St. Vincent de Paul

Donegal Cancer Bus

• The service began eight years ago with volunteers using their own cars to transport patients to Galway. As the number of patients and the numbers of cars needed to transport them rose, the organisation moved to larger vehicles. They first purchased a nine-seater and later a 22-seat bus and in 2016 the launched a new 33 seater bus.
• The cancer bus leaves Donegal for Galway early every Monday morning and returns patients from Galway to Donegal every Friday. There are also feeder buses that bring patients from Inishowen, Fanad and west Donegal to collection points in Letterkenny and Donegal town, where they are collected by the main bus. The cancer bus leaves Donegal for Galway early every Monday morning and returns patients from Galway to Donegal every Friday. There are also feeder buses that bring patients from Inishowen, Fanad and west Donegal to collection points in Letterkenny and Donegal town, where they are collected by the main bus.
• The trip from Letterkenny to Galway takes about four hours, though patients taking feeder buses from other parts of the county may travel an hour or more before the Galway bus leaves Letterkenny.
• It costs about €1,000 a week to keep the service on the road.
• All funding comes from local people
• it costs about €1,000 a week to keep the service on the road

Dyspraxia DCD Ireland

• Dyspraxia is a common disorder affecting fine or gross motor co-ordination in children and adults.
• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), also known as Dyspraxia in the UK and Ireland.
• The child with Dyspraxia/DCD may have a combination of several problems in varying degrees. These include:
  • Poor balance
  • Poor fine and gross motor co-ordination
  • Poor posture
  • Difficulty with throwing and catching a ball
  • Poor awareness of body position in space
  • Poor sense of direction
  • Difficulty in hopping, skipping or riding a bike
  • Sensitive to touch
  • Confused about which hand to use
  • Intolerance of having hair or teeth brushed, nails and hair cut
  • Slow to learn to dress or feed themselves
  • Find some clothes uncomfortable
  • Difficulty with reading, writing
  • Speech problems – slow to learn to speak and speech may be incoherent.
  • Phobias or obsessive behavior and impatient

 

• Formed in 1995 by parents of children with Dyspraxia/DCD, the organisation aims to:
  • Raise awareness of Dyspraxia/DCD in Ireland and create a better understanding of the difficulties people with Dyspraxia/DCD and their families face.
  • Ensure adequate resources are available to support the needs of people with Dyspraxia/DCD. This includes occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, psychological support and education.
  • Provide an information and sharing and support network for people with Dyspraxia/DCD and their families.
  • Improve diagnostic services.
  • Organise meetings for people with Dyspraxia/DCD and their families.
  • Provide a link to professionals, for people with Dyspraxia/DCD and their families.

  Dyspraxia/DCD Ireland is a registered charity: – Charity No. CHY 13394.