Natalie

Natalie's father Matthew shares their story 

“Natalie and her twin sister were born by emergency caesarean section and spent their first 6 weeks in the special care baby unit. They were both doing OK, both growing. It wasn’t until about a year or two years later that we started noticing that Natalie wasn’t developing at the same rate as Isobel. Googling around what it might be, we kind of realised that it could be cerebral palsy. We eventually got to see a consultant. They did an MRI on Natalie’s brain. The consultant confirmed it for us. That realisation then, that was probably the hardest moment of the whole journey. When you suddenly realise that she’s got a very serious disability."

"Natalie has a bunch of things that stem from her cerebral palsy, she is extremely limited in her physical ability, can’t walk, or sit up unaided, but mentally she’s reasonably switched on, she’s quite smart. As the girls are going through nursery, and we’re coming to the end of that, it’s clear that you’re going to need to put them into schools. Getting Natalie into a school took more than a year. We very quickly decided that Treloar’s was the best place for her, that was not a difficult decision."

Natalie's teacher, Megan picks up the story: “Natalie joined us just over a year ago. She was very quiet, a reluctant talker, she was very shy, she did not want to be part of activities and all she wanted to do was make cards for her family."

At Treloar’s, education, therapy and healthcare are fully integrated into the school day, helping students build skills and independence in every lesson.

Dad says: “She’s making progress in her confidence. She is already thriving. She really enjoys coming to school.”

Natalie now benefits from specialist physiotherapy, adapted equipment and a wide range of enriching activities. She loves riding trikes, exploring music through adapted instruments and getting creative in art lessons.

"Art is her favourite subject," says her teacher Megan. "She'll always say yes to painting and making cards." One of Natalie’s biggest milestones came through art, where she used her voice for the first time at school.

Dad says: “It’s life changing for her. She has access to incredible resources and care. It’s just a place with world class expertise, people who are always looking out for her and helping her."

"Natalie really loves the people at Treloar’s. The staff and the kids. Having a place like Treloar’s where therapy is all built into her school day and taken care of, it takes a massive burden off parents’ shoulders. It’s such a blessing."

Her teacher believes the future is full of possibilities.

Megan says: “In the next few years, she can achieve so much more. Natalie being a twin, she can see her twin sister doing lots of things at home and she needs to believe that she can do it too because we can support her to do that. We can support her to be whoever she wants to be.”

With the right support around her, Natalie continues to grow in confidence, develop new skills and discover what she's capable of achieving.