About

I am going to dangle (abseil) off the CurlyWurly (ArcelorMittal's Orbit sculpture in Stratford, London) on the 27 June 2015 to raise money for Downright Excellent. It's bloody high up - equivalent to six 'Angels of the North' standing on each other's heads. It might be windy. Or there could be lightning. No-one is offering to catch me. And the last time I abseiled I was 9 and it was off a small wall at Butlins. So why am I doing this? Our son has Down syndrome. Once the shock of diagnosis is over, you need support and expert intervention to give your child the skills to communicate and ensure they have the best chance of reaching their full potential. Thankfully, we found Downright Excellent. Downright Excellent is a small charity operating in London which delivers group speech and language therapy and family support to over seventy families. We couldn't have done without them and our son is thriving - much of which can be attributed to Downright Excellent. Local council services (including speech and language provision) have been cut to the core. For these seventy families, there is no alternative to Downright Excellent. Many parents report that before attending Downright Excellent they struggled to communicate with their child - imagine not knowing what your child is trying to tell you? Downright Excellent has been their lifeline, giving families the skills to support their children to sign and talk. But funding is precarious and hard to obtain. As more families approach Downright Excellent for help, their services are stretched further. Please sponsor me to raise urgent funds for Downright Excellent - what wouldn't you pay to see me dangling off a tall structure with a just a thin rope for comfort?!