The Little Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Little Foundation is a London based charity
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
. The charity, founded in 1990 by the late Ian Dawson-Shepherd, initially focused on funding research into the causes of cerebral palsy but now has broader objectives seeking to fund research into not only the causes and prevention of cerebral palsy but also allied disorders which include autism
, dyslexia
, epilepsy
, deafness and blindness
, learning difficulties, and other forms of neurodevelopmental disorder.
On 4 November 2009, Lord Hameed, the charity's president, tabled a motion in the House of Lords
asking the Government what measures have been taken to prevent cerebral palsy which now costs the NHS
£4 billion every year.
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
operating internationally.
Named in honour of William Little
William Little
William Little may refer to:* William Brian Little , founding partner of Forstmann Little & Company, a private equity firm* William Carruthers Little , Ontario farmer and political figure...
, 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
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
. The charity, founded in 1990 by the late Ian Dawson-Shepherd, initially focused on funding research into the causes of cerebral palsy but now has broader objectives seeking to fund research into not only the causes and prevention of cerebral palsy but also allied disorders which include autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, deafness and blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, learning difficulties, and other forms of neurodevelopmental disorder.
On 4 November 2009, Lord Hameed, the charity's president, tabled a motion in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
asking the Government what measures have been taken to prevent cerebral palsy which now costs the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
£4 billion every year.
Research
The charity's most recent research projects include:- Defining and classifying cerebral palsy
- Clinical and MRI correlates of cerebral palsy
- Autism spectrumAutism spectrumThe term "autism spectrum" is often used to describe disorders that are currently classified as pervasive developmental disorders. Pervasive developmental disorders include autism, Asperger syndrome, Childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise...
disorder in children with and without epilepsy
External links
- Official website http://www.thelittlefoundation.org.uk/
- Association of Medical Research Charities http://www.amrc.org.uk