Finding Their Place: Charlie and Alice

Charlie (8) and Alice (4)

When Charlie was born eight years ago, his parents spent two weeks at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol watching their newborn son fight for his life. A brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation meant Charlie needed to be placed on life support, his tiny body cooled down and gradually brought back to temperature over 72 hours. The diagnosis that followed – cerebral palsy, spastic diplegia, and later ADHD – would shape their family's journey in ways they couldn't have imagined.

But here's what they did discover: put Charlie in water, and everything changed.

"As a baby, he was completely different in the water," says his dad, Nathan. Even then, water was where Charlie felt most himself.

The path to swimming lessons, though, wasn't straightforward. When Charlie's first swim school closed down – small groups with additional needs children weren't economically viable, they were told – the family tried another. But the echoing sounds, the temperature, the sensory overload of a busy pool environment became too much. Charlie, who's clever and articulate, understood what it meant when he was asked to leave. He hadn't been unwelcome anywhere before. It knocked his confidence in a way that's hard to shake as a 6 year old.

That frustration, though? Charlie turned it into fuel. "He uses it as motivation to drive himself forward," his dad explains. "He has this resilience, this defiance of 'let me show you what I'm capable of.' Even if he's many paces behind, he still wants to run. He wants to be part of it."

Two years ago, Charlie started swimming with Level Water. He’s thriving with his teacher Cheryl, who talks about Pokémon while teaching backstroke, who turns every lesson into a game so Charlie doesn't even realise he's learning. He's progressed to swimming 2:1 with his friend and Level Water swimmer Rosie.

Charlie has even braved the outdoors at Level Water fundraising swims, taking part in a children’s river swim, the Bantham Mini-Swoosh and making a guest appearance at Lake32’s Wild Swim Relay. The difference isn't just in his swimming – it's in how he feels when he's there.

"Level Water is more than just swimming," says his dad. "It's community. It's a group of friends all there for the same cause. It's feeling welcome."

Charlie gets it, too. He's clever enough to understand that these events exist to help children like him. And that understanding has sparked something beautiful: he wants to swim to help others, the way others have helped him. When he took part in the Lake32 relay last summer (in his own adapted way, cheering from the sidelines and jumping in for swims throughout the day), he felt like a proper event participant. Never mind that Cheryl was freezing – Charlie wanted to go in again and again. And he had celebrity status with the fundraisers after being excluded for so long.

His aunt Rebecca has been knitting and selling her work to raise money for Level Water, bringing in £600 with matched funding from her employer PPM Swindon. The whole family is involved now. That's what community looks like.

And now, there's Alice.

Charlie's little sister was born premature at 34 weeks with her own developmental delays. At four years old, she's autistic, mostly non-verbal, and lives very much in her own world – a beautiful, observant world where she learns by watching, especially watching her big brother. She has the most beautiful personality and big brown eyes, her dad says, and she looks up to Charlie in that way younger siblings do, she wants to do everything that he does.

When Level Water expanded their programme to include neurologically disabled children, it meant Alice could apply. Now she has lessons with Sara, who's calm and gentle where Cheryl is animated and playful – because Alice is at those early stages of just feeling the water, being held, understanding this new weightless world. The lessons happen in the same pool, overlapping with Charlie's. Alice watches her brother swim, and she wants to imitate him.

Their mum and dad can't swim themselves, so they need Cheryl and Sara to take their children into the water. But these teachers have become more than instructors – they're family friends now. The family spends time with Cheryl outside the pool, at level water and swimming events. The events feel like holidays.

"Having children who are not included can be isolating," their dad says simply. But here, at Level Water pools and events, at Bantham Mini-Swoosh and Lake32, Charlie and Alice aren't just included – they belong.

Charlie's already setting goals for himself as he gets older, already thinking about what he wants to achieve. He's seen what's possible when you're given a chance, when someone believes you can do it, when you're not asked to leave but welcomed to stay.

And Alice? She's watching her big brother, learning in her own time, in her own way. Just like she's always done.

Charlie and Alice swim with Level Water thanks to supporters and fundraisers like their Aunt Rebecca - donate here to Rebecca’s fundraiser for Level Water. If you'd like to help more families find their place in the water, you can sign up to an event, donate or even set up your own fundraiser at levelwater.org.