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THE NEWS Athletes, adventure junkies, community-minded dads, academics, families and clinicians – The Cerebral Palsy Podcast has it all! The series is hosted by Kris Edwards, with Nathan Hart as Executive Producer/Researcher. It features members of the Cerebral Palsy Society, among others, talking about their lives, struggles and successes. Kris, who has spent 37 years working in radio, lives with Cerebral Palsy - Hōkai Nukurangi, and Nathan is dad to a 7-year-old Cerebral Palsy Society member. Kris, an announcer, programmer and manager for The Breeze Radio Network, says his motivation for starting this podcast came from a realisation that the Cerebral Palsy community, and the disabled community in general, needed a louder voice. “I could literally help by sharing my story and inviting others to do the same thing. “I was also ready to reconnect with the disabled community after spending my whole adult life being fiercely independent.” Kris hopes the stories resonate with listeners. “However Cerebral Palsy has touched your life, The Cerebral Palsy Podcast will show you other people have faced the same issues as you, that parents have all had that moment when the doctor has delivered the news.... and if becoming a Para athlete is your dream that you can do it! A louder voice for people living with Cerebral Palsy “If I can help even just one person with Cerebral Palsy get through the day, let a parent know they are not on their own or just to say ‘thank you’ to a business that supports us, then The Cerebral Palsy Podcast is a success.” Kris says he has been “blown away” by the people he has met in the process of recording the series. “You’ll hear some incredibly inspiring stories, like the teenage boy who went from struggling with bullies at school (I had tears in my eyes as he told me about that) to representing us on the Halberg Youth Council, to a family man with Cerebral Palsy who does so much for his local community.” Nathan says until his daughter was diagnosed, he was “completely ignorant” about Cerebral Palsy - Hōkai Nukurangi. Now that he is a father of a child living with Cerebral Palsy - Hōkai Nukurangi, Nathan believes his knowledge, learnings and experiences might be of use to others. “This is an opportunity to get it out of my head in the hope that it helps someone else. “The Cerebral Palsy Podcast offers the chance to influence conversations around Cerebral Palsy, and with Kris and I experiencing Cerebral Palsy in different ways we knowwe can help others by sharing these daily stories, challenges and even joys from different angles,” Nathan says. You can listen to the podcast on Spotify, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts and Rova by searching “The Cerebral Palsy Podcast”. Above left to right : Nathan Hart, left, and Kris Edwards have produced a Cerebral Palsy podcast to offer a voice for those living with a disability and their families. Cerebral Palsy Society member Troy Robertson, left, is among those interviewed by Kris Edwards. 6 | THE REVIEW SEPT 2024