Spina Bifida grant will help local families

The Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrochephalus has been awarded a grant of 493,617 to run the ‘Getting the Break’ project to improve the training, information and support it offers to people living with the debilitating conditions in Ballymena and across Northern Ireland.

The project will run a range of programmes to improve the skills and confidence of people with Spina Bifida, a condition that creates a lesion on the spine that can lead to learning difficulties and paralysis, and Hydrochephalus, a build up of fluid on the brain that can lead to brain damage and physical disabilities.

Advice clinics will also be set up one day a week in rural community venues across Northern Ireland so that people with the conditions can get support.

Director Cathy McKillop explained that the project’s skills training will include daily living skills, confidence building, and speaking in public.