Toddler with disabilities walks for first time with specialist therapy from charity

By Kris Jepson

A toddler with disabilities has walked for the first time with specialist therapy provided by a North East charity, after her mum was told she may not ever walk.

Three-year-old Evie-Jean McPike was born with a rare genetic disorder called Noonan Syndrome.

It leaves her with a wide range of health problems which affect her mobility, speech, hearing and learning development.

Watch @krisjepson's report here:

Evie-Jean attends the Heel & Toe Children's Charity in Pelton, County Durham.

She is building physical strength through physiotherapy and mental awareness through conductive therapy, which is a specialism used to sharpen up motor skills in children with conditions like cerebral palsy.

Through play she also receives speech and language skills and special needs education.

The Heel & Toe charity in county Durham, which already supports more than 500 families, is in demand so much that work is underway at a second property which, with fundraising, will host new trampoline based rebound therapy suites and a huge hydrotherapy pool.