A MOTHER has come up with an ingenious way of highlighting her son’s hidden disability – and turned it into a full-time business.
Holly Bramwell created a tag to attach to her son Finley's adapted pram – allowing her to wheel him around airports and other public areas that do not always give access to prams.
The five-year-old was diagnosed with global development delay, as well as epilepsy, which means he struggles with walking and speech.
Mrs Bramwell, 36, said her son’s disability is not obvious and the family are often met with confused looks from people in public.
As a result the mother-of-three and her husband, Neil, 36, decided to create a special needs pram tag and put it to the test during a holiday to Washington last year.
She said the tag proved to be a great success. She said: “We get the situation where we have to almost spell out his disabilities and justify him using a pram.
“However when we put the tag on the pram, it made a big difference. Staff at the airport could see that Finley needed the pram and swiftly fast tracked us through, ensuring Finley had his pram to the aircraft door.
“He didn’t need to put it in the pram drop-off point and struggle to walk.”
Mrs Bramwell, from Clitheroe but now living in Buckshaw Village, said the tag also provided help in a zoo over in the USA.
When entering buildings where strollers were not permitted, Finley was able to stay in his specially adapted pram.
Mrs Bramwell, who also has twin girls, Ellie and Sophie, 9, said she started receiving lots of attention over the badges from friends and on social media as well as requests to make more.
The requests kept coming and Mrs Bramwell decided to leave her job at a medical equipment company and create the badges full time.
Mrs Bramwell has now created several types of badges under her business StarKidWorks for different conditions, including autism, allergies, epilepsy, dementia, genetic disorders and hearing problems.
Mrs Bramwell added: “It’s a way of highlighting a disability that might not necessarily be obvious. It also helps bring up the disability as a conversation starter and means people don’t feel the need to tread carefully.
“Bringing more awareness to disabilities like Finley’s can help educate those who don’t have contact with people who have similar disabilities.”
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