A RETIRED Redditch teacher is setting up a clinic which she says can improve the quality of life of disabled children with various conditions.

Pauline Clarke, of Lakeside, is a qualified Bowen Therapist and uses a technique of gentle and precise touch which she says can have long-term benefits for children with asthma, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, Down's Syndrome and others.

Mrs Clarke believes the clinic she is opening in St Georges on Saturday will be the only one in Worcestershire offering the therapy.

She said: "The Bowen technique is a very gentle, non-invasive and very effective therapy.

"The movements are gentle and very little pressure is used. We just use thumbs and fingers on precise points of the body to make subtle adjustments which will relieve tension, reduce pain and begin the healing process.

"It treats the body as a whole, not just the condition, so for children with disabilities it will strengthen weak and little-used muscles in the neck, shoulders, arms and lower back and legs."

Mrs Clarke, who taught at Woodrow First School for 20 years and is now a governor of St Thomas More First School, also works at a clinic in Cardiff every two weeks which treats 20 children with the technique.

She said the success she has seen there had prompted her to set up her own clinic here, which will be called the Ambriel Children's Clinic for Natural Healing.

She added: "It can also help to address digestive, respiratory and bladder problems.

"It's calming and will help with sleep patterns. Because we treat the child as a whole person, he or she may also gain emotional release as part of the physical outcomes of the treatment.

"But I'm not promising a miracle cure or a quick fix for the child's disability.

"Any parent who undertakes the Bowen journey is looking at a programme of long-term commitment of one or possibly two years.

"This journey requires dedication as well as love for the child and I am there to support parents through it."

The new clinic will open at The Parish Centre, Mount Carmel RC Church, Beoley Road, on Saturday from 10am-1pm.

For more details, call 525884. Details are also available on the internet.