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Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association £2.10 World Games p8 Christmas party! p6 Blue Badge changes p4

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Page 1: Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association £2 issue 17 lo.pdf · The Editor • Scottish Spina Bifida Association A new year and a new approach... It’s hard to believe

Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association £2.10

World Games p8Christmas party! p6Blue Badge changes p4

Page 2: Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association £2 issue 17 lo.pdf · The Editor • Scottish Spina Bifida Association A new year and a new approach... It’s hard to believe

2 talk:BACK

|welcome|

talk:BACK is the official magazine of The Scottish Spina BifidaAssociation. Our aim is to increase public awareness andunderstanding of individuals with Spina Bifida/Hydrocephalusand allied conditions. It aims to support all those affected toidentify their needs and to empower them to make informedchoices and decisions.

Scottish Spina Bifida AssociationThe Dan Young Building6 Craighalbert Way • Cumbernauld G68 0LSTel: 01236 794 500 • Lo Call: 0845 9 11 11 12Website: www.ssba.org.uk

Family Support Service

Anne KaneAnne MetcalfeDiane Lowrie

Tel: 01236 794516email: [email protected]

Services and Development Manager

Mark LeesTel: 01236 794515

email: [email protected]

Andrew H D Wynd: Chief ExecutiveJulie Snaddon: Head of Administration Lorraine Wilson Bookkeeper/AdministratorCaroline Kenny: ReceptionistCheryl Bradshaw: Receptionist

email: [email protected]

Fundraising

Deborah Roe: Head of FundraisingClare Cogan Turner: Fundraising OfficerSandra Bauld: Fundraising Administrator

Tel: 01236 794508email: [email protected]

Scottish Charity Number SC 013328. A company limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland, number 213050.talk:BACK is produced on behalf of SSBA by 55 North Ltd: 0141 22 22 100 / [email protected]

The Editor • Scottish Spina Bifida Association

A new year and anew approach...It’s hard to believe that we’re well into 2008 already and it’s looking like anotherexciting and challenging year – but there’s plenty to look back on, and indeed tolook forward to, and SSBA certainly looks forward to being there for you this year.

Welcome once more to the latest issue oftalk:BACK, the magazine speciallydedicated to people in Scotland with SpinaBifida and/or Hydrocephalus.

It really is hard to believe that 2007 isnow well in the past and we’re alreadyhurtling through 2008 – and by the looks ofit, it seems that this year will be anotheradventure-filled period with plenty to lookforward to.

We hope you enjoy this issue of yourmagazine, and hopefully you’ll find lots ofinterest between the covers.

Make sure you don’t miss ourarticle on the changes to the BlueBadge Scheme – the changesaren’t massive but it’s importantthat you understand them if youor someone you know takesadvantage of the scheme.

Also worth a look arethe reviews of both our

Wheelchair Skills Course and ourChristmas Party, both of whichwe held at the end of last year– and both were a roaringsuccess.There’s a fascinating article by

top ten pin bowler SarahAnderson who recently

represented Scotland at the World Gamesin China, and there’s an equally inspiring

report from Bruce and LisaMcAusland who have justreturned from a fantastic threecontinent trip, taking in America,Australia and Asia.

You can also find out who hasbeen raising what for SSBA, andyou can even pick up a few ideasfor how you can join in the fun byraising cash for SSBA while

enjoying some amazing adventures.Over and above all that, you’ll also find

the usual mix of news, views and featuresyou expect from talk:BACK and we reallyhope that you enjoy reading this issue.

And remember, if you have anythingyou’d like to share with us, or with fellowtalk:BACK readers, get in touch!

Don’t miss afascinating article byten pin bowler Sarah

Anderson whorepresented Scotlandat the World Games.”“

Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association£2.10

World Games p8

Christmas party! p6

Blue Badge changes p4

Page 3: Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association £2 issue 17 lo.pdf · The Editor • Scottish Spina Bifida Association A new year and a new approach... It’s hard to believe

talk:BACK 3

|contents|

spring 08

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4All the latest news and views.

Wheelchair Skills Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5A review of our recent confidence-building course.

Christmas Party! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the annual party!

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A new book teaches young children how to understand their condition.

Trip of a lifetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Ten pin bowler Sarah Anderson represents Scotland at World Games.

Make your voice heard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Join in the national 1 in 4 Poll to achieve equality for disabled people.

Down Under – with spina bifida and hydrocephalus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Bruce and Lisa McAusland report back on their trip to Oz.

Fundraising fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12A few ideas on how you can raise money while having fun!con

ten

ts

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Changes to Blue Badge Scheme

Katie and Thomas McNulty design a winner inour festive Christmas Card competition!

The Minister for Transport hasannounced some changes to theBlue Badge Scheme to extend it tomore people and in an attempt toreduce fraud.

Anyone applying for a Blue Badgewill now receive a redesignedversion which incorporates ahologram (making it harder toforge) and a gender-specific serialnumber so that traffic wardens andpolice officers can identify the usermore easily.

The Blue Badge has beenextended to cover children undertwo years of age whose disabilityrequires bulky medical equipment,opening it up to a further 12,000children.

The winners of our recent “Design aChristmas Card” competition wereKatie and Thomas McNulty. Herethey are with mum and dad beingshown around The ScottishParliament building by MargaretMitchell, MSP. Margaret ran thecompetition and the winning entrywas printed on to her ChristmasCards, and sent out to around 1,000people.

Thomas and Katie’s design isshown here too.

For this year the Association willbe running our own competition fordesigns that we will print on to thecards we produce. We will berunning an activity day at the Centre

in Cumbernauldduring theschool summerholidays,providing artmaterials. Moreinformation will

be sent out to all school agechildren nearer the time, but foranyone who wants to submit anentry and who will not be able tocome to the Centre, please send inyour design by post and they will beentered on the day.

In addition, people with adisability in both arms who do notdrive an adapted vehicle can nowapply for a Blue Badge, since it hasbeen recognised that they can have

difficulties in using parking metersand other parking equipment.

In related news, supermarketchain Asda has announced plans tofine people who park in disabledbays without displaying a BlueBadge.

The scheme is being trialled atstores in Merseyside and will seeparking cheats landed with a £60fine.

Shoppers who park in parent andchild spaces who are notaccompanied by children will alsobe fined, and there are plans toextend the system nationwide.Rather than catching unsuspectingmotorists, Asda hopes its schemewill act as a deterrent.

Katie andThomas withtheir mum anddad and MSPMargaretMitchell.

New fraud-combattingmeasuresannounced.

4 talk:BACK

|news|

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|news|

talk:BACK 5

Wheelchair Skills Course

A wheelchair skills course was run in theCraighalbert Church Hall for two days duringthe October school holidays. These coursesare run by the Association of WheelchairChildren and are provided free of charge.

The courses equip children with confidenceand raise their self esteem. Parents too get theopportunity to get into a wheelchair andparticipate – the children think this is greatfun.

The feedback we got from the participantsshowed what a fun filled day it was, and morecourses were requested. As a result we will beorganising one again during the Octoberholidays (13th-17th October,although this does varythroughout Scotland). Youcan intimate your interestnow by phoning FamilySupport and requesting toput your names down, andwe will then send you outthe information in plentyof time.

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Christmas party

We held our Christmas Party at the CumbernauldCentre on Sunday 2nd December. As you will see agreat time was had by all and we had the extra fun ofa visit by two footballers from Clyde Football Club.Here pictured (above) with the children are NeilMcGregor (on the left) and Michael McGowan (frontright).

Entertainment was provided by Mick Magic, and ofcourse Santa arrived with the presents.

6 talk:BACK

|news|

Page 7: Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association £2 issue 17 lo.pdf · The Editor • Scottish Spina Bifida Association A new year and a new approach... It’s hard to believe

This book is designed to help youngchildren with spina bifidaunderstand their condition anddiscover new ways to enrich theirlives. Challenges facing youngchildren with spina bifida includetheir movement, bathroom routines,exercise needs, diet and scars. RightUnder My Nose addresses thesetopics through a novel design.These resources are interrelated tohelp you talk about what may besensitive issues for your child.

The story demonstrates a youngchild with spina bifida leading a fulllife with zest, dreams, challengesand independence. It also promotesself-advocacy in children withdisabilities.

There are activity pages topersonalise the book for yourchild, and tips pages offeringchild-friendly answers tofrequently asked questions,and activity suggestions.The book was written by

Claire Austin, MPhil, and Stacey

Mizokawa, PhD, of the ChildrensHospital, Los Angeles, and this doesmean that there are American termsnot familiar to British children (e.g.diapers for nappies) but this can beovercome. The book is free todownload fromwww.MySpinaBifidaBook.org

The book helpschildren learnhow toapproach theirconditionpositively.

The answer is rightunder your nose...A colourful newbook helps youngchildren understandand come to termswith having spinabifida.

talk:BACK 7

|book review|

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8 talk:BACK

|World Games|

Ten pin bowling ace SarahAnderson shares her inspiringstory of representing Scotland atthe World Games in China.

My name is Sarah Anderson. I’m 19years old from Carnoustie and tookpart in the World Special Olympicsin Shanghai in October 2007. I firstgot involved in the Special Olympicsin 2005 when I was still at school, Iwas picked to take part in theNational Games in Glasgow,representing Tayside, Scotland inthe Ten Pin Bowling Team, and I hadlots of fun there.

The fun didn’t stop there though,in 2006 I was selected to go toRome to represent Great Britain inthe European Youth Games. TheYouth Games involved 1,400Athletes from 57 countries. It alsoinvolved 400 coaches, 3,000 Familymembers 800 Guests 300 Mediaand 2000 volunteers. Before we wentto Rome we had a few trainingweekends, we went to Runcorn, inEngland. Rome was a very goodexperience the different language,different food (they like their pasta)but all in all Rome was a lot of fun.

Then I got the trip of a lifetimewhen I was picked to representGreat Britain again, in China when Itook part in the World Games. I feltvery privileged to go because I wasthe only one from Scotland that wasdoing Ten Pin Bowling. There weremore than 7,200 Athletes from 165countries, 40,000 volunteers, 3,500event officials, and thousands offriends, families and journalists. Inorder to go to China I had to get agold medal in Glasgow which I didso I was very pleased about that.Before I went to China I went on afew training weekends to train andcatch up with my team. We went to afew places such as Livingston andRuncorn. As well as trainingregularly I had to raise the money toget to China. I did a sponsoredwalk, ran a stall at the local gala and

Trip of alifetimeGetting readyto leaveScotland.

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talk:BACK 9

received donations from SSBA andlots of local groups as well as joiningin with group fundraising activitiesincluding a race night and a maskedball. Also before I went I wasinterviewed by the BBC as theywere making a programme on someof the Scottish Athletes that weregoing. We got two made, one aboutthe preparations before we left andone about our time there. The filmcrew came with us to Shanghai andfilmed us all the way through. It wasa good experience to see howdifferent people lived and we got togo into a Chinese family’s home andhave a meal with them. TheirChinese food is very different fromour Chinese takeaway and it isinteresting to find out all about thedifferent cultures. All in all I had thebest experience ever. Before thegames even started we got to beinvolved in some Chinese culture,

this was called the host town. Thekind of things we were doing werevisiting Yu Yuan gardens (a populartourist attraction), and going to seethe Bund which was a very famousriver and the famous skyline of Pudong. We also went to a few highschools which had differenttraditional Chinese acts on toentertain us. We also went to aprimary school that had differentkinds of sports on like Bowling,Basketball, Football, Shuttlecock,Kicking etc. Inside there were allsorts of fun things to do also, myfavourite was picking up marbleswith chopsticks.

We also were treated to a fewmeals and entertainment in the hotelon the first night and last night. Wewent to a flame ceremony where wehad different entertainment and theOlympic Flame of Hope arrivedwhen we were there and when the

Flame of Hope had gone everyonegot to let off some steam by doingBasketball and all sorts of activities.We also went to a tea celebration,and got to try different kinds of tea.

The opening ceremony was thefirst time I realized just how manypeople were involved in TheGames, there was an audience of80,000 people cheering when wemarched into the stadium countryby country. Some famous peoplewere there including ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Jackie Chan andColin Farrell. There were lots ofdisplays and fireworks and theFlame of Hope was lit and the flagraised to mark the beginning of theGames.

At the games it was very nerveracking with a lot of people therewatching you and cheering you on.My Mum and Dad came along tosupport me. Straight after eachevent it was the medal ceremony.The first competition was the teamevent. Anthony, John, Lucy and I allgot 4th place which was good.

Each of the countries got a chillout room we could go in after ourevent but our team stayed to cheereach others on.

The next day was the Doubles soLucy and I played in the morningand by the end we got a 6th place.

Then the last day was the Singlesand for that I got a 4th place.

The hardest thing was not gettingmuch time off just to relax and chill,we had to get up about 6ameveryday to get to the Bowling Alleyon time.

My best memories from Chinawill be the friends I made, learningabout China and how helpful theChinese were and being part ofsuch a big event. In every way it wasa trip of a lifetime.

|World Games|

At the Primaryschool.

Lining up forthe firstsession.

After the lastcompetition –team, coaches

and volunteers.

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10 talk:BACK

|Capability Scotland|

Capability Scotland is calling on you to support its 1 in 4Poll to help it work towards equality for disabled people

Capability Scotland is one of thecountry’s leading disabilityorganisations working for a justScotland. We work with children,adults and families living withdisability to support them in theireveryday lives. We also work withdisabled people, family membersand carers to influence legislation,policy, practice and attitudes.

We need you to get involved inour work towards equality fordisabled people by joining ourunique 1 in 4 Poll. The poll is madeup of disabled people, or peoplewith long term health conditions,their families and carers, and iscalled the 1 in 4 Poll to highlight theproportion of Scottish householdsliving with disability when the Pollwas launched in 2000.

The Poll is managed byScotinform Ltd, an independentresearch company registered underthe Data Protection Act (1998). Allinformation provided remainsanonymous.

We survey our 1 in 4 Poll

members up to four times a year ona wide range of issues. CapabilityScotland uses this information toshape and support ourcampaigning and influencing workwith politicians and decisionmakers. For example:● Last Summer we asked about

people’s experiences ofaccessing social, cultural andleisure opportunities – whetherthey play sports regularly, go tothe cinema or visit museums. Thisties in with the Government’spriorities around health andwellbeing, and we will be usingthese results to highlight whatneeds to be done to ensure that

disabled people also benefit fromthese policies.

● In 2004 we carried out a majorpiece of research with theDisability Rights Commission intodisabled people’s experience ofhate crime. The informationprovided has been used to lobbyfor changes in the law, and as aresult we now have a piece oflegislation going throughParliament that aims to addressthis issue.

● One of the most enduring issuesfaced by disabled people ispoverty and social exclusion.‘Living on the Edge’, waspublished in 2001, updated in2005, and showed the harshreality facing disabled people andtheir families in Scotland. This hasinformed a great deal of our work,particularly around thegovernment’s welfare reformproposals and on fuel poverty.

You can join Capability Scotland’s 1in 4 Poll online at our website, or bycontacting Shirley Clarke on 0131555 1104 [email protected] torequest an application form.

We need you to getinvolved in our worktowards equality for

disabled people or peoplewith long term healthconditions. ”“

Speak up now!

Pho

tog

rap

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Ren

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azzo

lini

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talk:BACK 11

|holiday review|

In the Spring 07 issues of talkBACKwe told you about Bruce and LisaMcAusland, acouple with spinabifida andhydrocephalus,and their plannedsix week holidaytaking in America,Asia, Australia andNew Zealand. Wellthey have sent usin photos and anaccount of theirtrip.

In all their tripinvolved 13flights from 12different airports,and the onlyproblemsexperiencedwere atHeathrow wheretheir luggageand wheelchairswere lost! Andon arrival inNew York thehotel the holidayrep had assured them wasaccessible had 5 stairs to theentrance. Lesson learned – alwaysphone the hotel yourself to check.

However, these problems wereironed out, and their trip lived up toeverything they had expected.Favourite destination – Hawai. It waspossible to get wheelchairs right onto the beach as the sand is socompact. Also all public transport is

fitted with a tail lift. Bruce fulfilled along held dream of snorkelling bygetting out of his chair on the beachand crawling into the water, andthen discovered a few days beforethey were about to leave that therewas actually a lagoon very near thatwould have been easier! This meansof course he has to go back again totry that.

As you might imagine America

and Australia were very accessible,in Bruce and Lisa’s opinion Americais far ahead of Britain in that respect.Least accessible, Hong Kong andSingapore.

However what they say is the tripis what you make it and to see andexperience these places you shouldbe willing to put up with someinconvenience and try to findingenious ways of getting aroundthem.

You can contact Bruce and Lisa tohear more about their trip, or todiscuss anything else, [email protected]

Bruce and Lisaby the sea!

Down Under withBruce and LisaSpina bifida andhydrocephalussufferers Bruce andLisa McAuslandreport back on theirtrip to Oz.

Bruce and Lisa’s Itinerary

11 Sep 07 – Glasgow – Heathrow – New York JFK –New York Hotel: Hotel Deauville Park Avenue – 4days

15 Sep 07 – Los Angeles – Honolulu Hawaii – HawaiiHotel – Ohana Waikiki Malia – 6 days

23 Sep 07 – Nadi Fiji – Auckland – 15 days 7 Oct 07 – Auckland – Sydney – Adelaide – 15 days 21 Oct 07 – Adelaide – Melbourne – Singapore –

Singapore Hotel – Swissotel Merchant Court – 4days

25 Oct 07 – Singapore – Hong Kong Hong KongHotel – South Pacific Hotel – 4 days

30 Oct 07 – Heathrow – Glasgow

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FIRE & ICE 2008 – Saturday 23rdFebruary 2008 Start the new year with a challengeto beat all challenges by taking partin this exhilerating event, walkingover Fire and/or broken Glass. Thisis a great event for individuals orteams. By releasing your fears anddoubts and increasing yourconfidence you will be unstoppablewalking across 20 feet of burningembers and/or 20 feet of brokenglass. Last year participants had agreat time and managed to raiseover £2,500 for the Association. Thisyear the Walks are sponsored by theRound Table – Central Scotland, so

every penny raisedwill come directly tothe charity. This eventis run by professionalfire/glass walkingexperts from ‘Blaze’ –full training isprovided. Don’t missout, call 01236794508 today toreserve your placeor for moreinformation.

Great ScottishWalksGlasgow – 25thMay 2008Edinburgh –22nd June 2008Launched in 1998,the great Scottishwalks are one ofScotland ‘spremierfundraising events.Simultaneouslysupportinghealthy living,these annual events offer the publicthe opportunity to be activelyinvolved in beneficial healthactivities, community events andcharitable fundraising, regardless offitness and physical ability.Inclusivity is one of the keys to theevent’s continued success,promoted to all sections of thecommunity particularly encouraginggroups, teams and families to walk.In 2007 over 5,000 walkers of allages participated, leading to thelaunch of a Glasgow great walk in2008.

Walkers can choose from threedistances; 1 mile, 6 miles or 12miles.

Great Wee Scottish WalksDumfries – Dock Park, 13 April 08Inverness – Bught Park, 20 April 08Aberdeen – Duthie Park, 27 April 08Dundee – Camperdown Park, 04

May 08Glasgow – Glasgow Green, 11 May

2008

Perth, NorthInce, 18 May 2008

Edinburgh – Fettes College, 15 June2008

Irvine – Galston, 03 August 2008

A popular family event. Suitable fortots right through to teens, the aim ofthe walks is to encourage childrenand young adults to see that walkingand physical activity is fun andhealthy and encourages interactionbetween their peer groups as wellas community (younger children arewelcome to bring their parent, oldersiblings or guardian with themalong the routes).

On-line entries for all walks arenow available atwww.greatscottishwalk.comAlternatively call 01236 794508 oremail [email protected] foran application form.

Edinburgh Marathon – 25th May2008The Edinburgh Marathon offers

12 talk:BACK

|fundraising|

There are manyways tosupport SSBAwhile havingfun!

Fundraising focus

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runners the ultimate personalchallenge with a spectacularlyscenic route, which takes runnerspast many of Edinburgh’s famouslandmarks and tourist attractions.The Association only has a fewguaranteed places left for this raceso please call Clare today on 01236794508 for more information.

Ladies Who Give an F – 1st June2008The Scottish Spina Bifida AssociationLadies Lunch is back for a 2ndsuccessful year, so think glitz andglamour as you are treated to anafternoon of sumptuous food,champagne and lots of fun. This

year the event will take place in theluxurious 5 star Radisson SAS Hotelin Glasgow. Tickets are on sale now£35pp or table of 10 £350. Thosewho book a table of 10 before 28thFebruary will receive 2complementary bottles of wine foryou and your guests. Call 01236794508 or [email protected] for furtherdetails.

Skydiving, Whitewater Rafting,Diving with Sharks and OverseasTreks All year round sponsored activities –Call 01236 794508 for furtherinformation.

How to take part –contact

FundraisingTo take part in any of these activitiesplease [email protected] or call01236 794500 and they will be ableto give you further information orsend you application andsponsorship forms.

Don’t have time to collect –Justgiving.comIf you don’t have the time to getpeople to sponsor you and collectsponsorship money later, we haveteamed up with justgiving.com, awebsite which allows our runners &event participants to raise moneyquickly and easily online with theirown personalised web pages.

Friends and family will be able todonate online with a credit or debitcard – so no more running aroundwith paper sponsorship forms, orchasing cheques and cash afteryour event.

To set up your page today, pleasevisit the website at:www.justgiving.com/ssba/raisemoney

Everyclick.comThe search engine with a heart,Everyclick.com donates half of itsrevenue to charities.

So forget Google – makewww.everyclick.com yourhomepage. By choosing ScottishSpina Bifida Association as yourchosen charity, the Association willreceive a donation from Everyclickevery time you do a search foranything!

There is no catch, you don’t payanything – it’s just an easy way foryou to support us. Donating hasnever been this easy. The morepeople that join the better, sospread the word!

talk:BACK 13

|fundraising|

Try our ChinaTrek if youfancy an exoticchallenge.

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|news|

proven product, supported byconsistent quality of manufacture,supply, service and maintenance.

Peter Willan, Total Hygiene ChiefExecutive Officer (the suppliers ofClos-o-Mat), comments, “We wereaware of potential problems withClos-o-Mat AG some time ago andas a consequence have takenappropriate steps to ensure that wecontinue to supply and deliverquality automatic shower toilets –including the Clos-o-Mat Palma Vita– for the long term. Indeed, over thepast 12 months we have investedsignificantly in our manufacturingand service operation toaccommodate the increased activityand broadening range.”

Anyone reading this who wouldlike more details of the product cancontact Family Support for abrochure.

Clos-o-Mat good newsSome of our users who have, or arewaiting to have, installed the verypopular Clos-o-Mat automaticshower toilet, may have beenworried by recent stories that themanufacturers have gone intoliquidation.

However, we are reassured by themanufacturers that they are here tostay, with business going fromstrength to strength.

The story came about as a resultof the announcement that Clos-o-Mat AG in Switzerland is inreceivership. This has arisenthrough problems with the SwissAquaris toilet, however, they arecontinuing their customer serviceoperation for the Clos-o-Mat PalmaVita.

The British company, Clos-o-MatGB is a totally separate company toClos-o-Mat AG, Switzerland.Established over 40 years ago, Clos-o-Mat GB manufactures the Clos-o-Mat Palma in the UK, and hasestablished the shower toilet as a

The Clos-o-Mat has proven to bevery popular.

25th Anniversary2008 Mobility Roadshow

25th and 26th April 2008 • Royal Highland Centre, EdinburghOpen 10 am daily • Free admission and parking

Be inspiredLatest innovations for a mobile

lifestyle

Join inDemonstrations and activities

for all the family

For all the event details and regular updateswww.mobilityroadshow.co.uk • Tel 0845 241 0390

Feel the experienceTest drive a variety of adapted and specialist vehicles, wheelchairs,

powerchairs and scooters plus travel, leisure and home products

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Over 6000 Blue Badges were stolen from parked cars during 2006, and this figure appears to berising. The initial break-in causes great distress, and it can then take up to six weeks to replacedisabled badges, during which time owners are seriously compromised when parking.

The Blue Badge Protector is a simple deterrent and provides effective security for all badge holders:

� Badges are locked into a rigid protector sleeve� Flexible, sturdy lock attaches to the steering wheel� Visible deterrent saves the mess, distress and expense of a break-in� Single (for the badge) or double (for the badge and clock) protectors

available

Special Offer for SSBAWe are pleased to offer members of SSBA a free copy of the UK Road Atlas for Blue Badge Drivers(worth £12.99) when you order your Blue Badge Protector. This vital journey planner is spliteffectively into three mapping types:� A national road atlas� Urban area mapping� Detailed street mapping of 65 city centres featuring all the parking options and facilities for blue

badge drivers� Information on tourism, accommodation and a useful directory of services.

To order your protector and claim afree copy of the UK Atlas for BlueBadge Drivers please call 0870 4445435 and quote the referencePIEUK01. Alternatively please send acheque for £23.12 for the singleprotector (to safeguard the badge)or £28.63 for the double protector(for the badge and the clock)payable to PIE Enterprises andquoting the reference PIEUK01 to:

PIE Enterprises Ltd,The Bridge,12-16 Clerkenwell Road,LondonEC1M 5PQ

der Offer – Reader Offer – Reader Offer – Reader Offer – Reader Offer – Rea

Blue Badge Protector:Security against theft

Page 16: Issue 17 – Spring 08 Scottish Spina Bifida Association £2 issue 17 lo.pdf · The Editor • Scottish Spina Bifida Association A new year and a new approach... It’s hard to believe

FinancialPlanningWorkshopfor families of disabled childrenWe are planning to offer a half day workshop on 29th April on an issue of concern tomany parents

“How do I secure the financial future of my child (young or adult) with a physicalor learning disability?”

These issues affect everybody and we aim to cover topics that are of most concern toparents.

To enable us to plan this event would you please return this page, indicating below ifyou would be interested in attending and the topics you would like to see covered.

The importance of making a will – why it is necessary

Power of Attorney and Guardianship

Setting up Discretionary Trusts – the value of trusts

Tax planning issues e.g. inheritance tax

Financial planning for the present and future

Investment options – what are your choices?

Gifting family assets – what are the implications?

Name: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please return to: FREEPOST Plus RRAE-SCGY-CSJA, SSBA, 6 Craighalbert Way, GLASGOW G68 0LS(NO STAMP REQUIRED. Please return completed form by 29th February.)