When: Tuesday 10th September
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
We will be welcoming Katie Brown from Gillespie MacAndrew. Katie is a Senior Solicitor at Gillespie MacAndrew and advises clients on a range of issues including wills, powers of attorney and inheritance tax. She also undertakes, and advises on, the administration of both testate and intestate estates and the matters surrounding them such as legal rights and tax reporting. Katie also has some experience in relation to the administration of trusts, generally. In this session, Katie will speak specifically 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 the age 16. There will be the opportunity to ask questions and share your own experiences at the end of the session.
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.
Event Details
Wednesday 27th November
7.00-8.30pm
Bookings for this event have now closed.
Please come along to our in-person ABC Next Steps session for adults aged 18 years and over on Sunday 1st September at 12.30pm in Linlithgow (session ends at 13.45pm).
Sessions take place at The Donaldson Trust (Donaldson’s School), Preston Road, Linlithgow, West Lothian, EH49 6HZ and will be hosted by June Flynn, ABC Tutor, from our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) team.
ABC Next Steps provides a literacy and communication session for adults. You can expect lots of the same activities included in our online sessions – introductions, getting to know you, topic-based conversations and follow up literacy activities and games.
Face-face sessions also provide a great opportunity for adults to meet and continue their communication journey.
To attend this event please complete the form below, once your booking is confirmed, we will be in touch by email with payment details for those who are NOT signed up to our ABC online Programme (details below). We will then email a reminder of the details of the event (usually a few days before from abc@dsscotland.org.uk).
Event information:
These sessions are free of charge to families who are members of DSS and signed up to our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) Programme and bookable here. A £5.00 charge (per session) applies to families who aren’t signed up to the ABC Programme.
Face-to-face ABC Next Steps sessions will be in addition to weekly online ABC sessions, which will continue weekly throughout term time.
Each event can accommodate a maximum of 6 adults plus a parent/carer and will be on a first come first served basis. Please book only one ticket per family.
Each event needs to be booked on an individual basis, but more than one session can be booked by each family.
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 September 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.
There is no additional cost for those who subscribe to our ABC programme as it includes monthly face-to-face sessions throughout the year. A £5.00 charge (per session) applies to families who aren’t signed up to the ABC Programme.
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.
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.)
We are delighted that we can introduce some more in-person ABC First Steps sessions for children aged 0-3 years (up to 3rd birthday).
Come along to our face-to-face event on Saturday 28th September 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 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, 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).
These sessions are included in your subscription to our Achieving Better Communication (ABC) Programme. A £5.00 charge (per session) applies to families who aren’t signed up to the ABC Programme.
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 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.)
This workshop will teach you the approach of “Teaching Reading to Teach Talking”, the effectiveness of using the “Whole Word Approach” and how you can use this to help your child to learn to read.
Wednesday 30th October
This workshop will support you to teach your child basic numeracy principles, understand the relationship between language and numeracy, and learn how to create real everyday situations to help your child to realise the real purpose of numbers and, how these can be linked to developing their life skills which will help them gain greater independence and confidence in daily life situations.
Wednesday 25th September
7 – 8.30pm
This workshop has been tailored specifically for parents and carers of children under 5 and will focus on learning and development from birth through the early years up to school age. We will discuss health and development, specific learning profile and professional early years support available, and also explore successful strategies that you can use to support your child’s everyday development and learning.
Wednesday 28th August
When:
Block 2: Thursday 30th April – Thursday 4th June 2026 (inclusive) – 6 weekly sessions
Block 3: Monday 24th August– Monday 28th September 2026 (inclusive) – 6 weekly sessions
Block 4: Tuesday 27th October– Tuesday 1st December 2026 (inclusive) – 6 weekly sessions
Time: 10.00-10.30am
Online Via Zoom
Join Katy Lironi, Down’s Syndrome Scotland’s Makaton Tutor and ABC (Achieving Better Communication) Development Lead for this highly popular, free online course, which is a great introduction to early communication and Makaton signing.
These very popular FREE sessions cover the basics of Makaton signing for babies and introduce songs, stories, rhymes, early communication tips and oral motor exercises. The sessions are fun and interactive, for both parents/carers and babies, teaching families how to best support early communication for their baby with Down’s syndrome and providing contact with other new parents/carers.
The course has been carefully planned to cover a range of exercises, signs, songs and stories across the 6 week period. Sessions include – week 1: saying hello, week 2: eating and drinking, week 3: going places, week 4: play time, week 5: asking for help and week 6: listen carefully, plus many more signs are taught through songs and activities.
Parental feedback suggests that both baby and their parents/carers enjoy the interactive element of this course and learning signs through songs and activities. We do however understand that individual circumstances might mean that you are not able to commit to the day/time as outlined above, or perhaps you will be unable to attend a session one week. All sessions will be recorded and a secure Vimeo link emailed weekly to attendees. If you cannot attend, you can request to receive the weekly recordings of the whole 6 week block. Please let Katy know in advance if you can’t attend one week by emailing, katy@dsscotland.org.uk.
To book onto this 6 week course please complete the registration form at the link below.