As the year progressed, Eythan appeared “floppier” than other children his age. He would not lie on his stomach and couldn’t lift his head in the same way.

When he was 11 months old, Eythan was referred for investigation and, after testing, was diagnosed two days before his first birthday with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

There are four types of SMA, based on achievement and age at diagnosis. Eythan has the intermediate type II. He has control of his head in an upright position, and can turn to either side.

He can sit independently for short periods, but is liable to lose his balance and fall over and cannot pick himself back up.

He attends mainstream nursery and enjoys the interaction with the other children. But, this interaction can only go so far until the Forfar family raise money to buy a specialist wheelchair.

The chair would allow Eythan to lower himself to the level of his friends, play on the floor with them and has a built-in standing frame.

The Snapdragon costs over £13,000 and the maintenance contract can add another £4000 a year.

Mum Jill, her friend Audrey Milne and her children Caelan and Ailidh, are taking part in The Great Wee Scottish Walk in Dundee’s Camperdown Park on Sunday, to add to the trust fund set up in Eythan’s name.

The fund-raising has been so successful, boosted by cheques from Caring for Kids and support from companies in the area the family are very close to putting in their order.

They hope Eythan could have the wheelchair as soon as August.

Dad Ryan said, “We’ve had a couple of demos of the Snapdragon and Eythan just had the biggest smile on his face when he was able to move about standing up. He was able to chase a football about. It was amazing.”

Eythan has recently been supplied with a standard NHS powered wheelchair but it does not offer the range of movement and flexibility essential for his development.

It’s not height adjustable so does not fit under a dinner or nursery table or allow him access to the floor.

Jill said, “Eythan is at a stage where he is trying to be as independent as possible. He wants to get places and reach for things, however, his ability to do this is limited.

“The Snapdragon would open up a new world for him. Eythan is like any able-bodied child his age — he is a little boy who is desperate to explore everything around him.

“Unfortunately, he has to rely on us to take him to things and to help him touch, feel and explore.

“The chair would help him gain independence and enable him to reach work surfaces, tables or simply just sit on the floor with his friends at nursery.

“The chair would allow Eythan to make decisions as to where he wants to go and what he wants to get, whether it be something simple like a cup of juice from the counter, or to pick up a toy from the floor.

“He is at a stage where kids of his age just don’t want to sit still for a minute. The chair would enable him to be interactive with other children, whether it be on the move, sitting on the floor or standing at the sandpit.

“At the moment he can only dream of such activities.”

Ryan and Jill are immensely proud of the way their son copes with the difficulties he faces.

Jill said, “At present there are no known treatments for the condition and only in recent years have doctors begun to carry out research into it.

“We can only hope a treatment, or perhaps even a cure, is possible in future years. However, for now, all we can do as Eythan’s parents is try to give him every opportunity to grow, develop and become as independent as possible.

“Eythan is a fantastic little boy with amazing spirit. He tackles everything with as much strength and commitment as he can muster and even when things don’t happen for him, he invariably still has a smile on his face.”

Anyone interested in donating to the fund should contact: eythan.Galloway@sky.com