Cerebral Palsy Group May Go Into Recess

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29850, 16 June 1962, Page 5

Cerebral Palsy Group May Go Into Recess

The Christchurch Cerebral Palsy Welfare Association might have to go into recess because of lack of interest, the president (the Rev. L. V. Willing) said yesterday. A special general meeting would be held on June 27 to consider the association’s future.» There were two schools of thought on the best thing to do, said Mr Willing. One group favoured winding up the association and handing over its craft centre to some other welfare society, while the other thought the centre should be retained and the activities of the association continued on a limited scale in case there wa s a new accession of members. The latter course would require a comprehensive revision of the constitution, to meet the laws governing incorporated societies. He was now drafting a revised constitution for presentation to the meeting on June 27.

•‘I shall be rather sorry if we have to go into recess, but the plain fact is we have had no new members for several years.” said Mr Willing. “The parents of spastic children now being bom do not seem to feel the need as we did for the kind of fellowship • our association provides—or, at any rate,

they make no move to avail themselves of it. As this fellowship is the main advantage we have to offer, there seems little point in continuing if it is not wanted any longer.” The association had been formed originally to foster the establishment of a cerebral palsy school. Mr Willing said. This had been accomplished, and the school handed over to the State. It had been the first such school in the Dominion. With this achieved, there seemed little else required beyond maintaining a circle of relatives of the cerebral palsied who could encourage each other by sharing problems. One reason why the association was not now so thriving. said Mr Willing, was an apparent changed attitude among _ the older cerebral palsied.’ They no longer seemed to want to associate with others in a like situation; in fact, the emphasis was on mixing with normal persons and being accepted by them. Any organisation working for the cerebral palsied should take notice of this. Nevertheless, there was always some scope for special provision for the adult cerebral palsied, in that for a certain number of them a normal life would always be impossible because of the extent of their handicap.