Help raise funds for the love of Charlie

CHARLIE Foxley is five. He likes planes and playing with water and things which spin.
His mum Charlotte knows this because she knows Charlie. But other people would not be able to tell.
Charlie cannot speak. He cannot tell you when he is hungry nor tired nor hurt. Charlie cannot communicate through signs or in any other way but Charlotte knows.
Charlie has been diagnosed with global development delay - it is an all encompassing, if somewhat bland, diagnosis.
It basically means Charlie has not developed at the same speed and in the same way as other children.
Charlie did not sit up on his own until he was two, he did not walk until he was four.
He may speak in the future but neither Charlotte nor husband, John, know.
They don’t fret about it. They simply take each day as it comes and count their blessings.
Charlotte is a positive, glass half full sort of person.
She said: “Charlie is a lovely boy. He has always been happy and content.
“You are always grateful for what you have got and we are grateful for Charlie.”
Charlotte first started to realise Charlie’s development was slower when he was about a year old.
She said: “When Charlie was about 15 months old, he still could not sit up on his own.
“I told the health visitor and she refered us to a paediatrician who said there might be a problem.
“It still didn’t register. Everyone tells you every child develops at their own rate.”
In Charlie’s case, everything is done at Charlie speed. He now walks but with a bit of a swagger. He trips on uneven surfaces and doesn’t walk in straight lines which can be problematic when he is walking on a pavement near a road.
He doesn’t bend his legs at the knee so has to use a stairlift to get up and down stairs. Maybe one day he will improve. Charlotte doesn’t know. There is no point guessing. She just deals with the here and now.
“When you hear global development delay, you assume they will catch up but that is not the case.
“I really only registered he was disabled when I was told we could apply for Disabled Living Allowance.
“No-one had ever said that word before.”
Charlie now attends Lexden Springs School in Colchester which cares for children with severe learning difficulties.
There, hopefully, he will be taught communication skills including makaton which uses signs and symbols.
“He learns slowly,” said Charlotte, “but he does remember things.”
In the meantime, Charlotte has to anticipate his needs. She gets drinks ready for when he may be thirsty, food for when he will be hungry.
The two are finely atuned and she can interpret his sounds and responses.
“His eyes tell you. I don’t know if he understands me but there is recognition there.”
And there are certain things Charlie loves including cake, aeroplanes, playing with water and playing outside in the garden.
At school and at home, he uses a specially adapted swing.
Charlotte said: “He loves being on the swing but he doesn’t have to balance to sit on a straight one and he has to be strapped in.
“It means there is nothing he can go on at a normal park.”
Charlotte hopes through the 100,000 Smiles appeal, the school could buy more play equipment.
She said: “We don’t get hung up on what Charlie can’t do. There is no point, it would be miserable.
“We just look at the things he can do and things he enjoys.
“It is a question of making the most of opportunities. The children deserve the chance to be happy.”