Preschool raises awareness for cerebral palsy
Toddle Tots Preschool celebrated National Cerebral Palsy (CP) Awareness Day by educating learners on how to support their friend, Elizabeth de Beer.
KOMATIPOORT – Learners at Toddle Tots learnt how to understand and support Elizabeth de Beer, a little girl with cerebral palsy, during a recent awareness day at the school.
The playground was divided into different stations with all of Elizabeth’s favourite games and activities, and the morning was concluded with a tasty doughnut.
Mary-Ann Steyn, head of the school, explained to the learners that she had to work much harder to reach the same goals as them. She taught the children to be patient as Elizabeth is not able to express herself with words at this stage.
These awareness days in Toddle Tots were the brainchild of the late Candice Delport, a former teacher at the school. She started with an awareness day for children with cistic fibrosis, in honour of her daughter, Leoné, who has the condition.
This was followed by an awareness day for Down’s syndrome in support of a former pupil, Hendro Kruger who moved to Malalane at the end of last year. Read about it here.
Steyn said it is an absolute privilege to have Elizabeth as part of their school. “She has a constant smile on her face and is always eager, willing to try everything and anything. She is an example to everyone she comes into contact with. Elizabeth’s name means ‘God is my satisfaction/abundance’ and she is true to this meaning.”
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder caused by damage to the brain, most often before birth. It primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination, and every case is unique.
