When Orianne Slater was six years old, she dreamed of becoming a gymnast.

Inspired by those who took part in gymnastics at school, she was desperate to learn the splits, master the bars and gracefully tackle the high beam.

But Orianne had been diagnosed with Perthes' disease, a painful condition that meant her hip bone was deteriorating.

Perthes' disease is a childhood disorder which affects the top of the femur bone, at the ball and socket joint of the hip. Blood supply to the growth plate of the end of the femur is disrupted and as a result, the bone softens and breaks down.

Children can experience knee, hip and groin pain as well as wasting of the muscles in the upper thigh, shortening of the leg and stiffness of the hip. Often sufferers have to wear a brace, plaster or even undergo surgery and there is a risk of developing osteoarthritis later in life.

For Orianne, it meant her dream was going to be just that little bit harder to reach.

The first person she had to convince was her mother. With heavy impact on the hip joint, such as running or jumping often discouraged in Perthes' patients, Lydie Slater was wary of allowing her daughter to join a gymnastics club.

"As there wasn't any way of knowing if, and how quickly, she would recover fully, we had to accept every day as it came and adapt," she says.

"Rightly or wrongly, I thought that gymnastics probably wasn't the best sport to start and practice at that time."

Orianne, though, was determined, but still she did as her mother suggested and tried other sports instead.

She took to the football pitch in her home of Aberdeen, but it wasn't quite what she'd hoped for. Orianne knew what her heart wanted most.

Finally, with support from her mother and father, Colin, and her siblings Marie-Louise and Oscar, at 10 years old, she finally joined a mainstream gymnastics club in the city.

Her consultant advised her parents that as long as she was in no pain, she could enjoy the sport she had been desperate to try.

With no disability classes available in the area, Orianne joined a weekly mainstream recreational class but quickly moved to a competitive group.

Lorna Presly, head coach at City of Aberdeen Gymnastics (COAG), knew of Orianne's hip problem and kept a close eye on her progress.

Orianne says: "For a while I only competed in two pieces, floor and vault, and because of my hip I couldn't move up to four piece [bars and beam]."

Lydie adds: "Due to her misshapen bone, she was, and still is, unable to master the splits - a skill which is essential in gymnastics, as it is present in many moves [as well as] cartwheel, front/back walkover and many other jumps and tumbles.

"As a consequence, she couldn't progress from the beginner's level. Orianne desperately wanted to practice more hours and try more complicated moves but this didn't seem possible."

Determined not to let Perthes' hold her back, in 2015 Orianne's coach suggested she switch from mainstream to disability gymnastics which would allow her to compete in all four disciplines and improve her skills.

The nearest facility which could advise the gymnast and her coach how best to tackle these new challenges was City of Glasgow Gymnastics Club, where Orianne now trains once a month alongside her weekly eight and a half hours of practice at COAG.

"We get a lot of advice from them as they are a well-established and experienced club with great success from grassroot to British, Scottish and Special Olympic champions," says Lorna.

Since switching to disability gymnastics, Lydie noticed a change in her daughter almost immediately.

Orianne became more willing to try new and more difficult skills within the sport thanks to the support of her coaches in Glasgow and Aberdeen, with her mother adding that she became more "hard-working and resilient".

Orianne's family say that the support she also receives from Active Aberdeen Partnership and Grampian Disability Sport, who have sponsored her for the second year running, has helped the teen immeasurably.

She quickly began competing and became the Junior British Disability Champion in 2015 and 2016, winning numerous master medals for being the top gymnast for different apparatus in the process.

She became the Scottish Disability Master twice for vault and floor in 2017 and the British Disability Master for asymmetric bars two years running.

Her coach says: "Highlights for me was when she was selected to take part in the British disability master for her bars and vault last year, and watching her on the podium with medals around her neck, just accepting the whole experience.

"She was a quiet girl before, now she is confident and it shows in her performances. Perthes' disease has not held Orianne back, she may have to adapt some of the moves, but she just accepts that, and rises to the challenge."

While disability gymnastics is part of both Scottish National Artistic and British Championships, the sport is not yet included in international competitions such as the Paralympics, something Orianne hopes will change in the future.

The 15-year-old says: "In the future I would like to compete internationally but this isn't available yet in disability gymnastics."

Until then, Lydie hopes that more clubs and coaches can be as welcoming as COAG have been for Orianne to help other children realise their potential, no matter their limitations.

Her mother adds: "I think it would be amazing if more coaches could be as inclusive as Lorna Presly has been - accept the limitations, see the potential and be ready to adapt to a new system in order to give other children a chance to develop their potential to the level they want."

Main image credits: BC Photographic/Alan Edwards F2images