Daycare centres to enhance the development of handicapped children.

« I am particularly concerned by this situation insofar as my nephew, Thomas, 7 years old, is a CP after a premature birth. For him, CP means walking problems - he limps terribly - and learning difficulties. The association has played a crucial role in the progress that he has achieved since birth. Thanks to it, he can now walk and he is scheduled to join a primary school at the opening next autumn. »

Nathalie Arzel

Cerebral palsy (CP) is connected to a brain injury that occurs during pregnancy or delivery, or even in the first few months of life. Premature birth is one of its most frequent causes. It results in motor difficulties in the nursing infant, and then leads to serious handicaps in communication, learning and movement.

Association pour l'éducation thérapeutique et la réadaptation des enfant infirmes moteurs cérébraux (APETREIMC), created in 1978 by Michel le Metayer and Professor Guy Tardieu, strives to offer children suffering from this handicap early group accommodation to provide them with the best conditions for education and rehabilitation and thereby facilitate their integration in normal social life.

A generous and necessary project

To do this, the association has created areas to welcome CP children and healthy children. These mixed daycare centres, which have 60% healthy children and 40% handicapped children, enable the handicapped children to share daily in games and activities with healthy children, while developing an appropriate educational and therapeutic treatment. They also help the parents to exchange views and offer them necessary support. But the equipment specially designed for CP children is very expensive, and must be renewed regularly. The Veolia foundation, which was approached to finance this specialised hardware and software, has agreed to help the association, while underscoring the need to help seriously handicapped children to integrate in a normal social life.

*CP: Cerebral Palsy