At not yet two years old, Arlo is working harder to learn basic movements than most people will ever realise.
Born with cerebral palsy caused by polymicrogyria, a condition that affects how his brain communicates with his body, Arlo spends each day learning movements other children naturally develop on their own.
For his mum, Tamara Holland-Goodwin, life has become a balance of appointments, therapy, work, and celebrating every small win along the way.
“My life is very much Arlo,” she said
“Every day is teaching Arlo how to move and how to do those things that our brain can actually make connections for. Arlo’s brain doesn’t do that, so we have to teach him.”
Arlo’s days are carefully structured around his care.
He is fed through a pump, attends physio and hydrotherapy sessions, and spends hours working on movements most people take for granted.
Recently, the family spent a week at the Centre of Movement clinic in Rotorua, where specialist therapists work intensively with children living with disabilities.
The experience gave them renewed hope, as they saw significant progress in a short amount of time.
“This intensive is very much hands-on,” explained Holland-Goodwin.
“They are very, very skilled in children with disabilities and making those connections in their brain to help them move.”
“That’s really the thing that’s going to make Arlo walk one day, that intensive therapy and that repetition and ongoing is so important.”
But accessing that level of therapy comes at a financial cost.
Each three-week therapy block costs around $10,000, and ongoing treatment is essential while Arlo is still young.
“It’s unfortunately not something that he can just do once and then he’s amazing, and he’s running,” she said.
Arlo needs ongoing therapy to give him the best chance the best chance at movement and independence. IMAGE // Tamara Holland-Goodwin
Despite the challenges, Holland-Goodwin speaks with gratitude and perspective, particularly when it comes to movement itself.
Before becoming a mum, she was studying to become a personal trainer and already had a passion for fitness, but Arlo changed the way she sees movement entirely.
“It’s such a privilege to be able to move,” she said.
“To be able to have the decision to go to the gym or to go for a walk or go for a run… It’s such a privilege that we take for granted every day.”
“Arlo has really opened my eyes to that.”
That perspective inspired the creation of ‘Move for Arlo, ’ a community fundraising challenge encouraging people to push themselves physically throughout June.
Participants can choose to walk or run 100 kilometres across the month, or create their own personal challenge, something they once thought they could not do.
“The little phrase that we have is, ‘Move for Arlo — for the ones who can’t, we move,’” she said.
“I want people to move their bodies in a way that challenges them because, again, it’s such a privilege to be able to move.”
Holland-Goodwin herself plans to run a marathon distance by the end of June.
“I want to do something that I don’t feel like I can do,” she said.
While the fundraiser is focused on helping Arlo access the therapy he needs, she hopes it may one day grow into something that supports other children, too.
“Right now, my boy needs me, and I’ll do anything that I can to help him.”
The family’s goal is to raise $30,000 to help fund multiple intensive therapy blocks and continue giving Arlo the best chance at movement and independence.
“I feel terrible because I know what he wants to do, and he just can’t do it,” Holland-Goodwin shared.
“But this is why we’re doing this. I really want to be able to give him that chance.”
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