Parental Support

We have launched a new service in 2011 called Face2Face. This is a dedicated support service for parents who have a child with a recent diagnosis of disability or illness. Volunteer parents, who have a disabled child, have undergone a training programme to become befrienders. A befriender offers one to one emotional and practical support from someone who understands what you are going through. Please contact us to gain access to this free service.

Learning your child has a disability can come as a huge shock, or it may simply confirm something you’ve suspected for a long time. Either way, the news often leaves parents feeling shattered, lonely and needing support. The need for support infomation and advice never goes away. Looking after a child with a disability is like being on a rollercoaster and can sometimes feel like being on a battle field.

That’s where Friends and Families of Special Children can help. Our staff, volunteers and other parents can offer you:-

time to talk and be listened to
understanding from someone who has been through a similar experience
reassurance that what you are feeling is OK
a positive view about the future of your child.
providing information on local services

Our staff and volunteers can also help with:-

supporting parents to explore the options available
negotiating with other agencies such as health, education or social services
helping parents to access welfare benefits or other sources of financial help
supporting at key transition points such as starting school, moving to adult services
giving informatiom about schooling, including whether a special school or mainstream education is the best option.

The Education Act 1996 legally defines children with SEN as children who have a considerably greater difficulty in learning than others the same age. It also includes children who cannot use the educational facilities which other children of a similar age use because of their disability. Children under school age, who would fall into either category without extra help, are also included. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability Act 2001 brought access to education within the remit of the Disability Discrimination Act, making it unlawful for education providers to discriminate against disabled pupils, students and adult learners.

As well as offering individual, confidential advice and support we hold support group coffee meetings at Virginia House on the first Thursday of each month (may vary during school holidays). External speakers are invited to the meetings. A huge variety of topics are covered, some relating to disability and others on lighter, fun subjects such as colour therapy, alternative therapy and make overs.

We also faciltate training sessions, consultation groups and social and leisure opportunities to parent/adult carers. Some previous activities have included boat trips, shooting and archery days, pottery sessions, fondu evenings at The Ski Lodge and lunches at local restaurants.

During Carers Week in June we provide a week of activities including a fantastic lunch and Carers Award ceremony at The Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth.

We work in partnership with Carers UK to ensure that we are aware of all national campaigns relating to Carers issues and have been involved with numerous national media campaigns.

We operate a parent carer steering group who act as a working group and monitoring/evaluation tool for the Trustees. Several parents meet on a regualr basis to discuss events that have already taken place and those that it is felt would be beneficial in the future. The outcome of these meetings is fed back to the Trustees and it is felt that this is an important tool in ensuring that the activities and events are meeting the aims of the charity. If you feel that you might like to become involved with this group please give us a call.

The following links offer help and advice to parent carers:-