DUNFERMLINE twins Ben and Finlay Stevens have been able to undergo life changing therapy after securing funding from the Cash for Kids charity.

Eight years ago, the pair were diagnosed with autism, a learning disability, hypotonia, hypermobility and dyspraxia.

The range of conditions creates difficulties in all aspects of the boys’ lives including an inability to talk or walk long distances and behavioural problems which make day-to-day life a challenge for the whole family.

Thanks to a £3000 grant, the boys and their family travelled to Skybound Therapies in Wales to undergo vital specialist training and therapy which is already proving to be transformational.

The support gained through the visit looked at tackling the issues created by conditions such as autism including a focus on improving the boys’ communication challenges.

Following their return from the trip, the Stevens family say the specialist inputs and support they received at Skybound have been invaluable in continuing the boys’ positive progress, which includes functional communication using an app on their iPods.

Dad Michael Stevens, said the visiting the project had been invaluable.

“Without an ABA program, there is a good chance that the boys would now be in a full-time residential care establishment leaving two broken-hearted parents," he said.

"We know we will care for the boys as long as we are able to but we need to ensure that when we are no longer around, they are able to have their needs and wants understood."

Emma Kemp, Charity Manager at Cash for Kids, was delighted to hear about the impact the grant had had on the Stevens family.

"When people donate or take part in creative fundraising initiatives, they probably don’t realise just how vital their help really is," she said. "With only a few thousand pounds, we were able to transform the lives of two young Fife boys who were facing a devastating range of challenges.

"It’s incredibly moving to hear that one trip has helped the Stevens family take positive steps to improve their lives. Right across Fife and the wider region, there are other families and young people struggling – whether that’s through poverty of disability, and we want to help as many as possible.

"By donating to Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids, our supporters can take a huge amount of pride in the knowledge that they’re really making a difference.”