Yesterday we had one of ‘those incidents’ that cause us to stop, reflect and then re double our efforts to get the Limb difference awareness’ message out there.
I’m just going to post a screen shot from my daughter in law, Tommy’s mum and fellow trustee of limbbo.
Two things strike me here
1. Tommy is a very lucky young boy.
He is surrounded by love, he has many friends both with and without limb differences. He has a younger sister who is fiercely protective of him as well as looking up to him.
As a result he’s confident in his own skin. He has people who champion him, push him, don’t accept when people say ‘no he can’t join this gymnastics club because he’s only got one hand and he won’t be able to cope’ …he now attends gymnastics club and their biggest worry is that he’s too much of a dare devil and they have to stop him doing things.
His response last night is as a result of his own self worth which has been built up by being part of limbbo, lucky fin, Never say Never Foundation and Mitt. Find your ‘tribe’ and let them support you whilst you do the same for them.
2. Not all limb different children are as lucky – they’ve never met another child like them and so words like this mean their self esteem is lessened. If you have children or work with them could you support us in raising awareness.
Obviously all children are naturally curious. It’s ok to ask and chat to someone about what makes them different. It doesn’t mean they aren’t as ‘good’ as you or shouldn’t be in your football team. It means that sometimes they have to find another way to do things.
If you could have a look at our Instagram and Facebook pages there are lots of images to start discussion.
If you ever get chance to run an assembly – this is a brilliant, thought provoking video. I’ve used it in assemblies and we now have schools where whole year groups are working with us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS9KR83ovg0
If you know a child with a limb difference please direct their parents our way – we have a closed group on Facebook just for parents and support as some people are too scared to post pictures openly as they worry about a negative response. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2265427267112984/
We have made contacts all over the world and our aim is to build this community so limb different children know that although they may be the only child in their school there are lots of others worldwide.
Kindness, diversity, self – esteem, friendship all key value words for us all – if you think we can help in any way please get in touch x
Jane Hewitt 