Disability Pride on Saturday, 25 July, 11am-3pm at the Edinburgh ZOO
To celebrate, we have 25 free Discovery Passes (a family of up to 2 adults and 3 children)
The Edinburgh ZOO offered 25 family passes for Down’s Syndrome Scotland families – you can use it to get free entry on Saturday 25 July or any other date convenient for you. To make sure that the selection process if fair, please complete the form below before 12 noon on Friday, 17 July and we will randomly select 25 entries later that day.
July is Disability Pride month and to celebrate it, the Edinburgh ZOO are having a Disability Pride on Saturday, 25 July. Down’s Syndrome Scotland, together with other charities, will be there to promote the work we do and our very own Choir 21 will be performing as well between 6.00 and 8.00pm
We are delighted that we can introduce some more in-person ABC First Steps sessions for children aged 0-2 years (up to 3rd birthday).
Come along to our face-to-face event on Saturday 22nd August at 11.30am (session ends at 12.15pm).
This session will be at Watch us Grow, Palacerigg Country Park, Cumbernauld, G67 3HU. The Session will be hosted by Katy Lironi, ABC Development Lead and Makaton Tutor, from our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) team.
To attend this event please complete the form below, once your booking is confirmed, we will be in touch to confirm your place. We will then email a reminder of the details of the event (usually a few days before from abc@dsscotland.org.uk).
Event information:
A £5.00 charge (per session) applies and is available to all families with a DSS Membership (Membership is free, join here!)
The sessions will take place once per month (usually last Saturday of the month) and will feature lots of familiar aspects of our First Steps sessions – songs, Makaton signs, stories and early communication activities. Face-face sessions also provide a great opportunity for meeting other parents.
Face-to-face First Steps sessions will be in addition to weekly online First Steps or ABC Anytime First Steps, which will continue weekly throughout term time.
Each event can accommodate a maximum of 6 children plus a parent/carer and will be on a first come first served basis. Please book only one ticket per family. (Usually both parents and a sibling can attend, but please be mindful that the sessions are structured to meet the communication needs of children with Ds.)
Each event needs to be booked on an individual basis, but more than one session can be booked by each family.
Come along to our face-to-face event on Saturday 22nd August at 10.30am (session ends at 11.15am).
Each event can accommodate a maximum of 10 children plus a parent/carer and will be on a first come first served basis. Please book only one ticket per family. (Usually both parents and a sibling can attend, but please be mindful that the sessions are structured to meet the communication needs of children with Ds.)
We are delighted that we can introduce some more in-person ABC Songs, Stories and Signs sessions for children aged 3-6 years (up to 6th birthday or older depending on communication stage)
Come along to our ABC Songs, Stories and Signs face-to-face event on Saturday 28th November at 11.30am in Glasgow (session ends at 12.15pm).
Sessions take place at Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Easterhouse, Glasgow, G34 9JW and will be hosted by Katy Lironi, ABC Development Lead and Makaton Tutor, from our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) team.
To attend this event please complete the form below. We will then email a reminder of the details of the event (usually a few days before from abc@dsscotland.org.uk).
The sessions will take place once per month (usually last Saturday of the month) and will feature lots of familiar aspects of our ABC online sessions – songs, Makaton signs, stories and communication activities. Face-face sessions also provide a great opportunity for meeting other parents.
Face-to-face ABC Songs, Stories and Signs sessions will be in addition to weekly online ABC or ABC Anytime sessions, which will continue weekly throughout term time.
Come along to our ABC Songs, Stories and Signs face-to-face event on Saturday 19th September at 11.30am in Glasgow (session ends at 12.15pm).
Come along to our ABC Songs, Stories and Signs face-to-face event on Saturday 31st October at 11.30am in Glasgow (session ends at 12.15pm).
Come along to our face-to-face event on Saturday 28th November at 10.30am in Glasgow (session ends at 11.15am).
This session will be at Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Easterhouse, Glasgow, G34 9JW. The Session will be hosted by Katy Lironi, ABC Development Lead and Makaton Tutor, from our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) team.
Come along to our face-to-face event on Saturday 31st October at 10.30am in Glasgow (session ends at 11.15am).
Come along to our face-to-face event on Saturday 19th September at 10.30am in Glasgow (session ends at 11.15am).
During transitions young people may go through emotional, physical, intellectual, and physiological changes. They are learning to adjust to different expectations, relationships, places, and routines. Transition can be both an exciting and challenging time for a young person, their family/for those who support them.
At this session Fiona Maguire will share her extensive knowledge and will cover what a good transition from school should look like. Fiona works for Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) as a Transitions Coordinator. Her role is to work in partnership with young people with additional support needs (ASN), their family carers, education and other partners to provide transitions advice, guidance and support from the age of 14-25 years of age while in school and beyond school. This role is underpinned by the principles of good transitions 3 framework which promotes early intervention, person centred planning and whole family support, co-ordination across all services and information sharing. Fiona is passionate about the importance of a good transition.
Date: Tuesday 10th November 2026
Time: 7-8pm
Attendance Mode: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free
This workshop has been created to allow you to explore what causes the behaviour of the person you care for that you find difficult to manage or hard to change. You will have the opportunity to analyse their behaviour, learn how to understand its function, and develop a support plan specific to them, which can be used to support their personal difficulties with communication and help you to teach them alternative and more appropriate behaviours to communicate and help to develop their confidence and self-esteem.
Date: Tuesday 24th November 2026
Time: 7.00-9.00pm
Join Us for a Fantastic evening at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park!
Blair Drummond is delighted to be hosting another Dreamnight on Friday, 5 June 2026 from 6.00 – 9.00pm
There is a limited number of tickets available and will be offered on a first-come first-served basis, so to avoid disappointment please book now.
Event Details:
More about the event:
This special VIP evening, held after hours, is exclusively for the members of Blair Drummond Safari Park’s charity partners.
Activities on the night will include:
Please complete the form below and submit, we will be in touch week commencing 25 May to confirm if you have received tickets.