development in the motor, cognitive, linguistic and social areas thanks to stimulation and learning techniques.
In 94% of cases, the damage which causes cerebral palsy can occur from the foetal stage up until four years of life. The remaining 6% is due to disorders caused by an accident, trauma or illness. In Catalonia there are more than 14,000 people with cerebral palsy. Between two and three cases are registered per 1,000 newborns, meaning that between 120 and 150 new cases are detected every year. In Spain, there are 120,000 people with this disorder.
Aspace, a benchmark association in the field of cerebral palsy
The Cerebral Palsy Association (Aspace) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1961. The institution was created thanks to the goodwill of a group of parents with children affected by cerebral palsy who had the determination to promote the research, diagnosis, rehabilitation, education, promotion and support for people who suffer from this disorder or other developmental disorders.
Seven years after it was established, it was declared a public service. Currently, with 54 years of experience behind it, Aspace has carried out nearly 14,000 comprehensive treatments to people with cerebral palsy and its therapeutic and social work has made it core benchmark of Catalan society. With the promise of sharing the knowledge acquired through its daily activity, Aspace supports people with cerebral palsy throughout their entire lives, from offering early stimulation or education, to occupational therapy at special work centres or loaning residential equipment.
Throughout the year 2015, with a staff of nearly 200 people, 72 of whom were volunteers, the organisation assisted more than 3,000 resident users in the province of Barcelona.
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