Meet & Play, Austism, ADHD & news 19th March 2015
Dear All This bulletin follows closely on from the previous one, and it's events and news... Meet & Play L.E.A.D Kingston parent forum are hosting a parent participation and play event this weekend, and are keen that as many parents from both Richmond and Kingston come along. ( L.E.A.D. = Listen, Engage & Advocate for Disability ) Sunday 22nd March - 12noon to 3pm Moor Lane Centre, Chessington, KT9 2AA Come and... - meet other parents - children can play in the fully accessible playground - make use of the activity rooms - contribute to the development of services for children with disabilities in Kingston & Richmond (with Caroline Baxter, Head of Service) - light refreshments will be available Please come along. Hopefully the sun will shine and all are welcome! Autism Awareness Week - 26th March to 2nd April Richmond NAS and London Bor.of Richmond-upon-Thames have arranged a full week of activities for Richmond Autism Awareness Week. The link to the website is below: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/services/health_conditions/autism/richmond_autism_aw areness_week.htm There's lots going on, including: Thursday 26th March - 2pm to 4.30pm Twickenham Training Ctr, 53 Grimwood Road, TW1 1BY Alis Rowe, creator of the Curly Hair Project http//thegirlwiththecurlyhair.co.uk and Rebecca Swist, Autism Specialist Worker will be holding an interactive and fun workshop. There is a small charge to attend (ÂŁ10 or ÂŁ7.50 for those on low income). Please book your place via: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-to-the-autism-spectrum-the-curly-hair-project-tickets16015811724 Friday 27th March - 10am to 12noon The Crossway Centre, Richmond Road, TW1 2PD Tom Connor, Educational Psychologist - autism specialist. Tom will be presenting information about services available; and there will be time for questions.
Expert Parenting "The Council for Disabled Children has developed an innovative training programme for parents of disabled children. Developed with funding support from Department of Health, the Expert Parent Programme draws on current evidence of the positive impact of parent led training and empowers parents of disabled children and young people to become more confident and resilient when engaging with health services. Parents and carers are the key individuals in managing the health of disabled children, they coordinate services, act as advocates, serve as information services on top of delivering a significant proportion of their child's healthcare. Despite their responsibilities and expertise parents and carers often find negotiating the health system on behalf of their child complex, frustrating and exhausting. The programme consists of: A sustainable programme of modular training directed at parents and carers of disabled children and young people; Comprehensive information and links to further sources of information; Interactive online e-learning resources for parents; Sign posting to existing high quality training opportunities that meet the needs of parents and carers." http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/expertparent I haven't tested this out - but if anyone does - please let me know how it went for you! Two articles from Contact a Family Contact a Family aims to provide support for all families of children with disabilities. The first article is their response to today's budget: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/news-and-media/contact-a-family-responds-to-chancellorsbudget/ The second is a link to a central government consultation into proposals on giving more rights to people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health conditions: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/news-and-media/government-opens-consultation-on-rights-ofdisabled-people-proposals/ Living with ADHD Finally, a link to an articulate young man answering questions on living with ADHD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uofuOQw_FJ0&feature=youtu.be As ever, if you have any questions at all, please ask and I'll do my best to find an answer. With best wishes, Romany ...on behalf of Richmond SEND Family Voice www.richmondsendfamilyvoice.org