Awareness Days voted a hit
Parents and professionals have been lavish in their praise of the first Hydrocephalus Action Awareness seminars.
The study days, launched in Belfast in February, were well attended by people keen to learn more about the various aspects of helping a child with hydrocephalus.
It is hoped that two Awareness Days will be organised for each region, plus one in the south west of England.
The one-day seminars, with practical workshops and talks, are designed to help parents and professionals get more from the new Your Child and Hydrocephalus book.
Rosemary Whalley, local adviser for Belfast, was the key figure behind the recent seminars, helped by the ASBAH team in Northern Ireland. Extra support came from the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children's physiotherapy department.
The seminars attracted an impressive range of speakers including two of the authors of the book, Carole Sobkowiak and Hazel Bennett, Dr Hugh Richards from the UK Shunt Registry, neuro surgeon David McAuley, and Alex Best from Codman.
Rosemary said: “Both days were well attended and were extremely successful. We did an evaluation survey at the end of each day and comments were very positive.”
Professionals attending included physiotherapists, community nurses, social workers and education specialists, and all highly rated the talks. They also suggested topics they would like to know more about for future seminars.
Rosemary said: “Around 40 parents attended and they found the speakers and practical workshops informative and helpful.
“They particularly enjoyed the talk given by Carson Quinn, an ASBAH service user who has hydrocephalus. It is always useful for parents to meet someone who knows what it is like to have hydrocephalus and to hear how they cope with the challenges which may arise.”
She added: ”Seminars like these complement the individual work we do with families and, if we have the resources, are something we would like to do more regularly.”
Please contact your regional office for more details and a booking form or email info@asbah.org