A Report of One Person’s Experience

In 1997 I received a phone call from a Local Authority about a girl named Cheryl, with Athetoid Cerebral Palsey plus learning difficulties, she was a diabetic and dependent on insulin, she loved horses and wanted to ride. She was described as a lovable monster with a range of temper tantrums second to none. Subsequently her life style was becoming restricted. She had have a very supportive social worker and a mother who was keen on a training programme that would help her daughter to become socially acceptable, as she could not be trusted with other young people's company because she might attack not only them but also the staff in whose care she was.