A Love Connection made at Scope’s Social Connections
For Geoff and Louise, being a part of the Scope family has proved to be more than just a place for them to live and work but has also fostered their long-term relationship and marriage.

“The doctors told me he would never live a normal life. I remember wondering how I could go home with this tiny baby that couldn’t move and couldn’t hear. He couldn’t even turn his head, his hands were balled into fists. We weren’t sure what we were going to do.”
- Dilani, Jagan’s mum, describing when Jagan was 7 days old“My dream is to play soccer for Australia.”
- Jagan, 16 years old
Your support can help turn hopes and dreams into reality for people like Jagan.
When Jagan was born, his mum Dilani, was told her son would never be able to walk or talk, and would be tube fed for the rest of his life. Born with cerebral palsy and significant hearing loss, Jagan could not move and was destined to face a lifetime of struggles.
Your gift today of $90 can help support essential services for people like Jagan who can access life-changing services from birth onwards.
Dilani, with another son only 20 months older than Jagan, had no idea what the future would look like for her family, or her new baby boy.
“My biggest fear was that he would be isolated and lonely.”
Once Dilani recognised this fear, she set to work to overcome it.
“I wanted him to develop as much functional movement as possible and so began an intensive program of floor-based therapy. Often, he would wriggle for up to one hour and fall asleep constantly from exhaustion. But he would finally reach the toy he aimed for, and I would scoop him up and give him a giant cuddle. I was so proud of this little boy. He was so determined, even then,” Dilani said.
Dilani knew Jagan needed critical support to reach the goal of seeing Jagan walk, but she knew she could never do this alone. Scope, one of the largest disability support services in Australia, is there to help families in their time of need.
Cerebral palsy is a permanent life-long condition and there is no cure. Supports such as the physiotherapy, speech therapy and a range of other services that Jagan received through Scope, are tailored to each person depending on their needs and aspirations. Support at an early age can vastly improve a person’s development and quality of life.
Your gift of $90 can help people like Jagan reach early development goals through personalised Scope services.
Dilani knew it was important to focus on Jagan’s mobility and she worked tirelessly, seven hours a day, seven days a week to help Jagan gain the strength and motor skills to take his first steps.
With critical support from Scope, Jagan would meet people who would work with him for years to come.
When he was two years old, Jagan did something his mother was told he would never do; he took his first steps.
After thinking this would never be a possibility, Dilani knew that with the right support, along with his incredible resilience, Jagan could continue to achieve his own goals. As he grew older, he could begin to aim for his own specific hopes and dreams.
At Scope, we use an integrated approach, which means our team works together to help every individual person achieve their own specific goals. We offer a wide range of services to people of all ages and disabilities, however it is challenging to meet the demand.
Your gift today of $90 can help Scope to continue to innovate and improve the quality of services we provide to people with complex disabilities.
Now, Jagan attends a mainstream high school and his dream is to represent Australia as a Pararoos player. In Year 7 he tried out for the school soccer team, and was not selected.
Despite being very disappointed, Jagan emailed the coach to ask if there was anything he could do, carry equipment, fill water bottles, anything, to be part of the team. Not only did the coach and head of physical education include Jagan in the team, they also made him the 15th player.
Now, at the age of 16, Jagan is one step closer to reaching his big dream to represent Australia in soccer.
At Scope, we want anyone with a disability to reach their goals and dreams, no matter how big or small. We are proud to have supported Jagan for most of his life, creating a network of reliable support for both Jagan and his family. Most importantly, we are working hard to continue providing our services to help people like Jagan not only dream big, but achieve big too.
Your generous gift today of $90 can help us support the hopes and goals of people like Jagan - even the extraordinary dreams - like Jagan’s dream of representing his country on the international stage, as part of the National Para Football team.
Everyone deserves to dream big, belong, and thrive.
Thank you for believing that regardless of disability, everyone deserves to set their own goals and ambitions for leading their own lives, and with help and support, strive to achieve them.
For Geoff and Louise, being a part of the Scope family has proved to be more than just a place for them to live and work but has also fostered their long-term relationship and marriage.
Scope recently partnered with Hockey Victoria to develop an inclusive hockey program suitable for people with multiple and complex disability.
This year Scope’s Kaleidoscope Exhibition was held at our Kangaroo Flat Hub in Bendigo and the Hawthorn Arts Centre.