Ms Aileen Buckley:

My daughter is 17 years old. She has spina bifida and hydrocephalus and she is a full-time wheelchair user. We were probably the first people at Crann's door when it opened. From when she was born, our biggest hope was that she would be as independent as possible and achieve her full potential. When we knocked on Crann's door, it was fantastic for the entire family. Crann's doors opened at a transition phase for Niamh. She was moving on to secondary school, which was a time of huge stress in our house because she was moving from a very small school to a much bigger school. She had also moved into a wheelchair full-time at that point, which brought its own challenges. She did not know how to use a wheelchair properly. Straight away, she undertook a mobility programme that taught her how to better navigate her environment. She also undertook confidence training to ensure her voice would be heard and that she was confident enough to express her feelings.

There were many supports for my family and for me. My other daughter was approaching the end of her secondary school education at that time and she was hugely worried about Niamh starting off and how she would manage, but those fears were alleviated through the mobility programme.