The William Little Foundation is a London-based

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

operating internationally. Named in honour of William Little, the English surgeon who described what became known as ' Little's disease', a spastic paralysis of both lower limbs which then became known as infantile

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

. The charity, founded in 1990 originally as The Little Foundation by the late Ian Dawson-Shepherd, has as its primary object initiating and funding research into the causes of

neurodevelopmental The development of the nervous system, or neural development (neurodevelopment), refers to the processes that generate, shape, and reshape the nervous system of animals, from the earliest stages of embryonic development to adulthood. The field ...

disorders, in particular the causes and prevention of cerebral palsy, the most severe of these disorders which also includes

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

and learning difficulties. It does this by supporting world-class basic research, hosting multi-disciplinary workshops and conferences, and providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and best practice across all parts of the UK’s cerebral palsy (CP) sector. On 4 November 2009, Lord Hameed, the charity's president, tabled a motion in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

asking the Government what measures have been taken to prevent cerebral palsy which now costs the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

£4 billion every year. The total annual cost of brain disorders (covering 19 groups of disorders) has been estimated to be €798 billion for the EU alone. In September 2020, the William Little Foundation published "'
Cerebral Palsy: causes and prevention
''", a review of the state of CP research around the world, highlighting work that significantly enhanced our understanding CP but also identifying gaps in research activity where it was felt resources could be applied that would accelerate our ability to combat this devastating condition. Much of this concern centres on the commonly held view of CP as a comparatively ‘rare’ condition, meaning that research investment is significantly less than for conditions with higher incidence and prevalence. While CP’s incidence is estimated to afflict between 1.5 and 4 babies in every 1,000, no one knows this for certain as there are no universally consistent means of diagnosing CP or reporting its incidence in either the developed or developing worlds. This ‘rarity’ argument also ignores the disproportionate social cost that is CP’s legacy: the condition is lifelong and frequently involves 24-hour care for those affected. National social-/health-care budgets and those of medical insurance companies for those not supported by a national health service continue to be stretched by the need for ever-increasing provision: CP costs the UK alone well over £1.6 billion every year. Yet the amount invested annually on research by government and other charities is worryingly small: the figure for the UK is less than £5 million, 0.23% of research funding. The UK is not alone in this – the report also reveals a similar picture of cost : investment disparity globally.

Research

The charity's most recent research projects include: *

Autism spectrum Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

disorder in children with and without epilepsy *Defining and classifying cerebral palsy *Clinical and

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

correlates of cerebral palsy

References

External links

*Official websit
William Little Foundation – To protect your unborn baby
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Foundation Health charities in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1990 Cerebral palsy organizations Organizations for children with health issues

Research

See also

References

External links