Content Warning: The following article contains language which was commonly used medical terminology at the time but has now gained ableist connotations. This language may be offensive to some readers.
Cerebral Palsy Midlands, previously known as the Midlands Spastic Association (MSA), has a unique and diverse history spanning almost eight decades, which is unusual for a charity. In this article, we explore some of the individual experiences of people who have been part of that history, drawing upon CPM's archives alongside the memories of citizens who attend the centre today.
CPM has gone through a lot of different names over the years, initially being the MSA from 1947.
This consisted of Carlson House School, which was one of the first schools for children with disabilities in England and a welfare centre, where they performed check-ups on both children and adults with CP, which transitioned into the day centre. Although the school closed in 1982, the legacy of the MSA still lives on through the services which are provided today. In 1996, the charity changed its name to “MSA for Midland People with Cerebral Palsy” due to the negative and ableist connotations that the term “Spastic” had gained. The charity changed its name again in 2004 to “Cerebral Palsy Midlands” for the charity’s official re-launch in 2005.
The MSA has been running a variety of different services over the years, including Carlson House School, a playgroup, work centres, evening clubs, welfare services and craft workshops both at home and at the centre. Looking through the various yearbooks that have been published, the people interviewed all seemed to have an immense amount of gratitude for the various services provided. This is because they have helped to change lives for the better, as in the past (and arguably still today), having a disability was often an isolating experience as people were “hidden away” or even institutionalised. The MSA was a vital service, as it provided an accessible education for children with CP, but also provided welfare services for both adults and children within Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. The evening clubs also helped to provide inclusive activities for people of multiple different age groups, such as sports, crafts and putting on plays. People with CP were able to socialise and form bonds with people with the same disability, forming communities and being less isolated. Furthermore, there was also a group of parents of children with CP to be able to meet up and share advice with each other, as being the parent of a child with disabilities may have also been an isolating experience.
N. Inson
Our first case study is an individual known as N. Inson, as they grew up in an era where CP was not well known or researched. Inson was born in 1925, when there was not a lot of support or accessible facilities for people with CP. This resulted in them struggling a lot in their earlier years, as they lacked an accessible school, which they went to until the age of sixteen, as the building was difficult to navigate. After they left school, they struggled to find employment, only finding a few short-term gigs; they then tried to self-educate at home to try and give themself a better future.
Our first case study is an individual known as N. Inson, as they grew up in an era where CP was not well known or researched. Inson was born in 1925, when there was not a lot of support or accessible facilities for people with CP. This resulted in them struggling a lot in their earlier years, as they lacked an accessible school, which they went to until the age of sixteen, as the building was difficult to navigate. After they left school, they struggled to find employment, only finding a few short-term gigs; they then tried to self-educate at home to try and give themself a better future.
However, they soon became isolated and described life as being “Very boring.” In 1952, things soon started to look up, as they joined one of the craft groups that the MSA offered. They soon formed friendships with other people with CP and were able to engage in accessible activities, which brought them a lot of joy. In 1967, they moved into accessible accommodation in the “Beeches” after the death of their caregiver; They continued to occasionally attend the MSA at the time the yearbook was written.
This shows the MSA’s positive impact, as it allowed for people with disabilities to find community with each other. Disability is often an isolating experience, showing how charities like CPM are so important because they allow for disabled adults, who are arguably an often forgotten-about group of people, to find a sense of community and gain valuable life skills that they may not have otherwise obtained.
Pictured above: MSA Year book, 1972.
J. M Bentley
Our next case study is about how disabled people are often viewed or treated in public. J. M. Bentley was an attendee of the various evening clubs that the MSA offered during the 1970s, where she speaks in the 1973-74 yearbook about how she was treated as a wheelchair user. She received numerous questionable and invasive comments from a stranger about her disability. One which stood out was when a charity worker from the Red Cross asked her mother, when they were taking a walk together: “Was she born like it or was it an accident?”
Image Source: Midlands Spastic Association, 1973-74 Yearbook, 1974.
This shows a form of ableism, as they are assuming that she cannot answer for herself due to her disability. She ended up laughing at them, resulting in them becoming “flustered” and running off. They also do not need to know about her disability, showing a strange form of entitlement that they had to want to know about the personal medical details of a stranger. This demonstrates how people with disabilities were often ‘othered’ in public because they were perceived as different from those around them. Unfortunately, this kind of casual ableism still occurs today as people often assume that people with disabilities cannot speak for themselves and (intentionally or not) talk down to or patronise them.
This shows how organisations such as CPM are vital as they also help to provide disability education. Despite this, Bentley still had a positive time at the evening clubs she attended as she was able to socialise with other people and learn vital skills. Moreover, the MSA also helped provide her with an electric wheelchair and word board. This helped to give her independence to go to the shops by herself and run errands alone, which brought her a lot of joy.
David Barnsley
However, the MSA has not had a perfect history, as can be seen through the experiences of David Barnsley. David was one of the first twenty students to attend Carlson House School, joining at the age of six. He was given a custom-built wheelchair, specially designed to accommodate his needs. He was also one of the few children at the school who was able to write unassisted and was paired with fellow student Anthony Sutton. The two developed a close friendship that continued throughout their lives. They studied together until the age of seventeen, when they both passed their GCE examinations.
However, David’s time at Carlson House was also overshadowed by invasive surgery, which he later described as being “experimented on”. Accounts from former pupils and staff suggest that David was not alone in undergoing medical interventions during Carlson House School’s early years. At the time, cerebral palsy was still poorly understood, and some treatments were undertaken in an attempt to reduce the effects of the condition or even find a “cure”. These included operations on tendons in the legs intended to reduce muscle tension.
For David, these procedures resulted in further difficulties and repeated surgery. Reflecting on his experience, he recalled: “My legs were manipulated, not successfully and never grew after that.” It is important to understand David’s experience within the context of the period, without diminishing what he went through. When Carlson House opened, cerebral palsy was an under-researched condition and medical knowledge, attitudes towards disability, children’s rights and standards around informed consent were very different from those of today. Doctors and clinicians were exploring treatments and procedures that would not be considered appropriate today.
Image source: David Barnsley and Shirley Thompson, Against all Odds, 2018.
We now understand cerebral palsy to be a lifelong condition for which there is no cure, although therapies, treatments and support can help people reduce or manage its effects. David’s experience is therefore an important, although difficult, part of Carlson House School’s history and one that deserves to be acknowledged.
After David left the MSA, he went into work, where he could only find low-paying junior jobs. However, he was soon employed at a finance company, where he described himself as being the “token spastic.” After all of this, he remains “Very grateful and appreciative of the opportunity that Carlson House School has given him.” Despite this, he is still “Reluctant to go back” there after the mixed experiences he had there, as he understandably has a feeling of bitterness towards aspects of his experience at Carlson House due to the invasive and debilitating surgeries that he was subjected to.
Ian and Margaret
We now move from the archive to the experiences of two citizens who attend Cerebral Palsy Midlands today, Ian and Margaret. They have both been using the services and attending the opportunities that the MSA/CPM have been hosting. We will be looking at how their experiences at the MSA have changed over the decades that they have spent here.
Ian Bridgewater (sixty-six) has been attending the workshops provided by the MSA since the age of around eighteen or nineteen, which was located where the art room is today. His work included making doormats and baskets, as well as rolling newspapers. These were all sold either at the shop located in Harborne, or at the centre, where the profits would go towards the centre. Before the MSA, he described life as “Boring, I was bored to my bones.” He preferred being at the workshop to the current day centre due to multiple factors, such as the preference for the old layout of the centre, as Ian said: “There are a lot more walls put in”, which made the day service more difficult to navigate. He also preferred the workshop to the current activities held, as he “misses the sense of purpose” that working at the workshop gave him, before it closed in 2007.
This shows how Ian was helped by CPM due to him gaining a sense of structure in his life. CPM has also provided him with many outings/holidays, which he may not have been able to go on. An example of this is Blackpool, as he enjoys being by the sea. When asked, he stated that people’s attitudes towards disability have gotten better, but there is still room for improvement.
Pictured above: Left to right: Ian, Sarah, Vicky, John and George on Blackpool Seafront - May 2026
Margaret Green
Margaret Green (eighty-nine) originally attended the Youth, Pathfinders and the Adventures Clubs at the MSA as a young adult. She enjoyed these spaces due to the various activities they put on, such as writing poetry and spending time with her friends. She especially liked writing poetry, with one of her most notable works being “Count Your Blessings,” which was published in the 2017 yearbook.
She adopted a humble attitude that there are always people worse off than you, so you should “Always keep moving, because if you don’t, you’ll go stiff and won’t be able to move.” Before her time here, she lived with her parents and went to school. She believed her life was greatly improved by the MSA/CPM and is grateful for all the services they have provided over the years. She has no preference for the youth clubs she attended in the past and the centre she now attends.
Pictured above Margaret Green at CPM.
Image above: Margaret Green in her younger years pictured on the far left, enjoying one of the MSA activity groups.
In conclusion
These individual stories offer just a glimpse into almost eighty years of Cerebral Palsy Midlands. From a time when educational, social and employment opportunities for people with cerebral palsy were extremely limited, the organisation has continued to change alongside society's understanding of disability. Its history includes pioneering opportunities, lifelong friendships and greater independence, but also experiences that are difficult to reflect upon today. By preserving and sharing all of these stories, we can recognise how far attitudes, opportunities and support have come while acknowledging that there is still progress to be made. Most importantly, the voices of people with cerebral palsy remain at the heart of that history.
Written and researched by Lee Ellis, a History Undergraduate at the University of Birmingham, during a student placement with Cerebral Palsy Midlands.
Bibliography:
Barnsley, David and Shirley Thompson. Against all Odds, 2018.
Carlson, Earl. Report on the Midlands Spastic Association. 1968.
Clark, Charlotte. Fulfilment Through Achievement. 2017.
Midlands Spastic Association. 1972 Yearbook, 1972.
Midlands Spastic Association. 1973-74 Yearbook, 1974.
MSA for Midlands People with Cerebral Palsy. Yearbook 1996-97. 1997.
Siviter Adam. History of Cerebral Palsy Midlands. 2011.
Siviter Adam. Interview with David Barnsley. 2014.
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