Jill Dando news

Good news as over 1400 very young children with disabilities provided with wonderful ‘Wizzybug’ wheelchairs (By Ellise)

The Editor

Jan 31, 2024 — 2 min read

By Ellise Hollie Hayward, 21, Disabilities Correspondent, Jill Dando News

Children are benefiting from incredible powered wheelchairs called Wizzybugs.

Designability, a leading disability charity, are providing the powered wheelchairs to families with very young children aged from 14 months onwards who have a disability - even if it is currently an undiagnosed condition.

To date, they have been loaned free of charge to over 1,400 children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal muscular atrophy and other conditions which means children are unable to walk unaided or may fatigue very easily.

One Wizzybug ‘driver’ is Bella, aged 2, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to move around without being carried by her mum or dad.

MEET ELLISE: https://goodnewspost.co.uk/jill-dando-news-disability-correspondent-opens-prestigious-conference/

Before she got her Wizzybug, she was having to sit and look on while her family and friends took part in things that she could only watch. She was desperate to move around but needed a way to do this freely and easily.

Bella’s mum, Lizzy, told us: “Bella’s physiotherapist recommended a Wizzybug to us and we thought we had nothing to lose and applied for one straight away.

“Seeing how well she has taken to controlling her own movements using her Wizzybug makes me so proud. It’s a joy to witness her choosing where she wants to go, chasing her friends around in the garden and going to nursery and playing in it.

“We love doing gardening together – Bella will help my husband and I to take things to the bin and do the weeding. It’s been really lovely.”

Her mum added: “When we were told Bella had cerebral palsy we had no idea what life might be like, or what would happen.

“But Wizzybug and Designability has given us hope and now we feel like there are things out there to help Bella to all that she chooses to do.”

Wizzybug powered wheelchairs were designed by Designability and have been provided completely free of charge to families across the UK since 2011. In over ten years, they have helped over 1,400 disabled children to gain independence and mobility.

To find out more about the Wizzybug Loan Scheme, visit: https://designability.org.uk/meet-wizzybug/

Ellise became Disability Correspondent for Jill Dando News last July after delivering a superb talk to Priory Community School Academy - part of The Priory Learning Trust - last July.

For more stories from Ellise and Jill Dando News click: http://www.goodnewspost.co.uk

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