Raising a Child with Cerebral Palsy in Regional Australia: Michelle’s Story
Dalby is a wonderful town — strong community, a simpler rhythm, a pace of life that suits our family well. But living regionally also means that specialist medical care, allied health services, and therapy providers are hours away.
From the beginning, we had to learn how to work with what we had and make decisions that balanced practicality with Ivy’s goals and growing independence.
One of the biggest challenges was access to consistent therapy that suited both Ivy and our family. Weekly appointments with specialist physiotherapists and occupational therapists were simply not realistic. Distance, travel time, school, and family life made that model unworkable.
We also struggled with the constant tension between being parents and being therapists — trying to implement home programs while still protecting family time and relationships.
Over time, we realised that intensive therapy blocks worked far better for our location and our family rhythm. Instead of chasing weekly sessions, we committed to a structured model: four hours a day, five days a week, for three weeks at a time, three times a year. It sounds demanding — and it was — but it worked for us as a family and for Ivy physically.
This approach allowed Ivy to make concentrated progress without the constant disruption of long-distance travel. Providers such as NAPA, Strong & Courageous, and Rothwell Therapy offered programs that aligned with her goals and challenged her in all the right ways. These intensives became anchor points in our calendar: exhausting, productive, and strangely grounding. Rather than therapy being a scatter of occasional appointments, it became purposeful and predictable — something we could actually plan our year around.
Living regionally also meant Ivy grew up watching us problem-solve constantly. When a service wasn’t available locally, we found another way — telehealth, travelling specialists, or sometimes simply waiting until the next intensive block. She learned early that her disability wasn’t the barrier; geography was. And even that could be worked around. The limitations forced us to be organised and forward-thinking, but they also built resilience across our whole family. You become accustomed to long drives, packing half the house into the car, coordinating appointments months in advance, and doing whatever is required to keep momentum.
One of the biggest decisions we ever made was sending Ivy to boarding school in Toowoomba. It was not a decision made lightly. It came after years of weighing what she needed against what was possible at home. In the end, it came down to this: Ivy was ready for more. She needed access to academic, social, and creative opportunities that were simply too far away for daily life from Dalby. Boarding brought her closer to medical care, allied health supports, extracurricular activities, and a broader world of independence.
Preparing for the transition took years of planning. Ivy is the first high school student in Australia, with her level of disability - unable to self-transfer - to attend boarding school A fact that required careful planning, strong advocacy, and a great deal of trust. Emotionally, it was a significant leap for all of us. But Ivy stepped into it with courage and determination. She wanted to broaden her world, and this was the pathway that made that possible.
Looking back, the distance, logistics, and gaps shaped us, but they did not stop us. Living regionally taught us to think differently, be creative, and trust our instincts. Intensive therapy gave Ivy meaningful blocks of progress. Boarding school gave her independence, community, and access.
There is no single “right” pathway for raising a child with cerebral palsy outside a city. There is only the pathway that fits your child, your family, and your reality.
And that reality is dynamic. We are now shifting again, returning to a more traditional weekly therapy model now that Ivy is settled in Toowoomba and local services have grown significantly over the past 14 years, in part due to the expansion of the NDIS and the allied health workforce it enabled.
Our journey isn’t perfect or polished, but it is honest and ours. And it has taught us that raising a child with cerebral palsy in regional Australia is not only possible, it can be deeply rewarding, filled with strength, growth, humour, and connection.
Ta,
Michelle.
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