In 2022, statistics were published by The British Association of Supported Employment (BASE) showing that only 5.1% of people with learning disabilities known to social services are in any form …
Government consultations are like buses. No sooner has one gone by, than another arrives. In the same week the SEND Review consultation closed, the Department for Health & Social Care …
with Chris Barnes, Down’s Syndrome International Diversity and inclusion. Two words we champion daily, the holy grail for those in the disability community. But what do they mean? And how …
with Dr Kieron Smith, father of a child with Down’s syndrome, followed by legal opinion from barristers, Victoria Butler-Cole QC, Steve Broach, and Nyasha Weinberg of 39 Essex Chambers The …
with input from Colette Lloyd Why have we called this article, “it’s complicated’? Because it is completely understandable that a great many women do not want any further restrictions on …
A lot of children struggle to engage with maths taught in ‘traditional’ ways, especially those with additional needs. Karen McGuigan recognised this when she was working with her middle son …
Each year families, educators and charities come together to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on 21st March. The date was chosen to represent the three copies of chromosome 21 that …
Just over two weeks ago I witnessed an online surge, the likes of which I have rarely seen before. Started by one passionate mum, actor Sally Phillips, her ‘celebrity’ tag …
A couple of months ago I was invited to speak at the Academies Show in London on the subject of assessment for children with SEND. It was very exciting (and …
I was recently contacted by a mum of a child with additional needs, who expressed sadness to me over her pregnant friend’s attitude to the possibility of having a baby …
Today, we’re helping campaigner, Downs Side Up blogger & our SNJ columnist, Hayley Goleniowska, support Down’s syndrome Awareness week. She’s running a “Thunderclap” campaign which aims to get supporters to …
This last couple of weeks have been a big ones for the Down’s syndrome parenting community. You would hope that this was because the country has been covered by a …
I am enormously proud to announce the launch of a very exciting project I have been working on for some months now. Talking About Down’s Syndrome: Conversations for New Parents is …
Emily Alexander has a magical secret… she works for Santa at The International Elf Service. She is also a Registered Osteopath and a Mum to a wonderful little boy who has …
As a mum of a daughter with Down’s Syndrome, I understand at first hand how hard it is to make the decision over whether to choose mainstream or a special …
You can’t have missed it. The story of little baby Gammy, supposedly left by his parents in Thailand with his surrogate mother, while his twin sister was taken home to …
As our newborn, youngest daughter, just diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, remained in the neonatal intensive care unit, I recall returning home one evening to a house that felt empty, too …
‘There’s an awareness day for everything nowadays’ the rather jaded GP muttered in my direction recently, in a tone that hinted ‘leave me out of it please.’ ‘It’s awareness day …
It’s easy to assume that the moral dilemma of whether to abort your unborn baby that you’ve learned has a disability, is confined to a shouty debate between pro-choicers on …
Ain’t technology grand? Just before Christmas Hayley from DownsSideUp and, as you know, a Special Needs Jungle columnist, “got together” over Skype for a chat about SEN, parenting and why …
