Yumna is on the move to improve with new PCH clinical service

[L-R] Kids Yumna, Stellar, Flynn and Callum with Prof Jane Valentine, Dr Denitza Mironova, and Professor Liz Davis.

For 12-year-old Yumna, who has cerebral palsy, sports days used to bring up feelings of dread.

Thanks to a revolutionary new service – Move to Improve – Yumna can now confidently run and climb and most importantly have fun while being active. Yumna was one of the first kids in WA to complete the personalised 8-week physical activity program.

The Australian-first initiative led by clinicians at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) adopts a ‘movement as medicine’ ethos and is designed to improve the physical health and mental wellbeing of WA kids living with long-term health conditions including type 1 diabetes, cancer, post-burn injuries, and cerebral palsy.

Through weekly one-on-one sessions with a senior exercise physiologist, Yumna’s running technique, posture, and coordination have significantly improved, meaning she now has the confidence to swim, climb and play basketball and cricket.

Yumna said Move to Improve has helped her understand the importance of perseverance.

“Before, my mindset was if I can’t do it the first time that means I can never do it,” Yumna said.

“Now if things don’t work out the first time, I do them many times until I get it – I feel so much more confident. I feel like I can do this!”

Yumna’s mother Tahira said it has made Yumna happier, as well as having tremendous physical benefits.

“Yumna was very anxious about sports class at school. Thanks to the skills she gained she now looks forward to it," Tahira said.

"It shows that with the right guidance and motivation, children with cerebral palsy, like Yumna, can achieve more than we thought possible.”

Head of Endocrinology and Diabetes at PCH and Co-Lead of Move to Improve, Professor Liz Davis said they will now look to recruit 100 kids to participate so researchers can evaluate the service’s efficacy.

“One of our goals is to integrate Move to Improve into routine healthcare for all kids with long-term conditions in the hospital system, and to do that, we need the evidence to show it works,” Professor Davis said.

We would like to thank the Perth Children's Hospital Foundation, Channel 7 Telethon Trust and the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation who made Move to Improve possible and whose support is helping us reach our goal of making movement a regular part of routine care for all kids at PCH.

Move to Improve is now enrolling children aged 5–17 at PCH with type 1 diabetes, cancer, post-burn injury or cerebral palsy. For more information email the Move to Improve team.