The Charity...

Click to see a recent BBC video on James and Ataxia

Tom Barnes has known James Downie and his family for the last 15 years. Although they didn’t go to the same secondary school their families lived nearby to each other in Woking. They both went to Woking Sixth Form College together and have become very good friends since. James was diagnosed with Ataxia at the age of 21 and has since become actively involved with raising money for the Charity and is currently a trustee of the Charity. James also designed and updates this website. Rich met James through Tom and Rich decided that he would like to raise funds for James and Ataxia.

The word ataxia means “absence of order”. The ataxias are rare neurorological conditions affecting balance and co-ordination. Anyone can be affected, from babies to adults. 10,000 adults in the UK have ataxia. The number of children and young people with ataxia is still not yet known.

First symptoms are usually loss of balance and slurred speech. As ataxia progresses, people’s disabilities increase, until they may depend entirely on others and even lose the ability to communicate. Many of the ataxias are inherited and there is large variation in the severity of the different types.

There is currently no cure. Ataxia UK, which was set up more than 40 years ago, is a small and focused charity which funds medical research into causes and treatments. Ataxia UK also provides a range of vital support services that are not available anywhere else. For more information please visit the Ataxia UK website.