As Ellie progressed through secondary school, she realised how 'peers' slowly moved away from her, leaving her socially isolated. This came to a peak during the sixth form when her friends were given a lot more freedom. They were allowed to leave the school grounds during breaks and lunchtimes, and often Ellie found that she was left out of activities.
At the time, Ellie didn't realise the true extent of the problem as she was putting all of her energy into her A Levels. However, once she had left she found that most of her friends moved on with their lives with a large number leaving to go to university. Ellie saw a pattern emerging in that teenagers and young people with Cerebral Palsy and physical disabilities were often left out by able-bodied peers as they were physically unable to keep up and fend for themselves.
Taking a gap year and feeling socially isolated, Ellie was frustrated at the lack of opportunities and support out there for physically disabled teenagers and young people. She found that some people thought she'd be more than capable of getting a full time job, whereas other people thought it would be okay to put her in a daycare centre. There appeared to be absolutely nothing for people who were 'switched on' but had a physical disability, both for support and opportunities.
Feeling very alone she reached out on twitter to see if anyone else was feeling the same way. Setting up the account @CPTeensUK she asked the questions that were bothering her and the response was incredible. She awoke the following morning to 100 followers, including Hannah Cockroft and Francesca Martinez! It transpired that young people up and down the country were feeling the same way. A website then followed and a massive online community of young people with Cerebral Palsy and physical disabilities came together, supporting one another and letting them know that they are not alone.
Ellie used her gap year (September 2013 - September 2014) to develop CP Teens UK and it has just grown and grown! The Twitter page has over 2,000 followers, the Facebook page has over 1,000 likes and the website reaches around 1,000 visits a day. CP Teens UK not only reaches out to teenagers and young people, its user base are of all ages and with all different types of disabilities. Parents of children with Cerebral Palsy have also said that they find the group "invaluable", especially for young children and babies who have recently been diagnosed.
Ellie’s local hospital Sheffield Children’s Hospital love the idea of CP Teens UK and her story was placed all around the hospital and the hospital’s website.
In October 2014, Ellie decided that she wanted to bring all of these online friendships together in person and she applied for charity status for CP Teens UK. The first ever fundraising event - the ‘5K Sponsored Wobble’ raised an amazing £1,550.
Ellie continued the hard work by hosting social events, in particular Disability Sport events where users can try out different sports and meet new people. In October 2015, Ellie put on the CP Teens UK inaugural Ball, which attracted Sophie Christiansen OBE, World Dressage Paralympic Champion as the celebrity guest. 150 guests attended and an incredible £7,613 was raised for CP Teens UK. It is now an annual event in the CP Teens UK calendar and Ellie and the team has gone on to raise over £18,000.
Next on Ellie’s wish-list was a Race Running Club for CP Teens UK. Race Running is a sport where people with little or no balance are able to run or sprint by using a 3-wheeled frame with a chest support resembling a tricycle without pedals. Ellie told us “Race Running is incredibly special as you often see wheelchairs 'dumped' at the side of the running track and their users running around!”
Members of the CP Teens UK Race Running Club, including Ellie, have competed in Race Running internationally and have even represented England. The activity provides fantastic physical, social and psychological benefits.
Ellie runs CP Teens UK alongside doing a full-time degree at Sheffield Hallam University and is currently training in Race Running and the Club Throw, which is the Paralympic equivalent of the Hammer Throw.
CP Teens UK has gone from strength to strength and it continues to thrive. When Ellie set it up in 2013, she said, "If it only helps one person out there, I've done my job!" Through Ellie's hard work, CP Teens UK has certainly done this, in fact it continues to help hundreds of people both in the UK and overseas. It is the only website and organisation of it's kind in the UK.
Happy birthday Ellie - we think that you are quite remarkable.
Find out more about CP Teens UK here:
