We caught up with SIA Ambassador Steve Brown to find out about the many benefits of getting out and about in the great outdoors. SIA: When did you first discover your love of nature? SB: It was my dad who introduced me to nature; his enthusiasm for it rubbed off on me. We lived on…
Many SCI people live with chronic pain and it can have a debilitating impact on all aspects of life. While medication is often used to manage pain levels, aquatic therapy provides an alternative approach to alleviate pain and some of its causes. The benefits of warm water therapy can be traced back thousands of years….
Article by Helen Smith – SIA Counsellor For the last eight years, SIA has provided a free telephone counselling service. In the last financial year alone, the service provided 180 telephone counselling support sessions toSCI people and their families and friends. Helen Smith explains how this confidential talking therapy can support you at any stage of…
Sian Riley, dietitian at Red Pepper Nutrition, specialises in dietetic advice for people who have sustained traumatic injury such as spinal cord injury (SCI), acquired brain injury or orthopaedic injury. She empowers people to enjoy eating and to optimise their food intake and nutrition for rehabilitation and independence, reducing the risk of future disease and…
Experience Community is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company based in Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, that helps disabled people and the wider community access the countryside through short taster sessions, longer rambles/rides and residential breaks using specialist equipment such as Mountain Trikes and Mountain Bike hand cycles/adapted cycles. We run regular taster and training sessions so that people…
The BBC has announced a three-part plan designed to significantly improve representation of – and opportunities for – disabled people on and off air This blog by Dan Burden, SIA’s Head of Advocacy and Campaigns, examines the current respresentation and inclusion of disabled people on TV. A recent survey has finally revealed the nation’s favourite…
In 2013, Maria, from Lancashire, fell down the stairs. Yet little did she know that such a desperate accident would also eventually lead to her being forced out of home against her will, destroying the life she had worked so hard to rebuild. Maria’s son Ed says “In 2013 my Mum, Maria, was paralysed after…
Today is a day of celebrations at SIA House, not only to highlight SCI awareness day, but also in celebration of our tenth year of fundraising by hosting fish and chip suppers. Our head office team of staff and volunteers all tucked in, with the wonderful smell of fresh fish and chips (and plenty of…
Kay sustained her spinal cord injury from a Cavernoma bleed located at T2 of her spinal cord in September 2017. Whilst in the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Unit in Salisbury she was visited by the lovely Graham Anderson, one of our Peer Support Officers. Graham visited Kay over the course of a few months, offering…
SIA member and fundraiser Ben was injured just under two years ago, on a Sunday afternoon during a motorbike ride through Norfolk with his family. They had been out for the afternoon in the sunshine, when a car hit Ben and his son’s bike and threw Ben from the bike. Ben says he knew instantly…
My preparation for SIA’s Eastern European Adventure Final day, York to Bridlington and we finished on my birthday! The day started early from York Minster. A foggy day but we were hopeful it would lift, sadly not. The wind from day 1 returned as did our first experience of driving rain and foggy all the…
My preparation for SIA’s Eastern European Adventure Today was very different to yesterday We left Garforth in the Yorkshire Dales at 9:30am aiming to get to York for 5pm. First of all we had a 5 mile ride just to get back on the route. This ride and the next 15 miles provided a challenging…
