Our Story
The association was born from a need to bridge the gap in responses for children with special needs during childhood and/or adolescence. A story of love, resilience and community — which began on 7th April 2019 in a maternity hospital in Viana do Castelo.
Leonor's story
Every moment of this journey has shaped who we are today as a family and as an association
A pregnancy full of hope
The pregnancy proceeded in a calm and largely uncomplicated way. The family joyfully awaited the arrival of Leonor, the younger sister of a boy who was then 7 years old. The only unusual sign was a slightly below-expected weight in the final scans — a detail that, at the time, did not raise significant medical concerns.
Nothing could have predicted what was about to happen.
The day Leonor arrived
Leonor was born at the Unidade Hospitalar do Alto Minho, in Viana do Castelo, from her home of Viatodos, Barcelos, in the heart of Minho.
At the moment of delivery, she suffered a hypoxic-ischaemic neonatal anoxia — a critical deprivation of oxygen to the brain during birth. The consequences were immediate and irreversible: cerebral palsy with total incapacity.
But Leonor held on. And that smile which insisted on appearing from the very first days was the sign that the fight would continue.
The diagnosis and first steps
Our golden girl suffered a case of hypoxic-ischaemic neonatal anoxia — Leonor's brain was deprived of oxygen following a very complicated delivery, which resulted in severe sequelae that compromised her quality of life, leading to a 100% disability.
Against all expectations — which had foreseen the worst possible outcomes — our little warrior continues to fight for a better life. Every achievement — a look of recognition, a smile in response, a voluntary movement — is celebrated as an enormous victory by the family and by all those around her.
Our reality and the community that responds
As a family, we have been faced with an enormous absence of social responses for children and young people with high degrees of disability. Existing services are overcrowded, and the demand for NHS-funded therapeutic responses means that personalised treatment must be carried out privately, at great cost to families.
As a result, one of the parents was forced to give up work to meet these needs. Leonor's story began to spread by word of mouth throughout Barcelos and beyond — and the community responded with affection, donations, bottle caps and hours of volunteering.
It became clear that this collective impulse needed a structure. It needed a name, a purpose, a way to grow and to reach further.
The Associação Sorriso Leonor e Amigos is born
The ASLA — Associação Sorriso Leonor e Amigos was founded with a clear purpose: to centralise and amplify support for Leonor and for other children with special needs and their respective families who, like Leonor's family, often feel alone in the face of a lack of responses.
The name says it all. The smile belongs to Leonor — and the friends are all of us.
Leonor today — and the road ahead
Leonor, born on 7th April 2019, continues to surprise everyone around her. With the support of specialist therapies, adapted equipment and, above all, the love of her family and an entire community, Leonor grows, communicates in her own way and fills with light every room she enters.
The fight continues — for better therapies, for more equipment, for greater inclusion. But it is no longer a solitary fight.
Leonor is not alone — ASLA supports other children just as extraordinary as she is.
Meet the Butterflies of Inclusion →The impact on the family
Caring for Leonor is an act of love by an entire family
Leonor has an older brother (born on [DATE OF BIRTH — to be confirmed]), who has grown up learning the meaning of words like empathy, patience and sharing in a way that few young people have the opportunity to experience. He is one of the family's greatest supporters — and one of his sister's biggest fans.
But the reality of having a child with such profound special needs brings with it challenges that go far beyond the physical and the financial. Emotional exhaustion, the need to always be present, managing expectations and the silent grief of a future imagined differently are all parts of this journey that society rarely sees.
ASLA does not exist only for Leonor. It also exists for the parents, the brother and all the families who share similar challenges — because the support that truly makes a difference is the kind that thinks of the whole family, not only the child.
That is why the association also invests in social gatherings, in sharing experiences between families and in building a mutual support network that goes beyond material assistance.
"There are hard days, of course there are. But when we look at Leonor's smile, we remember why. And that is enough."— [Family quote — to be confirmed]
How ASLA was born
From a real need, a collective mission was born
The Associação Sorriso Leonor e Amigos was born from the recognition that families of children with special needs face, alongside the medical and therapeutic challenges, a chronic lack of responses from the system — long waiting lists, insufficient support, expensive and inaccessible equipment, and little space to share experiences with other families living through the same thing.
ASLA came to fill these gaps. One of the association's milestones is the Solidarity Protocol Project, initially established by another association and later transferred to ASLA. After much effort, the association acquired its own vehicle with all safety equipment, insurance and authorised staff. This allows ASLA to support other families by collecting recyclable materials from yellow bins in partnership with Resulima — raising funds for therapies, orthopaedic materials, food and specific medication not covered by the health system.
But more than material resources, ASLA wants to be a community. A place where no family feels alone, where stories are shared and where love flows in every direction.
The mission is simple — and it is also our motto:
Our motto
"Sharing Love"
Because we believe that love shared is not divided — it multiplies. Every gesture counts. Every person who joins our family makes a difference in the life of Leonor and of so many other children.
What We Want to Achieve
Our main focus is to provide a better quality of life for Leonor and other children
We were born with the goal of raising funds through the collection of recyclable materials from yellow bins, establishing a protocol with the company Resulima.
To ensure the necessary response for children and young people with a high degree of disability who depend entirely on daily care, providing appropriate support for all their activities.
To demystify disability by finding practical solutions so that children can enjoy a life more in line with the general norms of society.
We seek the appointment, by the local council, of a cultural activity coordinator to provide free-time support and respond to periods when school is unavailable.
To recruit therapists and establish a partnership between the association, the local council and families, making access to therapies more equitable.
To seek funding through the 2030 programme, ensuring sustainable financing for the association's activities and projects.
To bridge the gap left by the National Health Service and public bodies by providing a dedicated physical space for therapies.
To provide a space where families can share experiences with one another, as well as offering support with the completion of official documents and applications.
To provide a space where adapted sports can be practised using equipment suited to the specific condition of each child or young person.
To organise training sessions with nurses and psychologists directed at families of heavily dependent individuals, where they can feel supported and understood.
Would you like to be part of this story?
There are many ways to help — from a donation, to collecting bottle caps, to volunteering. Discover how you can contribute.