Named in honour of William Little, the English surgeon who described what became known as 'Little's disease', a spastic paralysis of both lower limbs which then became known as infantile cerebral palsy.
The charity, founded in 1990 originally as The Little Foundation by the late Ian Dawson-Shepherd,[1] has as its primary object initiating and funding research[2][3][4] into the causes of neurodevelopmental disorders,[5] in particular the causes[6] and prevention[7][8] of cerebral palsy, the most severe of these disorders which also includes autism, dyslexia, epilepsy, deafness, blindness and learning difficulties.
It does this by supporting world-class basic research, hosting multi-disciplinary workshops and conferences, and providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and best practice across all parts of the UK’s cerebral palsy (CP) sector.
[11] In September 2020, the William Little Foundation published "Cerebral Palsy: causes and prevention", a review of the state of CP research around the world, highlighting work that significantly enhanced our understanding CP but also identifying gaps in research activity where it was felt resources could be applied that would accelerate our ability to combat this devastating condition.
This ‘rarity’ argument also ignores the disproportionate social cost that is CP’s legacy: the condition is lifelong and frequently involves 24-hour care for those affected.