Special needs support for young people & families

by Together in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Special needs support for young people & families

Total raised £1,470

raised so far

39

supporters

We want to be able to provide free support, advice and training for young people with special needs and rare conditions, and their families.

by Together in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

We're still collecting donations

On the 15th December 2020 we'd raised £1,450 with 39 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

Why is this needed now?

Waiting times for young people with special needs or a rare condition to see specialists are longer than ever.  Due to COVID 19, the world has had to change its ways of working and we know that this has impacted on access to education and specialists.

When someone has special needs or a rare condition, there is a strong chance that they will need to access the support of a variety of specialists; those interventions will have a better chance of success if they are undertaken in collaboration.  Yet from our extensive experience we know that, even in the best of times, specialist services have very long waiting lists and that there is little communication between specialists, if at all.  On 10th November 2020, Ofsted published their briefing on local areas' special educational needs and disabilities provision, October 2020.  When reporting what the challenges have been in supporting children and young people with SEND during COVID, they identified the following headlines:

  • Not all families had contact with practitioners
  • Families were not always included in discussions about how best to support them.  This meant that some did not get access to support they needed
  • The availability of services across the six areas was variable (their research covered six geographical areas) 
  • Not all services could switch to online provision effectively

 

We are determined to change the narrative.  More than ever, young people with special needs or a rare disease need support.  Our team has the capacity to do close work with tens of families, with our online work having the capability to reach hundreds.   Our structure is one that can also grow – the engagement of more specialists would enable more families to benefit.  We can only have this wider impact with funding.

Please donate to Together to help us do this.  

 

 About us

We are Andrea and Deb and we want to make a difference.  Between us we have over 40 years experience in special schools, mainstream schools and specialist support services.  We have seen how hard it is for families to access good quality, timely  support for young people with special educational needs and rare conditions.  We set up 'Together' to do something about this by bringing together education specialists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and an educational psychologist to work collaboratively on shared goals.  We know that the most vulnerable young people in society have enough challenges already and we passionately believe that they deserve the best possible support.

 

The Together Team

Using our expertise, knowledge and contacts, Together was born.  It is truly a team approach, bringing together professionals we worked with in schools.  The team currently includes:

  • teachers specialising in play skills and social skills development, emotional wellbeing, autistic spectrum conditions and a wide variety of special educational needs
  • occupational therapists
  • speech and language therapists
  • an educational psychologist

We offer flexibility in the way we work.  The whole team collaborates to provide timely, specialist, bespoke support; we are not restricted by waiting lists.  Alternatively, one member of the team can work with a family, if that's more appropriate.  There are several ways that families can interact with services, for example through the Together website (www.togethercentre.co.uk), on Facebook (TogetherCommunity) or through Twitter (@TogetherCmty).  

 

The current Together offer

The original intention (although COVID 19 interrupted the plan) was to run from a community-based coffee shop which offered employment opportunities for young people with special needs.  This is still the long term aim but for now, we are being creative in trying to reach as many people as possible; no-one should feel that they are on their own.

So far, we have been able to do the following:

  • offer bespoke advice and support to young people and families in need in person and via email, telephone and Zoom conference calls
  • publish a weekly blog on our website.  Topics so far include dyslexia assessment and challenging behaviour.  These have been inspired by the support we have given to young people and families
  • songs with Makaton signing available through the Together YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAyRXyaljft4nelUYmtoPA)

There are plans to increase the content of the YouTube channel and the blogs will soon be complemented by podcasts.  However, we want to do more.

 

Developing provision

We want to reach more young people with special needs and rare conditions and their families.  We have plans to:

  • host webinars for a variety of purposes including training and social support; even a social chat with others can be supportive.  Members of our team are also ready to deliver webinars on specific topics such as challenging behaviour, sensory processing and communication support
  • be on hand for phone conversations, to provide reassurances that no-one is on their own
  • provide bespoke resources, for example visual timetables, for use in homes and food aversion sensory therapy boxes to help improve restricted diets.  A visual timetable can provide routine and grounding in amongst a world of uncertainty and extending the range of foods eaten will improve longer term health outcomes.

 

What do we need and how can you help?

We have been working on our set-up formally since September.  However, we have come to the end of the financial resources which were available to us.  We are now actively seeking donations to be able to make the difference we are so passionate about.  

 

Every donation will make a difference:

£5 will pay for printing, laminating and posting of a visual timetable/symbol resources for a family 

£10 will pay for a month of unlimited phone minutes so we can make supportive calls to families

£20  will pay for sensory resources to deliver to a family to take part in online sensory integration sessions, for example around food tolerance

£25 will pay for two hosts to have access to Zoom for a month and so provide a range of online meetings/support groups

£50 will pay for a half hour online consultation for a family with one of our specialists

£75 will pay for a 3/4 hour online session for an individual young person or group of parents with one of our specialists

£100 will pay for the administration (including set up and registration for a young person/family) of a series of webinars, the focus of which could be any of the following:

  • social gathering or online youth club
  • sibling support group
  • independence skills group
  • behaviour support forum
  • support group for parents

To support our longer term sustainability, we would also welcome larger donations.  We are working towards setting up computers to enable families to access specialist software, including symbol software.  We would like to purchase 2 (2 x £500) laptops for this;  2 printers (2 x £100) and 2 laminators (2 x £40) would also enable parents to make their own resources.   

Up to now, we have been unpaid for our work as we felt this was so important to get set up.  However, longer term we will also need to be able to earn some money ourselves.  

 

If you would like to gift any of the above for Christmas, we can send you a gift certificate outlining what the recipient has donated and how it will positively impact on the lives of young people with special educational needs or a rare disease.  

 

Testimonials

Through our challenging behaviour blog:

"...your blog just hit the spot!  It was so well written!  Having had massive behaviour issues with mine at different stages - the ways in which it shatters you are beyond anything experienced at work...  I'm glad you spoke about the aftermath - it stays with you but you don't realise other people feel the same."

 

After an informal online support meeting:

"Just a big thank you.  You gave us the most constructive advice we've ever had.  I know it's 'what you do' but it's already made such a difference."

 

Finding out more

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  You can find out more about us and what we do at:

Rewards

This project offered rewards

£5 or more

up to £20 reward

In appreciation of your donation, we will give you a shout out on one of our social media platforms.

£20 or more

£20 Reward

In appreciation of your donation, we will send you an update newsletter, detailing progress towards our aims and how you have helped.

£50 or more

£50 Reward

In appreciation of your donation, we will send you a framed certificate, detailing the positive impact of your donation.

£100 or more

£100 Reward

In appreciation of your donation, we will arrange an online chat with you so we can give you a live funders update

£250 or more

£250 Reward

In appreciation of your donation, we will invite you to an expenses paid lunch in our community coffee shop, when it opens. NB Due to the current circumstances and funding limitations, we have not yet been able to secure premises but we will keep you updated with progress towards this and then finalise a date with you.

£300 or more

£300 Reward

In appreciation of your donation, we will invite you to the grand opening of our community coffee shop. NB Due to the current circumstances and funding limitations, we have not yet been able to secure premises but we will keep you updated with progress towards this and then confirm the official opening date with you.

£500 or more

£500 Reward

£500 would buy a much needed laptop which families could use to access specialist software. In appreciation of your donation, we will invite you to the grand opening of our community coffee shop and then we will send you a framed certificate, detailing the positive impact of your donation.

£1,000 or more

£1000 Reward

£1000 would fund either 2 series of specialist webinars, reaching 100+ families or our highest level of support for 3 families as it would pay for 3 whole team strategy meetings to map out individual, targeted, collaborative support. In appreciation of your donation, we will invite you to the grand opening of our community coffee shop and then to spend a 'day in the life of Together' at the coffee shop, meeting our team and trying our menu

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