Salisbury community group launch project to support families with SEN children
They've been given a grant to help start it.
Able Hands Together, a community farm group in Salisbury that helps people with learning disabilities, has launched a pilot project to help support families of children with special needs.
They want to help families from the Salisbury area that are struggling to cope with their child's autism, ADHD or other conditions.
It's been set up by Laura Tween, who runs the farm, whose own experiences has inspired her to create this project.
Being a young parent coming to terms with her two sons' disabilities, Laura thought this would be a great chance to support others in a similar position.
She said:
“What tends to happen when a child is diagnosed is that the parents get left out because they go through almost a grieving process where they think ‘my child may not have the same opportunities as other children, our life is going to be more difficult than the average family.
I thought about what would have helped our family through this process and it would have been having something to do as a family, all working together, with someone who had been through the process and some professional support around to reassure people that anxieties are okay and to be sure that everyone’s needs are being met.”
Due to the pandemic, some parts of the Children and Families Act was suspended which Laura says had led to delays in assessments of children with SEN.
As part of this new project, Able Hands will work with Wiltshire Council's Children Services to identify families and how they can be supported.
The families that take part will then be involved in a ten-week programme, which has been written by child psychologist Maryhan Baker from Salisbury.
Laura added:
“We will work with three or four families at a time.
At each session, the family will spend time together with a life coach to look at what they are good at and what their needs are. It’s all about trying to help each person in the family support each other.”
Contact the group on their website to find out how to get involved.
GENEROUS DONATION
The project has been made possible by a donation from Wiltshire Community Foundation.
Nearly £6,000 was given to the charity from their Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund, which has raised more than £1.1 million in total.
To donate to the fund, visit the Foundation's website.