March News Update

News

A brief update on a few group news items. There is a lovely new edition of our NewsLink newsletter, which has a good load of interesting things for you to read. You can get that from our website – here: https://hspgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/HSP-Newslink-issue-58-%E2%80%93final.pdf We have a reminder of upcoming meetings, which are listed here on our website (https://hspgroup.org/hsp-support-group-events/). These include: Estelle Marshall …

Book: Living Well With HSP

Living Well with HSP

There is a new book available for people with HSP. The book has been written by Estelle Marshall, one of our members, who is also a retired physiotherapist. The book has a great overview of the main elements of HSP, and gives you space to write in answers to questions that it asks. This post gives an overview of the …

Rare Disease Day

People know that HSP is a rare disease. Rare Disease Day is celebrated on the last day in February each year, lauched by EURORDIS in 2008. The day aims to raise awareness of rare diseases, and offers a chance for the 300 million people (worldwide) with a rare disease to join together. There are a few HSP related things on …

John Mason

I was devastated to hear of the passing of my great friend John Mason at the end of last year.  Just in case any members aren’t aware of this sad news, I thought I’d put a few words on here. As many of you will know, John was a former treasurer of the HSP Group, a role that he held for several years. We were so lucky to have found such a thorough treasurer and with some great assistance from his wife Sonya, kept our accounts up to date with great precision.

SPG 11 and SPG 15 Families Zoom Meeting Report

14 January 2026
We have a separate meeting occasionally for these types of HSP because, although they are very similar to each other, they are very different, in some ways, from other types of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia.

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas from HSP support group

Wishing all our members, supporters, friends, family and professionals happiness in this festive period! We encourage everyone to spend time however is best for them: with friends or family, or by themselves; at home or out and about; by resting or by being active. If you are having a tough time this year, there are different routes available for support: …

International Day of Persons With Disabilities

IDPWD

Today is International Day of Persons With Disabilities. We support people with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), a rare progressive neurological condition. At first, symptoms are small. As things progress, the lives of people with HSP change. Many will reach a point where they call themselves disabled. That acceptance point can be difficult in the context of negative societal views about …

Milford Afternoon Tea meeting report

Hitchin meeting

2nd November 2025
Holding meetings in the Autumn comes with the added difficulty of early dark evenings and changeable weather.

Report from HSP Meeting Scotland

Group Meeting

25 October 2025
The first Scottish face to face meeting was held in Williamwood High School on the south side of Glasgow on Saturday 25 October.  Some of us had met previously on zoom meetings but this was the first time we had actually physically met each other.