An Angus mother has devoted herself to raising awareness of a rare and undiagnosed condition affecting her son.
Debbie McFarlane is determined to find more ways to help five-year-old Aidan, who suffers from a rare form of dyspraxia which restricts his ability to speak and move freely.
Simple tasks such as forming words or holding a pencil require great effort from Aidan, and his mother is on a mission to raise awareness of what doctors believe is developmental verbal dyspraxia.
“We all take the power of speech for granted and I want Aidan to be able to be included and have fun as any other child would,” Ms McFarlane said.
“We’ve had to fight for a lot of help over the years and now we know the right channels to go down, but not everyone is in the same position as us.
“I want to be able to help other parents who have children with communication problems.”
It is thought the condition could be caused by motor neurons the nerve cells that pass signals from the brain to the muscles not developing properly.
Although Aidan is yet to be officially diagnosed, hospital nurse Ms McFarlane, from Borrowfield, decided it was time to tackle the issue of awareness surrounding dyspraxia. She set up a Facebook page which received 500 “likes” within 24 hours, and the number of visitors to the site has since rocketed.
Aidan’s needs are well catered for at Lochside Primary School, but the next hurdle for Ms McFarlane and her family is to see if her son meets the criteria for an augmentative and alternative communication aid.
They are also taking part in a Deciphering Developmental Disorders study which may be able to determine if Aidan has a gene defect that has caused his dyspraxia, although results could take three years.
The NHS will fund the equipment Aidan needs, but instead of just waiting, Ms McFarlane and daughter Megan, 16, are being proactive and have begun preparations for fundraising in case he does not qualify.
Megan has organised a sponsored bungee jump, which will take place on April 5, and a race night has also been organised for April 26 in the Black Abbot, Montrose.