Life doesn’t take a break. Things come up in our lives 24 hours a day, every day. Problems don’t wait until it’s convenient for us. That’s why Tikvah Layeled provides 24 hour support to caregivers and parents of children with cerebral palsy.

There are many facets to the disorder associated with CP. Some are not always evident and care for a child with CP can be challenging and confusing at times, but parents, and even caregivers, need to know they are not in it alone. They can draw upon the years of experience provided by the caregivers at Tikvah Layeled.

Parenting is difficult enough, but for parents of disabled children it can seem like there is nowhere else to turn. For the dedicated caregivers at Tikvah Layeled, they understand this. Advice, compassion, and a sympathetic ear, can go a long way in providing support in times of need. Caring for a child that is suffering can be a painful experience for any parent, but help is available around the clock, all year round.

When questions come up, whether they are related to therapy or to the specialized equipment that is used to assist children with CP, referrals, information and advice are all available. In addition to the many counseling sessions, therapy and fun activities Tikvah Layeled regularly provides children, sometimes a phone call is all it takes to answer questions or advise a parent who is feeling overwhelmed. Tikvah Layeled provides that support around the clock. Sometimes all we need is a word of encouragement.

While we may think health clubs are solely the domain of the young and fit, they are actually anything but. People of all ages have returned to the gym so that they may lead healthier, longer lives. This includes 43 percent of the nation’s seniors. While this is certainly good news for gyms wishing to increase their memberships, as well as for the seniors themselves, there are some challenges to this seemingly win-win situation. One obstacle is the fact that most exercise equipment found in gyms was designed for people aged 18 to 35. They are often high impact machines that offer high resistance and were made to build young muscles.

To serve an aging population, low impact and low resistance equipment is needed to ensure that elderly gym users can exercise safely. Since falls are a main contributor to injury in seniors, any exercise that strengthens muscles and improves balance is desirable. To address this issue, companies like HUR, a maker of health and fitness equipment, uses their patented and award-winning exercise equipment to help seniors get fit and stay that way. Using smart card technology, HUR machines record activity and provide feedback to the user so they can improve and measure their progress. These machines also utilize low-impact technology that offers close to zero resistance, which enables weak or injured people to recover faster and strengthen muscles quicker.

This type of exercise equipment is changing the way we age and helping all of us live longer and healthier by improving the quality of daily life.

Hunter Gandee came up with the title of “Cerebral Palsy Swagger.” It’s an amusing and quite understated title that doesn’t quite do justice to the 57-mile trek he undertook this past June to help raise awareness for the brain disorder. Leave it to a modest fifteen year old to downplay the his role in this admirable accomplishment.

Hunter was inspired to undertake the journey by his little brother, Braden. Braden, who suffers from CP, went on the journey too, strapped to his big brothers back. It’s been a means of travel for the eight-year-old his whole life, so Hunter decided this was the way he would complete his three-day walking campaign.

The trip was well-documented on social media as the pair of brothers made their way across southern Michigan. Plenty of well-wishers, friends and family showed up and voiced their encouragement. Local fire and police departments were more than happy to provide special escorts as the brothers made their way through their towns.

The trek began in Lambertville, MI, where Braden attends a local school. Over 500 hundred of his classmates accompanied them on their first steps. The journey ended in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan Rehabilitation Center where Braden underwent a previously-scheduled surgical procedure.

Despite the modesty of his “Swagger”, Hunter was moved by the journey he and his brother made. The positive attention and support they received was more than he imagined and it gives him hope that his generation can do more to raise awareness of cerebral palsy and better understand those who live with it every day.

Jewel Kats is a lot of things, disabled is just one of them. It’s what she does with her disability that is so inspiring. She takes it and turns it into a source of inspiration for others. Her web comics series, DitzAbled Princess, has steadily closed in on 200,000 hits since it launched in early 2013. In the strip, co-created with Katarina Andriopoulos, Jewel in comic character form, shares her observations about her life with readers, many of whom are disabled. Her audience, disabled or not, enjoys her quirky take on life’s many trials and tribulations and the comic team have amassed enough strips for a collection, DitzAbled Princess: A Comical Diary, published by by Marvelous Spirit Press.

In the strip Kats shares her life with complete strangers and provides inspiration and a positive role model for those, particularly women, with disabilities. She is not immune from taking jabs at herself either, such as enjoying the perks that come with her disability (getting out of housework and flirting with her paratransit drivers). That’s the lighter side, of course, there are many times when Kats has been made to feel like less than a person by ignorant, if well-meaning, strangers.

Kats is a self-described former teen runaway who has in fact come a long way as an advocate for the disabled, especially teens, who may feel a lot of anger and resentment towards their disability. She wrote a syndicated advice column for disabled teens that enjoyed a six year run in Canada. She also authored seven books before her interests turned to comics. Whatever her current passions and creative pursuits are now, whatever they maybe in the future, Kats will continue to thrive and inspire those to overcome their disabilities, and like her, turn negatives into positives.

Tikvah Layeled is a rehabilitation and treatment center than helps care for children with cerebral palsy. CP may include a variety of disorders that can occur in children at birth. This disability can result in poor motor skills and cause the child difficulty with speaking or walking. The caregivers at Tikvah Layeled are trained to help nurture these children. They help them adapt their disabilities to everyday life so they can grow into productive and happy young adults.

Music has been proven to provide many therapeutic benefits to patients who suffer from a variety of illnesses and disabilities. Learning to play a musical instrument can help children develop motor skills while also providing a fulfilling from of self expression.

Playing with animals can help children interact with nature and these animals can have a very calming affect on children with CP. Service animals have played an important role in the lives of many people with disabilities. Simply being around animals is a form of the therapy that can benefit children greatly.

At the core of the success of Tikvah Layeled, however, is the caregivers themselves. The dedicated staff at Tikvah Layeled are trained to provide treatment and rehabilitation, of course, but it is their commitment to providing love and support to the children in their care that really makes the difference. No matter what activity the staff and children engage in, the love they show is evident and so are the positive results that follow. The efforts of the staff at Tikvah Layeled have really transformed the lives of the children they work with.

It is the mission of Tikvah Layeled to help children who suffer from cerebral palsy. Through rehabilitation, treatment, education and by raising awareness, the organization has a positive impact on the lives and well being of the children in their care. Tikvah Layeled needs financial capital to operate, of course. Staying at the leading edge of technology and purchasing and maintaining rehab equipment requires money. As the center works to improve the quality of life of these children who suffer from CP, they must also raise money to fund their operations.

Towards this goal there are several levels which supporters can contribute at in an effort to help the center meet its operating needs. The highest contribution level on Tikvay Layeled’s donation ladder is a gift of $1800, but there are many other levels that people can choose from according to what they are able to give. A gift of $500 goes a long way to help purchase new equipment and a gift of $360 can help the center purchase the latest technology to give these kids the best physical therapy and care possible. A gift of $180 or even $18 are appreciated as every little bit helps. Any amount that donors chose to give will provide benefits to the children and will help fund the facility so they can provide the highest level of support possible and give the children the best life possible. Donors can also make gifts to honor the memory of a loved one. Donations can be made with a credit card through the donation’s page on the Tikvah Layeled website.

For 14-year-old Tegan Vincent-Cook, a student in the United Kingdom, dealing with Cerebral Palsy presented enough challenges in her daily life without having to deal with children at school. Sometimes, out of ignorance, the other kids would stare at Tegan and in some cases, instead of being mean, they would simply ignore her. Children can be cruel to each other to be sure, but they can also be shy or may not have learned proper social skills yet. Encountering a fellow student who has a disability may make them reluctant to reach out to that child and become friends. The result can be feelings of isolation and loneliness for the child with a disability such as Cerebral Palsy.

What helped Tegan break through this social barrier with her fellow classmates was when she told her story as a presentation to the class. The results were immediate. The children were able to gain a better understanding of what Tegan had to deal with and they immediately had questions for her that were sparked by her sharing this part of her life with them. As a result of this experience, Tegan decided that a good way to help other kids with CP would be to create an animated version of her story to share with kids everywhere. In the short film, which Tegan wrote, she describes her disability, what it is and how she has adapted to it. Not only do her classmates have a better idea of who Tegan is, her social life at school has shown marked improvement. Children everywhere can benefit from seeing this cartoon in the classroom so they can better understand and accept children who are different from them.

Cerebral Palsy is a condition that affects children at birth. It is the most common disability found in children with up to two infants per thousand suffering from the affliction. Developed nations have created great support systems and treatment centers and as a result they have been able to help children with CP lead happy, productive lives. In many underdeveloped countries, however, this is not the case. Funding for the study and treatment of this neurological disorder is not always readily available and as a result children suffer.

In the developing nations of Africa, the challenge of treating children with CP is great. A recent study conducted by the Global Health Center of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that in Botswana children with CP were met with less positive outcomes than children in more developed nations. Better prevention and treatment programs are necessary to reverse this trend. As a result of the study CHOP has determined that a lack of financial resources presents the biggest challenge to doctors in these nations. To combat this problem CHOP has formed a partnership with the government of Botswana to provide better funding for the care and treatment for these children.

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Botswana is also working hard to reverse this trend and prevent the major causes of CP in children. Children in these countries who are born prematurely or that have received low oxygen during birth are at a greater risk of developing CP, but education can help lower these rates and bring them more in line with those found in the US and Europe. Through prevention and proper treatment children with CP in these developing nations can have the same success rates as children in other more developed parts of the world.

We’ve all seen it; drivers who take that open parking spot closest to the store so they can run right in for a few things without the inconvenience of having to walk across the parking lot. They think, “What’s the big deal? I’m only going to be a minute.” What they don’t think about is the inconvenience they are causing people with disabilities and impairments that can make mobility difficult. What really happens when a driver selfishly takes a handicapped parking spot is more than just a law being broken and it’s more than just a selfish act. It can create difficulties for people with disabilities and make a simple trip to the store (something most people take for granted) and make it a stressful ordeal.

Sometimes seeing that blue and white reserved parking sign isn’t enough for people to make a real life connection. For 8-year-old Catie Flournoy of the Kansas City metro area, if people only knew who they were directly affecting by taking these reserved parking spots, they may think twice before doing it. That’s why Catie launched “Catie Cares.” As a part of this campaign Catie made signs with her picture on them to put a face to the issue. By posting her pictures, with text that reads, “Think of Me, Keep it Free,” underneath handicap parking signs, Catie believes this will give people pause. Catie plans to post more of these signs in parking lots throughout the area to make the public aware of what really happens when they park in these reserved spots and how it impacts individuals and families who deal with disabilities every day.