In honor of World Cerebral Palsy Day on October 5, 2016, the Handi-Capable Association in Lausanne, Switzerland, supported by the Cerebral Association, is launching the campaign #Shake4CP to shake off prejudice towards people with cerebral palsy and raise awareness about disabilities.
This campaign, published on social media and supported by two special events in Lausanne, has been initiated by two mothers facing the daily joys and challenges of raising a child with disabilities, Maggie Goudy and Christine Luetscher Rochat. Their aim is simple; to offer a different perspective – that those individuals with disabilities can enjoy a life that is joyful, positive and colored.
The #Shake4CP challenge invites the public to shake off colored powder, glitter or confetti from their head, filming it in slow motion and posting the video on social media under the hashtag #Shake4CP, challenging family and friends to do the same. The gesture is meaningful and playful at once. The slow motion gives the shake a spectacular effect.
The invitations to participate in the challenge this year were sent personally by Arno, Emma, Jerôme, Matteo, Max, Mouna, Nouh and Sara… children and adults with handicaps. In order to prepare for the campaign, a team of volunteers, with the help of friends and family, organized a “Shake it off for me” panel design workshop.
The official video for the #Shake4CP challenge marked the beginning of the campaign on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) in early September. The public and celebrities are invited throughout the month of September and October to take the challenge. Monica Young, Lynda Lemay, Thomas Wiesel, Christian Denisart and Gaëtan have already given their support.
Two special events have been created to support the campaign this year: The Color Run (which took place on 25 September) and the “Shake it Off” mobile studio.
Saturday, 1 October : The Handi-Capable Mobile Studio held in St. François, Lausanne.
The studio will give everyone a chance to do a color shake while being filmed by professionals. A team of volunteers will be there to provide information about CP and the association. Everyone who will have taken part in the challenge that day will discover their performance on the Handi-Capable Facebook page (HandiCapable.org) and will be invited to share their video.
To thank everyone who has taken the Shake4CP challenge, a compilation of the most viewed videos will be posted on the Handi-Capable social media site during World Cerebral Palsy Day, October 5.
The 2016 campaign will give a new perspective on disabilities to tens of thousands of people in Switzerland and abroad. Everyone is invited to take the challenge and shake it off for Arno, Emma, Jerome, Matteo, Max, Mouna, Nouh, Sara and everyone with cerebral palsy in Switzerland (14,000) and in the world (17 million).
* The powder pigments can be ordered online at www.holi-shop.ch (code promo HCP2016-LAU). Upon request, we can also send you the powder by mail. Contact us with your address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Facebook / HandiCapable.org
Twitter / @HandiCapableOrg
Youtube / Handi-Capable ShakeItOff4CP
www.handi-capable.org
Cerebral Palsy
When the brain is damaged during pregnancy, childbirth or during the first years of life, varying degrees of impairment may result. There can be impairments related to sensory (vision or hearing), cognitive, speech and behavior, as well as, in some cases, epilepsy. All of these decisively affect the limitations in the daily life of the individual.
Causes
The child’s brain injury can be caused by various reasons. Before birth, brain abnormalities may result from a viral infection or from vessel connectivity problems. During childbirth, lack of oxygen or brain hemorrhages may cause brain damage to the newborn. During infancy, accidents that restrict oxygen, such as drowning, or viral infections that cause inflammation of the meninges and brain are the leading reasons for cerebral motor difficulties. Metabolic disorders are another possible cause of brain damage at all age levels
Is healing possible?
Damage to the brain is not curable but also not progressive. Targeted therapies, however, can achieve a positive quality of life and autonomy in daily living activities. With proper therapy, the chance for success in “re-circuiting the brain” becomes a possibility. It is important to detect cerebral motor disabilities as soon as possible and introduce therapies without delay.
How often does brain damage occur?
Brain impairments occur at a frequency of 2-2.5 out of every 1,000 births, making it the most frequent cause of motor disabilities in children. Despite considerable advancements in medicine, their frequency in western countries has seen only minimal decrease over the past decade. The improvement of monitoring during pregnancy certainly reduces complications at birth. Also improvements in tracking the medical treatment of newborns with congenital infectious diseases have helped. However, because the survival rate for children born prematurely, with a low birth weight or other complications has improved, children with cerebral motor disabilities continue to increase.
The Handi-Capable association was created in 2014 by parents facing the joys and challenges of raising children with a handicap.
Handi-Capable’s purpose is to help people with handicaps and their parents by organizing therapeutic workshops, training and awareness campaigns.
Handi-Capable
Chemin de la Viane 10
1052 Le Mont-sur-Lausanne
Switzerland
Facebook / HandiCapable.org
Twitter / @HandiCapableOrg
Youtube / Handi-Capable ShakeItOff4CP
www.handi-capable.org
