Our children
Here are some of the great things that our children have done :
D is a 2 year old girl with a tracheotomy. She was recently seen playing by a member of staff, they told us “she had an Iggle-Piggle doll and used a hose from a toy fire-engine to pretend she was suctioning the dolls tracheotomy!”
C is a 16 year old with autism. He had very little communication and resisted having a relationship with his mum. In a child in care review he was sitting my his mum, he picked up her hand and stroked his face with it. His mother was in tears as he had never been like this before.
B is a 3 year old with brain damage. He was placed under a “do not resuscitate” order as he was deemed to be only operating on brain stem function. He has delighted his carers by being able to track objects, kick a musical toy to make it play and giggle. We are so proud of him.
The children we care for might have some of these difficulties :
Tracheotomies
A tube is inserted in to the throat to help the child breathe. This will require constant care and clearing.
Gastrostomies
A tube is inserted in to the child’s stomach to be fed with liquid food from a pump - this is sometimes overnight whilst they sleep.
Naso-gastric tube fed
A tube is fed down the child’s nose to their stomach where liquid food is delivered.
Cerebral palsy
A brain condition affecting two or four limbs. The child may have some movement but might not be able to walk or feed themselves and they will probably have to use a wheelchair for life.
Visual impairment / Hearing impairment
The child might have partial sight or hearing, or none at all.
Hydrocephalus
A condition where the brain is surrounded by too much fluid - this might need to be drained away using a “shunt” where a tube is fitted to allow the extra fluid to go into the body.
Autism
Autism is a disability that affects social and communication skills. Individuals with autism may behave unpredictably because they have difficulty understanding social situations and language.
Autism is not big and scary! With the correct support, guidance, training and understanding a carer can make incredible improvements in a child’s life and give them better life chances as adults.
Credo Care is the only Foster Care Agency in the UK to have been awarded with the Autism Accreditation from the National Autistic Society.
Learning difficulties
These are caused by brain damage and can limit how the child develops by limiting their abilities, leaving them at a much younger developmental age. Learning difficulties can limit independence and these children need support as they can often be vulnerable.
Life-limiting conditions
Children who may have conditions that put their lives at risk.
Other conditions
Some of these disabilities can be either on their own or with other conditions such as epilepsy. We are often approached to place children with rare syndromes. In these cases we provide specific training to meet the child’s care needs.