King’s Lynn schoolboy’s dolphin dream

by Donna Semmens Saturday, August 13, 2011
12.15 PM

Therapy techniques help Izaak gain confidence

A young disabled boy had the trip of a lifetime when he travelled to the Caribbean and had the chance to swim with dolphins.

Izaak Cheney-Beales forged a special bond with Ziggy, one of a number of dolphins used at a centre in Grand Cayman by the Rapid Development Therapy Centre which specialises in creating therapy programmes for children with a range of disabilities.

Izaak, 12, uses a wheelchair and has a number of developmental problems as a result of a brain condition. He also has epilepsy and is weak on his left side.

But in the water with Ziggy, Izaak gained in confidence and had a great time with his new friend. The positive steps he made at the centre are continuing as his parents Rae and Steve maintain therapy techniques at his East Walton home, between King’s Lynn and Swaffham.

“It was not a miracle or anything like that. The dolphin therapy was just a part of it and there were exercises and classroom-based elements. Izaak has problems in expressing his emotions, and it is helping,” said his mum.

The therapy is not cheap at £3,500 plus flights and accommodation and Mrs Cheney-Beales and her husband Steve are hoping to raise the centre’s profile to attract charity interest.

“The flights were £1,000 each and the accommodation is on top of that. It is expensive and there are some people out there who would just never be able to afford it at all, so we hope to do some fundraising and to encourage charities to get involved so more people can benefit,” said Mrs Cheney-Beales.

The couple also took their sons Theo, 16, and Elan, seven, on the trip.

“Izaak is generally fairly nonplussed about most things, but he did like Ziggy and enjoyed his sessions with him. He doesn’t like sea water, so it was quite a big thing to get him in,” said Mrs Cheney-Beales.

While at the centre, Izaak worked with therpaist Marcia Martin who said Izaak made a breakthrough by asking if he could throw a ring for Ziggy.

“What happened wasn’t a miracle or magic or anything mystical. Izaak was just motivated by the incentive of the dolphins – Ziggy in particular and the effective therapy. He built the confidence to break out of his comfort zone. And he wanted to push himself to get better,” said centre spokesman Brian Wright.

Izaak attends the Churchill School in King’s Lynn and has also been a regular visitor to the Riding for the Disabled Association’s Magpie Centre at Wallington Hall, near Downham Market. He started there at the age of four and visits weekly.

“He can name all the parts of the horse, and everything to clean them. Being in a wheelchair means that when he is on a horse he has a completely different perspective on the world,” said Mrs Cheney-Beales, a theatre nurse at Lynn’s Southgates Medical Centre.

Izaak started at the Churchill school this year having previously attended Narborough school with a support assistant.

“It is a mainstream school and they were brilliant. We were going to send Izaak to a mainstream secondary school as well, but it would have been too busy and big so he went to Churchill and is doing very well,” said his mum.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/king_s_lynn_schoolboy_s_dolphin_dream_1_993320