Contact A Family extends free benefits helpline service
The brilliant charity, Contact a Family, is from today offering an extended helpline service. Contact a Family has long been a source of information about the benefits system for parents …
Category: Disability Financial Help
Help kick-start a project to make low-cost Sensory Stories!
Tania writes: So many of the people I meet who are involved with special needs have an absolute passion for helping children with SEN & disabilities achieve as much as …
SEN protection to age 25 – unless you go to university
I’ve been pondering on the SEN section of the Children & Families Bill for a while and I am perplexed by what seems to be an anomaly for some 18-25 …
£27.3 Million grant fund to help low-income families with disabled or seriously ill children
I tweeted this earlier, but think if I make a post about it, more people will see it and be able to pass it on to those for whom it …
Parents on the Warpath…and other stories
It’s been a difficult week for many parents at our school, who have discovered that our LA doesn’t want to pay our statemented sons’ school fees, because there has been …
Stop the DLA Takeaway campaign – your help needed
Stop the DLA Takeaway campaign – Contact a Family and The Children’s Trust need your help The Children’s Trust, Tadworth and Contact a Family would like to hear from parents …
Financial affairs advice for your special needs child for when you’re gone
It’s a difficult subject to think about, let alone tackle, but for many parents of children with severe and complex learning disabilities, who are unlikely to be able to like …
When the words move by themselves – it could be Visual Stress
I met a lady on Twitter a while back, Michelle Doyle, who was talking about ‘Visual Stress’. I wasn’t really clear about what this was so Michelle has kindly written …
Getting troubled kids riding high with the brilliant Wave Project
While I was doing some research for DysNet, I came across a fantastic project that uses the beautiful Cornish coast to help young people in difficulty. The Wave Project is …
Special Needs Jungle in the Daily Telegraph. What I really think
There’s a story about SEN in the Daily Telegraph today “Can 20 per cent of schoolchildren really have special needs?” by Peter Stanford. It’s already attracted lots of comments, some …
If ‘child centred’ help is a no-brainer, why isn’t it happening?
One thing that’s become very familiar in the last few years, both personally and from reading your comments and emails, is how outragously hard it is to get the right …
Why I turned my back on my TV news career
Recently I appeared in Woman magazine – a small section in a feature entitled, “Meet the regret-me-nots” My piece was headlined, “I regretted becoming a full-time mum”, which isn’t strictly …
Empowering parents is the goal for Pat
I’m delighted today to introduce a guest blog post from Pat Bolton, who works with a small team of Participation Practitioners at Parents In Power, Gateshead, www.parentsinpower.btck.co.uk Pat works at the …
Disability groups call for pause for thought in welfare reform
The NAS has today thrown its weight behind a call for the government to reconsider its plans for welfare reform relating to the Disability Living Allowance. The level of fraud …
A new SEN Advice service from Contact-a-Family
Contact a Family, the national charity that helps support parents with disabled children has launched a new SEN National Advice Service. This service will help families whose child may have …
Report finds government misled MPs and peers of disability benefit reform
A NEW REPORT entitled Responsible Reform, published today by disabled people (9 January 2012), finds that government misled MPs and peers over the hostility to disability benefit reform. It finds that Parliament …
SENAC for Special Needs Advice in Northern Ireland
If you’re in Northern Ireland and you’re looking for help with getting your child the special educational needs support they require, there is a service for you. The Special Educational …
What do parents of a newly-diagnosed child need?
I recently attended the launch of Family Voice Surrey, the new local forum for parents and carers of children with SEN and disabilities in Surrey. It’s part of the National Network …
Education and Training (Young People with Autism) Bill introduced.
A private member’s bill has been introduced in parliament to make provision for the education and training of young people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome and to ensure that work opportunities …
About SOS!SEN, a fantastic SEN charity
SOS!SEN is a small charity based in Middlesex that offers a fantastic service to parents who are trying to secure the right educational support for their children. It was started by …