When: Wednesday 11th June
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
Kirsteen Grieve is a Specialist Independent Paediatric Physiotherapist with extensive experience in developmental paediatrics. After 14 years working within both the NHS as well as the third sector both in the UK and New Zealand, Kirsteen founded her private practice – Movement Physiotherapy – in 2012. She has continued to develop her clinical skills in line with new and advancing clinical techniques to provide modern and innovative approaches to managing the wide-ranging needs of the children she works with. Kirsteen runs sessions from her homely and welcoming space ‘The Bothy’ just outside Linlithgow and provides both regular and intensive physiotherapy sessions to children and their families from all over Scotland and beyond! The aim with each family is to push the boundaries to discover what is possible!
Kirsteen’s session will cover typical development of a child with Down’s Syndrome and give practical ideas and suggestions on how to address some of the common physical challenges that these children face. The session will be very interactive and will provide demonstrations of how to self-assess and evaluate your child at home, know when to seek additional help, and tips on how to progress gross motor skills. Questions are welcome in advance and during/after the session.
Bookings for this event have now closed.
When: Wednesday 20th August
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
Come and join Karen Philip from our Family Support Team and Katy Lironi, Development Lead and Makaton Tutor from our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) Team for a Q&A session – a chance to gain information and ask any questions you may have about your child’s early years development and communication from birth to up to 3 years old.
When: Wednesday 4th June
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
Karen McGuigan is the founder of Maths for Life Limited who support children and young adults with additional support needs to engage with and enjoy learning maths. The programme also helps parents/carers and education professionals to have the tools and resources to support using the programme within the home or school/college setting.
At this session Karen will speak about how the Maths for Life Programme came about, how it works to support the complete age spectrum of students, from pre-school and onwards onto further education/college and how the programme incorporates technology to support maths learning. It is a differentiated and accessible programme aimed at supporting individuals who may have difficulties with the national curriculum structure and timescales and offers a different approach to learning essential maths skills.
Bookings for this event have now closed.
When: Friday 13th June
Time: 12.30-1.30pm
Online via Zoom
Dr Tamlyn Watermeyer is a Cognitive Neuropsychologist — this means she is interested in how the brain supports memory and thinking abilities. Her work focuses on understanding how and why these abilities change over time, especially in people who are at higher risk of developing dementia, like those with Down’s syndrome. She currently holds an NIHR-Alzheimer’s Society Dementia fellowship and is based at Northumbria University at Newcastle and has an honorary fellowship with Edinburgh Dementia Prevention, University of Edinburgh. She will present a summary of her fellowship work aimed at improving access to brain health and dementia research care opportunities in the North of the UK by improving the tests to assess memory and thinking in all ages of people with Down’s syndrome.
As they age, people with Down’s syndrome are at-risk for developing Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia. Despite this, they are often left out of research studies of dementia, in large part because our current tests simply don’t work well enough for this group. The RAD Study (Revolutionising Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment in Down’s syndrome) is about changing that by developing tests of the future. In this project, we’re working with adults with Down’s syndrome (aged 18 years and older) and their caregivers to develop fairer, more accurate ways of detecting early memory and thinking changes linked to Alzheimer’s. We’re testing a new kinds of memory tasks, that are like games and that don’t rely on language or education (a big problem of existing tests), and which have already shown promise in detecting Alzheimer’s much earlier in other groups. Crucially, we’re not just testing what works — we’re asking what works for you? Participants are helping us shape and improve the study itself: what feels accessible, what doesn’t, and how we can make this research more inclusive and empowering for all ages of people with Down’s syndrome. The RAD Study isn’t just about improving science. It’s about shifting who gets seen, heard, and supported when it comes to brain health — and paving the way for future research and care that includes everyone from the very beginning of their brain health journey.
When: Wednesday 7th May
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
At this session we will be joined by Isla Ross, Additional Support for Learning Service with City of Edinburgh Council for a ‘Ready Steady School’ session.
Isla helps support staff in mainstream schools who have pupils with additional support needs in their class. Isla is also a Signalong Tutor as well as a teacher in the Forest School for Care Experienced Young People.
At this starting school session Isla will chat about what to expect going into primary school and provide some practical ideas to parents/carers to help make that transition to Primary 1 a positive experience for the whole family.
When: Tuesday 6th May
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
At this session we will be joined by Salena Begley, Partner Engagement Manager at Family Fund to learn about Take a Break Grants and how to apply.
Salena will also share information about the services and support available from Family Fund and answer any questions you may have.
Salena joined Family Fund full time in 2010 as Scotland and NE England Development Manager having previously worked as Independent Assessor. As Partner Engagement Manager, Salena promotes and develops the work of Family Fund in Scotland, focussing on public affairs, partnerships and family outcomes.
Take a Break is Scotland’s short breaks fund for carers of disabled children, young people and their families. Take a Break grants can be used for a break away, towards leisure activities or outings, sports equipment and much, much more.
When: Tuesday 20th May
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
At this session we will be joined by Gillian Hyams from Gillespie MacAndrew to talk about Wills and Trusts.
Gillian is an Associate at Gillespie MacAndrew and advises clients and their families on a wide range of private client work. She is particularly interested in Adults with Incapacity law, and often advises clients on Powers of Attorney, Guardianships, and other issues around Adults with Incapacity Law.
Bookings for this event have now closed.
When: Tuesday 15th April
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
At this session we will be joined by Gillian Hyams from Gillespie MacAndrew to talk about the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act and the importance of applying for Guardianship or Power of Attorney (POA) for people with Down’s syndrome from age 16.
Gillian is an Associate at Gillespie MacAndrew and advises clients and their families on a wide range of private client work. She is particularly interested in Adults with Incapacity law, and often advises clients on Powers of Attorney, Guardianships, and other issues around Adults with Incapacity Law.
When: Wednesday 30th April
Time: 8-9pm
Online via Zoom
At this session we will be joined by Gillian Gehrke, Health Ambassador for DSA and also a working Consultant for Queenslanders With Disability Network (QDN) and a proud Inter Advocate for International Mosaic Down Syndrome Association (IMDSA). Gillian will talk about the importance of fostering confidence, through mutual respect and meaningful connections in Disability Advocacy.
When: Wednesday 26th February
Time: 7-7.30pm
Online via Zoom
Come and join Karen Philip from our Family Support Team and Katy Lironi, Development Lead and Makaton Tutor from our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) Team for a Q&A session – a chance to gain information and ask any questions you may have about your child’s early years development and communication from birth to up to 3 years old.