Supporting the NICE Milestone Club
About NICE
NICE is a local charity in the heart of Birmingham, specialising in helping children and adults with incurable movement disorders such as cerebral palsy, those recovering from a stroke and Parkinson’s, to push the boundaries of their own potential. NICE works with 250 families annually ranging in ages from 1 year to 80+ years. All their activities focus around the delivery of a specialised system of rehabilitation called Conductive Education (CE) which significantly improves the quality of life for children and adults with movement disorders.
A Milestone partnership
We’ve joined up with NICE, to support their Milestone Club. This group is for children who are displaying a delay in meeting their milestones of child development.
What is the Milestone Club?
The Milestone Club is for children aged 0 to 3 years and their parent/carer and aims to support families at the very start of their journey with disability.
Some of the children will not yet have received a formal medical diagnosis. This very early support can make a huge difference in the child’s development – improvement now is a gain forever – and helps very young children to achieve developmental milestones their families thought impossible. It also allows families and children to recognise their individual potential rather than focusing on the disability.
What can I expect when I attend?
The staff, called conductors (you can find out more about Conductive Educators on the PCA website), build the structure of the sessions around the individual needs of the child. This approach means that the specific requirements for each child are met, helping to nurture an environment in which children can grow, learn, and reach important developmental milestones.
The Milestone Club sessions last for 1½ hours and children attend with their parents, so that they can learn and be advised on ways they can continue to further support their child at home.
NICE uses the group as a tool for learning. The group atmosphere is motivating for children and creates a support network for families, where parents and carers can talk and socialise with others who are going through similar experiences as them. Where a group is not suitable for the child or their family then they are still supported through NICE’s advisory sessions. Each Milestone group session can look different, depending on the age, needs and skills which we are focusing on.
NICE recognise each small achievement and strive to look for what the next steps are in supporting and promoting a child’s development. This is further reinforced by teaching the parents how to support and facilitate their child in activities at home, so that they become a part of their everyday lives.
Conductive education, the professionals, parent carers and community we have been so warmly welcomed into at NICE has become a driving force of hope, steering our determination to continue giving our son, Darcy, the very best opportunities in life. The physical and cognitive improvements we have observed in Darcy over the past year have been incredible and on reflection, in the most positive sense, extremely emotional.
CL Medilaw supporting NICE
Building on our belief in Changing Lives, we provide support to a number of charities and organisations that focus on early intervention of children with neurological injuries.
Launching our relationship, some of our team joined one of the sessions, giving parents and carers goodie bags, sensory toys and information packs about the life-changing work we do.
We are so pleased to offer our support to the NICE Milestone Club. Over the years I have attended a number of the sessions to observe and have seen the real difference they make to the children that attend. Everyone at CL Medilaw understands the value of early intervention and the impact is has on those that can access it. We’re happy to be able to support NICE in providing this service free of charge to help change lives for the better.
Attention!
Feedback from one of conductors of the Milestone Club mentioned how lovely the toys provided by CL Medilaw were.
We have not seen any like this before. They are really good for getting the children’s attention, especially for those who have visual and/or hearing impairments!
The incredible work carried out by The Milestone Club, is extremely important to us at CL Medilaw, and we look forward to how we can support this charity in the future.
Where can I find out more about the Milestone Club?
To learn more about the Milestone Club or to get in touch with NICE you can visit their website.
