Therapies/Conductive Education

[biglill]

After some advice or experiences please. My Son is fifteen months old, he has an acquired brain injury from meningitis, severe global development delay, west syndrome epilepsy and we think hemiplegia cerebral palsy. He is still unable to sit unaided or crawl, he doesn't babble at all or really use the right side of his body. We are starting to think seriously about CE and therapies and are struggling to know where best to channel our finances (when we find some!). We are North West based. I have visited Stick n Step charity for young people with cerebral palsy in Wallasey, I was impressed but we are stuck on a waiting list and I am getting impatient, I also worry that the service can't be of the same standard as for example Brainwave as there are no costs involved it is a completely free service.
We are interested in Brainwave but are struggling financially and the sums they ask for terrify me, I have no idea how we will find the money, has anyone done Brainwave? Is it really worth it? How often do you have to go? I have also come across the Bowen Technique which sounds interesting and I am sure the main lady involved is NW based.
Would anyone recommend a private physio instead? I think our physio is great but I hear of a lot of people having an additional private physio and they seem to make a big difference to some?
Are there any other places/organisations/ideas I have not mentioned?
Any experience here would be greatly appreciated.

In relation to your question about Conductive Education and the quality I would briefly like to comment. Firstly I am sorry to hear that you are on a waiting list however that does show that CE services are valued. I am a conductor and also CEO of The National Institute of CE in Birmingham. We also offer free services for children under the age of 5 years. This however does by no means suggest that the quality is not as good but that CE sits within the charitable sector and has a desire to help families regardless of their position to pay. It is very common that CE centres offer free services to help families and work hard to raise the charitable funds to do this. Please, whilst you will of course explore many other options for your child, do not dismiss CE due to a lack of cost. All CE centres employ highly trained professionals and usually have a high professional staff ratio to children and want to support families without adding to the stress of finding large sums of money.
Good luck in your quest.

Thank you so much for taking your time to reply, I can't tell you how much it helps when someone 'in the know' puts their view forward. We are still looking at all options but won't be put off stick n step now just because it is a free service (in fact it makes me a bit more inclined to go for it!). Just wish the waiting list wasn't so long as we are keen to get started! Thanks again!