New Charity: Cerebra

The Henry Sale Foundation donated money for an adapted surfboard for 10-year-old Imogen, who has cerebral palsy, so that with a little help she can ride the waves just like everyone else.

The ethos of CIC is simple – if children can dream big, they can do big.  The work undertaken by the CIC team ensures that children have the opportunity to achieve their goals and to participate in activities from surfing to horse riding - and even take part in triathlons.

Dr Ross Head, Associate Professor said: “We chose to adapt existing boards to show that it is really easy and that children can then choose their own board, colour, brand, just like anyone else, and with a small adaption they can hit the surf.”

Imogen’s mum, Catherine Ashwell-Lewis, said: “We are so grateful and thankful to UWTSD. Imogen had an amazing time and is completely in love with the pink board, it's so much easier for than the prone board she's been using up until now."

It’s the latest in a series of projects undertaken by CIC to help Imogen, which have included bespoke horse-riding helmets and have also enabled her to take part in triathlon events and even climb Penyfan.

Ross and the team develop logical, innovative, and fun solutions for children with brain conditions.  Their designs aim to reduce some of the social stigma attached to disabilities by making not only functional but also beautiful products for amazing young people. Some of their products are ‘one-off’ bespoke designs, others are made in small batches, and some are designed with the commercial market in mind. 

The Cerebra Innovation Centre is a collaborative partnership between Cerebra and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David with the team based at the University’s Alex building in Swansea.  CIC is also part of ATiC  – the Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre within the University – and has a demonstrable track-record in providing practice-based research and development to support medical companies and healthcare related charities.

ATiC’s work is primarily human-centred and innovation-led which enables researchers to collaborate with businesses to develop creative interventions that improve health and wellbeing.  It is designed to support research collaborations in the life-sciences across Wales and builds upon UWTSD’s record of delivery in developing Research and Innovation excellence in the field of Health and Social Care.

For more information on the charity Cerebra, please visit www.cerebra.org.uk