Sofia’s family in appeal for help for ‘tiny’ daughter
THE FAMILY of a six-year-old Wexford girl who is suffering from a are form of dwarfism, have a little over a week to raise €7,000 to enable her to receive specialist treatment in Italy.
‘If we can’t get the money we will have to go in a few months,’ Ana Nistor, from Whitebrook, Whiterock, told this newspaper.
Her daughter Sofia was born with a very rare form of dwarfism affecting her health and development.
Ana said Sofia had responded well to previous treatment, but now needed to move on to the next stage.
‘She’s a different child. She understands more and she can talk more.
‘She has also started riding a bike, although she’s only six kg and the bike weighs five kg - this programme helped her a lot. I will be very disappointed and sad if we can’t go, but we will not stop trying,’ said Ana.
When speech and occupational therapy failed to help Sofia, her parents discovered a developmental programme for special children designed by the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia in the USA.
The Institute is internationally known for its pioneering work in child brain development, and Ana, who started the home treatment programme with Sofia two years ago, said she is a healthier child, with a growing vocabulary and improved speech.
‘Using the Institute’s programme with Sophia has seen her make progress physically, intellectually and socially.
‘We are delighted to see our beautiful daughter making progress,’ said Ana.
The eldest of the family’s two daughters, Sofia had been due to start school in September, but because he needs are complex, the family decided to continue the IAHP programme and home-school her.
However, a more advanced development programme is now needed, tailored to Sofia’s learning and development needs.
So, the family is fundraising to have their daughter attend the European headquarters of the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential in Fauglia, near Pisa, in Italy.
‘We know that by bringing Sofia to the IAHP for evaluation, a more complex programme, tailored specifically for her, will help her develop and learn at a much greater rate,’ said Ana.
Ana and her husband Lucian are trying to raise £7,000, which will cover all costs to bring Sofia and her mum to the Institute in Italy, including the consultation, a six-month programme with Sofia, and a two-day complementary course that her mum must take to support her child’s learning.
To raise the money there is a Facebook page called Sofia’s Journey among Giants, and a crowdfunding account, where people can donate:
https://www.leetchi.com/c/ money-pot-SOFIA-26577909
Sofia’s parents have until January 5 to pay for her place on the course starting in Italy in February.
Courses at the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential are based on the principle that the brain has enormous potential.
Special needs children like Sofia can have therapies to stimulate brain development that gives them more opportunities in life.
Anyone who can help support Sofia’s Journey is asked to do so via her leetchi.com crowdfunding page or to contact her parents via Facebook, at Sofia’s Journey among Giants.
SOFIA HAS STARTED RIDING A BIKE, ALTHOUGH SHE’S ONLY SIX KILOS AND THE BIKE WEIGHS FIVE