NEW YORK – Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation (CPARF) is a proud World Cerebral Palsy Day* partner. On Sunday, October 6, 2019, CPARF joins 120 other organizations around the globe to shine a light on people with CP — to highlight and celebrate their accomplishments, to make it possible for them to achieve what they want to, and to give them space to use their voices.
CPARF heeds that call and focuses on funding research that helps people with CP live the lives they envision for themselves.
People like Naomi. She’s nonverbal and her smile says so much. She and her mom share many inside jokes — a deeply personal language that exists without a word.
CPARF is poised to help open up a world of potential for Naomi and approximately 3.6 million people with CP who can’t communicate verbally, so that she and her mom may be able to say everything they’ve ever wanted to each other one day — because of research CPARF supports.
CPARF is funding and collaborating with Principal Investigator Dr. Leigh Hochberg and the BrainGate Research Consortium team as they develop first-of-its-kind thought-to-speech technology — generating real-time intentional speech using a connection between a computer and a tiny computer chip implanted at the top a person’s brain. CPARF and BrainGate aim to revolutionize communication to unlock the world so that people with CP can pursue every opportunity to connect in every way they want to.
You can support the thought-to-speech initiative and other research projects by donating to STEPtember.
Learn more about Naomi and CPARF’s work.
CPARF’S MISSION
Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation is a nonprofit organization driving cutting-edge research to change the lives of 18 million people with cerebral palsy. We won't stop until people with CP can live pain-free, until they can live the lives they envision for themselves, and until they can express what’s on their mind and be understood even when they can’t speak.
CPARF works with the best scientists and researchers in the US across many specialties and disciplines. We foster collaboration between them nationwide, as well as with the global CP scientific community. We also focus on ensuring that the breakthroughs, advances, and treatments they discover will be widely implemented so that we can help as many people with CP as possible.
To learn more about CPARF and more of our life-changing research, visit www.cparf.org or contact info@cparf.org.
*The World Cerebral Palsy Initiative coordinates World Cerebral Palsy Day.
Wed 21 May 2025
Are you ready for STEPtember 2025? We’re officially in double digits — CPARF is celebrating 10 years of funding groundbreaking cerebral palsy research and driving innovation forward. And there’s no better way to mark this milestone than with our biggest, boldest STEPtember yet. Thanks to you, STEPtember has grown into a global movement that powers […]
Thu 15 May 2025
Celebrate Your Birthday with Purpose: Start a Fundraiser That Changes Lives Birthdays are for joy, reflection, and connection — and now, they can help fund groundbreaking research, fuel innovation in assistive technology, and create lasting change for people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Celebrate your special day by starting a customized birthday fundraiser to […]