I have just been appointed writer/researcher for the Cerebral Palsy Society. My major assignment is to compile a history of our society by June 2009. So when you have a spare hour or two, perhaps on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I would appreciate it if you would look through your bottom drawers and neglected cupboards for any information of our past. Any piece of information will be gratefully received.

I would also like to hear about your personal experiences. There are an infinite number of questions I would love to ask you. For example what was it like growing up in the 50’s – or earlier- as a kiwi kid with Cerebral Palsy?

As an adult what were your expectations, dreams, goals and were they fulfilled? What opportunities came your way in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s? What kind of education did you receive? What kind of philosophy surrounded your treatment regarding physio, occupational therapy and speech therapy? What kind of impact did modern technology, such as computers have on your life? With your help these are some of the themes and issues I would like to explore.

Of course I want to capture the fun times as well. The treasured timeless thoughts tucked away in our memory banks that flash to the foreground, in reflective moments. I have fond memories of my childhood playground at 179 Gillies Avenue Epsom, the former site of the Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy. This playground fueled my imagination. I can still visualize the old rowing boat that we launched a thousand times upon a sea of grass, the old car that remained stationary, but still managed to take us miles searching for the best picnic spots and the jungle gym which we climbed to reach the top because it was there. Undoubtedly you will have similar kinds of childhood memories. I would very much like to record them for posterity.

During my varsity days history students were often ridiculed for studying their chosen topic. Surely there were more important subjects to analyze, queried their critics. The history students’ reply struck me as very profound.

“If the human race is to move forward, we must understand our past,” they answered.

Very true I thought to myself. By exploring the past we can see what we did well and what we can improve upon. It is going to be a fascinating journey.

As said above the backbone of my work will be to produce our history in book form. I’m also editor of the Cerebral Palsy Review quarterly and have the responsibility of constantly updating our website with news and points of interest. So if you have any news please contact me. Alternatively if you have an idea for a topic please let me know. With regards to the CP Review I would prefer to limit articles written by myself so any informative articles would be most welcome.

My contact details
Ross Flood
55 Hillside Road
Papatoetoe
Auckland
Phone/Fax (including answer phone) (09) 2787106
Email rflood@cpsociety.org.nz

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