scosa (the Spastic Centres of South Australia Inc.) was a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

n organisation providing a range of supports to children and adults with disabilities. Initially it focused on people with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

. In August 2019, it was announced that scosa was to merge into Novita.

History

Scosa had its beginnings in the efforts of parents of children with cerebral palsy. In 1946, Norman Taylor, the then-president of The Crippled Children's Association of South Australia (now known as

Novita Children's Services Novita is a South Australian disability organisation, providing support, services and equipment to children, teens and young adults living with disability, their families and carers. In August 2019, it was announced that scosa was to merge into ...

), invited Daphne Gum to return to Adelaide to establish a centre for the care of children with cerebral palsy. Gum was the Director of the Spastic Centre ("The Centre") was established in the then

Adelaide Children's Hospital The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on King William Road in North Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Fli ...

, officially opening on 6 March 1946. The Centre used one room in the first-floor Outpatients' Department. As the lifts were old and unreliable, at times pupils were carried up and down the stairs. On 3 November 1949 the Centre moved to a prefabricated building of three rooms which had been purchased in Kermode Street, North Adelaide. Scosa was incorporated on 18 April 1950 as the South Australian Spastic Paralysis Welfare Association Inc. SCOSA established a home (opened 29 November 1952) and school at Woodville and also provided other services including: speech pathology; physiotherapy; occupational therapy; medical services; splint making; accommodation; with palliative care and a nursing home services. From 1995 the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

Department of Education took on the responsibility for children with disabilities and

deinstitutionalisation Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability. In the lat ...

led residents of institutional accommodation into the community, with CARA (Community Accommodation and Respite Agency Inc).

Facilities

South Australian Spastic Paralysis Welfare Association (1948 - 1983) and Spastic Centres of South Australia, SCOSA (1983 - ) *1952 – 1960 Woodville Spastic Children's Home *1963 – 1993 Woodville Spastic Centre (1960? - 1993?) *1986 – 1991 Dew Street Cottage *1982 – Albara Road Cottage

Miss South Australia and Miss Australia

The Miss South Australia Quest was run by Spastic Centres of South Australia Inc. which as a member of The Spastic Centres of Australia ran the

Miss Australia Miss Australia was the title for the winner of the Miss Australia Quest or the Miss Australia Awards, which ran from 1954 until 2000, when the last Miss Australia was named. From 2002, the Miss World Australia contest has been held, and the Miss ...

Quest/Awards for 45 years from 1954 to 2000. Over its duration entrants, their families, committees, sponsors and the general public of Australia raised in excess of A$87 million.About Us - Miss Australia
Cerebral Palsy Alliance website.

People

*Daphne Gum *

Kevin Scarce Rear Admiral Kevin John Scarce, (born 4 May 1952) is a retired Royal Australian Navy officer who was the 34th Governor of South Australia, serving from August 2007 to August 2014. He was succeeded by Hieu Van Le, who had previously been his lie ...

(Patron)

References

External links