Australia’s Paralympic team put in an inspirational performance at the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics. They lifted the hearts of millions of Australians watching at home, struggling through a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the CPActive Virtual Ticker Tape Parade, we asked young aspiring athletes with cerebral palsy to interview some of their Paralympic heroes returning from the Games: sprinter Evan O’Hanlon, swimmers Matt Levy and Lakeisha Patterson, retired Paralympic champion Katrina Webb-Denis, and two members of our Pararoo football team, Christopher Pyne and Ben Atkins. These Paralympians shared their wisdom on training, resilience, representation and inclusion for people living with disability, the importance of activism, and how to set and smash your goals. You can read a few of their key lessons here. For those who missed out, we’ve put together a video with some of the highlights from the event! Check it out below.

At CPActive’s Window of Opportunity launch event, four parents of children with cerebral palsy bravely told the story of their child’s diagnosis and treatment. Some were able to receive an early diagnosis, giving the family the answers they needed, and their child the chance to receive the early treatment that can drastically improve their health and mobility outcomes as they grow up. Sadly, other parents weren’t so fortunate. Their families endured long months of fear, stress, and desperation as they sensed something was different with their baby, but were forced to seek answers on their own as they tried to help their child. You can read about their stories in detail in our wrap-up article, Stories from the Launch. Watch the highlights from the parent panel at the Window of Opportunity launch below. What you can do The stories of Eden, Kylie, Marelle and Anne prove how early detection can

We were privileged to have some of the world’s leading experts on cerebral palsy: Dr Cathy Morgan and Professor Iona Novak from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, and Professor Rod Hunt from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, join us at the launch of the Window of Opportunity campaign. They spoke to our CPActive community to explain the science behind early screening for cerebral palsy, the impact of early treatment for infants, and why Australia doesn’t yet screen babies for CP. “We want to start a [cerebral palsy] screening program for every baby in this country… irrespective of where they live, their postcode, whether they speak our English language or not,” said Dr Morgan. “What we’re hoping to do with this program is put an opportunity into the hands of every parent.” In Australia, cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood. But while we screen babies for hundreds of