FURTHER RESOURCES & ADVICE
There is large and wonderful community of people whose lives have been touched by Down's Syndrome who provide support. Here are just a few of the amazing organisations to explore.
SHINE21
Shine21 Dorset is a buddy club supporting children/teens and young adults in Dorset who have Down Syndrome. Run by Tara Gool and Liz Chilton, Shine21 organises amazing events attended by families from all across Dorset.
PARENTS CARERS TOGETHER
Parent Carers Together is a forum set up to represent the voices of Parent Carers of children and young people (0-25 years) with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP). They do this by gathering the views of local families and then working in partnership with local authorities, education settings, health providers and other providers (like yourself) to highlight where local services, processes and commissioners are working well or challenge when changes or improvements need to be made.
POSITIVE ABOUT DOWN SYNDROME
Positive About Down Syndrome (PADS) is a national charity which has a number of very active social media groups, provides education and training for parents and professionals and organises events. PADS operates a number of Facebook groups, some of which can be found below:
​
DOWN'S SYNDROME ASSOCIATION
FOR FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS
The Down's Syndrome Association is a national organisation, committed to improving quality of life for people who have Down’s syndrome, promoting their right to be included on a full and equal basis with others.
DOWNÂ SYNDROME EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL,
SEE & LEARN
FOR FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS
See and Learn teaching programmes provide evidence-based activities, guidance and support to help children with Down syndrome improve their speech, language, reading and numeracy skills.
DOWN'S SYNDROME DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL, COUNCIL FOR DISABLED CHILDREN
FOR FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS
This Developmental Journal for babies and children with Downs syndrome is a set of charts that families use to record what their child is able to do as time passes and they learn new things. It has been written to help parents and the professionals who work with them and is a tool to help families track and understand development in their child. It supports partnership working, in particular, the sharing of information between families and the professionals they meet.
DOWNS SYNDROME UK (DSUK)
FOR FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS
Down Syndrome UK (DSUK) is a national charity passionate about empowering parents and professionals to improve the lives of those with Down syndrome and their families in the UK.
You can follow them on Facebook here: DSUK Facebook
DSUK TRAINING
FOR FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS
DSUK provides a range of training courses which are open for families and professionals.
DSUK ONLINE SUPPORT GROUPS
FOR FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS
DSUK operates a number of Facebook groups for professionals working with children with Down's Syndrome (their groups for parents are run under their Positive About Down's Syndrome project). Follow the links below to some of the groups available or see the full list on their website:
​
Secondary School Professionals
​