Please come along to our in-person ABC Next Steps session for adults aged 18 years and over on Sunday 24th May at 12.30pm in Seafield, West Lothian (session ends at 13.45pm).
Sessions take place at Cill Mhanach Wellness Studio, Redhouse Road, Seafield, West Lothian, EH47 7AL 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. We will then email a reminder of the details of the event (usually a few days before from abc@dsscotland.org.uk).
Event information:
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.
Face-to-face ABC Next Steps 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 12 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.
Please come along to our in-person ABC Next Steps session for adults aged 18 years and over on Sunday 26th April at 12.30pm in Seafield, West Lothian (session ends at 13.45pm).
When: Tuesday 2nd June
Time: 7-8pm
Online via Zoom
Jo is the CEO and driving force behind Learn and Thrive. She is a passionate advocate for the community, juggling parenthood with a teenage daughter who has Down’s syndrome and two lively boys.
Her journey began in the NHS as a specialist Neurological Physiotherapist. Later, she ventured into entrepreneurship and founded 21 Together, a charity dedicated to supporting families in the Kent area. She co-founded Learn and Thrive with the aim of ensuring all young people with Down’s syndrome access the specialist tools and support they need for vibrant lives. As of August 2024, she now works full time at Learn and Thrive, pushing the charity forward to support more children and young people every day. For Jo, this isn’t just a job – it’s a lifestyle!
Mairi has worked with Parent to Parent since 2003 and as a parent of a child with physical and learning disability, she wants to support parents in their journey emotionally and practically.
Her role is an early years complex care co-ordinator and she supports all areas of additional need including complex and ASD.
She co-ordinates and chairs children’s planning meetings (Team around the child) from birth until they start nursery. She will support parents at clinics, therapy appointments and nursery/school meetings and has supported transitions to nursery countless times.
Event Details
Friday 13th March
1.00-2.00pm
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.
Tuesday 16th June
7.00-9.00pm
When: Tuesday 12th May
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.
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.
Tuesday 28th April
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 27th May
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.
Tuesday 24th March
When: Thursday 5th March
Time: 12.30-1.30pm
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.
This workshop has been tailored to support people with Down’s Syndrome and their families to navigate toilet training. Join us to chat through practical methods and ideas and share your experiences with other parent/carers.
Wednesday 21st January 2026
12pm – 1pm
When: Wednesday 4th February
We are delighted to be welcoming back Maggie Woodhouse, Optometrist and Senior Lecturer at the School of Optometry & Vision Sciences at Cardiff University. For almost 40 years, Maggie’s main interests have been visual development and the provision of eye care for people with learning disabilities, particularly children with Down’s syndrome.
Maggie’s research has changed practice in eye care and she has been awarded both an OBE and a Queen’s Anniversary Award. Maggie and her colleagues run a Special Assessment Clinic for people with disabilities.
At this session, Maggie will speak about her role, sharing her knowledge and expertise about visual development and eye care for children with Down’s syndrome and refer to research on this. Time will be given at the end for Maggie to answer any questions you may have.