Family Days

Alton Towers Family Day

Facial Palsy UK’s Family Days are a relaxing and fun day for children affected by facial palsy, their siblings and parental guardians. The aim of these days is to reduce isolation for children affected by facial palsy and their parents.

Our Most Recent Family Day – Alton Towers Day Trip

Generously funded by Sayvol – Water Treatment and Testing Services

This August, we were joined by 27 families (over 120 people) for a fun-filled day of rides and rollercoasters at Alton Towers. As well as the thrills and spills of the park, we also enjoyed food and entertainment in our own private function room which gave families a chance to socialise and share experiences.

If you’d like to join us for our next Family Day, please sign up to our e-newsletter:

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Previous Facial Palsy UK Family Days

How do Family Days help?

Some children with facial palsy may feel isolated because it’s unlikely they will have met another child affected by the condition. They may be the only child in their school with a different smile and this can at times feel quite lonely. Meeting another child who also has the condition can really improve self-esteem.

When you are the person with facial palsy, the only image you have of yourself is your mirror image or what you see in photographs or video. You don’t see what other people see, your animated face with your whole personality shining through. People will often say to someone with facial palsy that they don’t really notice it but it’s only when you meet another person with facial palsy that you begin to understand why this is actually true. Meeting others with the condition really helps to build confidence.

On meeting other children with facial palsy for the first time, a 9 year old girl said:

Thank you, this was the best day of my life.

Our family days are also an opportunity for parents to meet other parents and benefit from mutual support. They may wish to discuss different surgeries, school issues or simply make new friends who share experiences. We also include siblings because often when a child has a medical condition all the family are affected because there will be hospital visits and other pressures.

Externally Linked Articles:

Parents & Carers Facebook Group (Ext. Link - opens in new window)

Private Facebook support group for parents and carers of children with facial palsy, operated by Facial Palsy UK.

Last reviewed: 23-09-2022    ||    Next review due: 23-09-2024