Find out below how your support helps us to be there for children and families living with additional needs.
There are over 8000 children with additional needs across Leeds, and all our services have waiting lists, so we know there is huge demand. Following lockdown we have heard from families how our services are more important than ever and so is your support.
SNAPS is 100% funded by YOU, our local community and YOUR support helps us to continue to be there for families when they need us. Thank you.
We are able to see and hear from families first-hand, the difference your support to keep SNAPS open makes…
Thank you for helping us to be there when families need us.
You help children like Zoe, Evie and Lewis gain access to vital physiotherapies…
Zoe
Zoe was born in 2015 and grew up as a normally developing child until around 18 months, when it was questioned why she wasn’t yet walking. At first it was considered to be caused by hypermobile joints, but shortly after Zoe turned 2 it was apparent that she was developmentally behind and had lost some skills.
In January 2018 Zoe had an MRI brain scan which revealed significant brain damage, cerebellar atrophy. Zoe has now been diagnosed with Infantile Neuro Axonal Dystrophy (INAD), a rare genetic, degenerative, neurological condition. Zoe is currently participating in a drug trial which has the potential to stop the decline and return some lost skills.
Zoe is still a bright bubbly fun loving beautiful girl. She has a great sense of humour, an infectious laugh, and still tries to wave and blow kisses. She loves bouncing along to songs and interaction with others, cuddling the neighbours dog and her toy rabbits. She has a good understanding of what is going on around her, and loves it when you copy her actions and sounds, especially drumming. She has a smile that lights up the room.
Zoe has been coming to SNAPS since October 2017. Zoe loves going to SNAPS to meet all her friends and to participate in rebound therapy. Rebound helps Zoe with balance and to strengthen her muscles. SNAPS Yorkshire have been providing invaluable support for us as a family.
Evie
Every day for Evie is like climbing a mountain – the day-to-day activities that most people take for granted have not come easy for Evie. Walking, communicating, and feeding herself are all daily challenges that require our help and support.
In January 2014, at the age of 1 our lives began to change. In the middle of the night, Evie had a seizure, stopped breathing at home and after attempting CPR whilst on the phone to the emergency services, the ambulance came and gave her oxygen, which revived her. That night, Evie turned blue, went floppy in our arms and we thought we had lost her – we hadn’t, but this acts as constant reminder of how precious Evie is to us.
Evie stopped hitting milestones from about 9 months, and had a prolonged period of diagnosis and assessments at hospital and in home by numerous professionals, which is still on-going. Evie has not had a specific diagnosis but her last MRI scan showed an abnormality, a white matter brain condition called hypo-myelination, meaning messages and processing of information are distorted. We hope to one day understand what has caused this but to date genetic and other tests have not yet found the cause, so we have no prognosis – but we have been told by paediatrician this is a life long condition and there is no current treatment.
As a result, Evie has global development delay meaning she is significantly behind other two years olds. Evie has hypo mobility meaning her joints are bendy so she struggles to find any stability. Her cognitive development is delayed and her understanding of the world and ability to communicate are such that she often feels frustrated and upset, unable to express her feelings, wants and wishes.
Despite all of this, every day, Evie shows a desire to move and have close contact with people – she blows kisses, smiles and cuddles and lightens up even the darkest of days.
We can’t begin to understand how difficult that must be for her and we are committed to doing everything we can to help her develop and give her the best possible quality of life we can give.
SNAPS offers such an amazing service to children in need. Private therapy costs a fortune and at SNAPS they provide affordable regular therapy by trained neuro physio professionals.
The team who run SNAPS are so welcoming to newcomers that we already feel SNAPS is a home from home that we can drop into.
But it’s not just about the therapy, SNAPS provides a welcoming place for parents like us to go and speak to other parents who understand what it’s like to have a child with additional needs, and who are going through similar challenges so can share experiences and help each other.
We also take comfort from not having to explain or feel uncomfortable that our daughter can’t walk or talk – as others are in the same boat as us, and can just relax and let Evie enjoy herself with other children.
You can support SNAPS today by making a donation HERE
Lewis – Watch a BBC Radio Leeds video below about one of our SNAPS kids Lewis, who benefits from coming to SNAPS for Hydrotherapy.