Good Vibrations is offering a week of Gamelan workshops at the Royal Conservatoire in Scotland to our members. If you could forward this on to people and organisations in your networks who may be interested, we’d be very thankful.
From the 25th August to the 28th August, Good Vibrations will be running a series of free gamelan workshops for people living with disabilities and their carers, with sessions for people more familiar with music making, or require less help in the morning, and those who may be new to music or need a bit more help in the afternoon.
The gamelan is a set of percussion instruments, like xylophones, gongs and drums that all form part of one orchestra/unit. No experience is needed – the instruments are also accessible for any and all disabilities. If you’re interested in coming along to one or more of these sessions, please follow the link below to our sign up form and tick all the sessions you would like to attend.
Sign Up Form
Good Vibrations will then be in touch to confirm your space and send access information and directions for the day.
This October, carers across Scotland will come together for the annual Carers Parliament 2025 – and we’d love to see Down’s Syndrome Scotland members there.
What is Carers Parliament? Carers Parliament is a special event that happens once a year. It gives unpaid carers like you the chance to speak directly to government decision-makers – both national and local. Think of it as your opportunity to tell them what really matters to you and your family.
With a new Scottish Parliament being elected next year, this is the perfect time to look ahead to 2026 and beyond. The people who make decisions about services and support need to hear from you about what would make the biggest difference to your life as a carer.
Whether you’re caring for someone with Down’s syndrome, or supporting family members in other ways, your experiences and insights are valuable. The challenges you face every day – and the solutions you’d like to see – matter to everyone who cares about making Scotland a better place for carers and the people they support.
When: 30th October
Where: Apex Grassmarket Hotel, Edinburgh – or join online from home
Cost: Free You can attend in person in Edinburgh or join the conversation online – whatever works best for you.
Registration is simple and free. Book your place here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NYHXCRV
Don’t miss this opportunity to help shape the future of support for carers in Scotland. Your voice matters, and the people making decisions need to hear from you.
Carers Week is an annual campaign helping to raise awareness and support for unpaid carers in the UK.
The campaign, which is supported by various organisations (e.g. Age UK, Carers Trust, Carers UK, The ME Association, MND Association, Oxfam, Rethink Mental Illness and The Lewy Body Society), recognises the huge contribution that unpaid carers make to society, highlighting how important caring is and helping carers to identify themselves as carers and if needed access information and support.
Carers Week takes place from Monday 9th June – Sunday 15th June 2025.
This year’s theme is ‘Caring About Equality’ and activities and communications will focus on different themes throughout Carers Week:
Monday – Health and social care
Tuesday – Financial wellbeing
Wednesday – Work and employment
Thursday – Younger carers
Friday – Older carers
Saturday – Mental health and wellbeing
Sunday – Reflections on Carers Week
You can browse activities and events planned on the Carers Week Activities Calendar (you can search by postcode or area).
To learn more, please visit www.carersweek.org. There are free resources available to download here.
The European Down Syndrome Association (EDSA) are hosting a free webinar on Wednesday 4th June at 4.00pm (UK Time) with guest speaker Professor Monica Cuskelly, Director of Research at the Applied Research Centre for Disability and Wellbeing, University of Tasmania, Australia.
Sibling relationships are among the longest-lasting and most influential connections in a person’s life, playing a vital role in cognitive and social development. In families with a child with Down’s syndrome, these relationships hold unique significance yet remain underexplored in research.
Professor Monica Cuskelly will discuss current findings, identify gaps in understanding, and highlight opportunities to support both individuals with Down’s syndrome and their siblings, fostering positive developmental outcomes for both.
Please click here for event details and registration information.
The STRAVINSKY team is holding a free public webinar on Tuesday 6th May at 18.00-19.00 BST to provide an update on the project’s progress, as well as the current situation around COVID-19 for people with weakened immune systems.
STRAVINSKY (Stratification of Clinically Vulnerable People for COVID-19 Risk Using Antibody Testing) is a 2-year study, which aims to build our understanding of who is most clinically vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and identify individuals or disease groups at highest risk. Using the information, STRAVINSKY hopes to assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 booster vaccine programmes or new treatment strategies for these groups.
Free Public Webinar – Find out more and register
STRAVINSKY Study– Find out more about STRAVINSKY
Join Sibs in celebrating this year’s National Siblings Day on Thursday 10th April 2025.
Young siblings, adult siblings, parents/carers, organisations, charities, professionals and schools are encouraged to get involved in this global awareness day recognising brothers and sisters. Shine a light on the value of sibling relationships, highlight what an important role siblings play in the lives of their disabled brothers and sisters and to celebrate siblings in their own right too.
You can find a selection of FREE downloadable resources (activity packs, poster, leaflet) on the Sibs website to get involved – available here.
Sibs are a charity which supports children and adults throughout the UK who have a sibling(s) with a disability. You can learn more about them here.
Cameron Ord is celebrating World Down’s Syndrome Day this year by baking 21 loaves in 21 days and giving them to friends and family.
Cameron is hoping to raise awareness and raise funds for Down’s Syndrome Scotland. If you would like to support Cameron and the fantastic challenge he is taking on, you can make a donation to his JustGiving page Tracy Ord is fundraising for Down’s Syndrome Scotland
Thank you Cameron for all your effort and support
The Central Branch hosted an amazing tea party and managed to raise a fantastic £448.39.
So many of our families attended and had a great time eating cakes from the bake sale and trying to win a prize on the tombola.
Thank you to everyone who attend and to everyone who helped to make it such an amazing event.
This year’s Down Syndrome Research Forum will be online on the 17th, 18th and 19th March 2025.
Registrations are open to attend this regular international event which is hosted and sponsored by Down Syndrome Education International.
The Down Syndrome Research Forum is an international meeting of researchers and practitioners interested in advances in our understanding of how best to meet the developmental and educational needs of children with Down’s syndrome.
Presentations will cover a range of topics as detailed on the Event Programme.
The forum is aimed primarily at researchers, professionals and postgraduate students. Parents/carers and other family members who are interested in current and future research are also welcome.
A £75.00 fee is charged for this event and registrations close on 19th March. Sessions will be recorded and made available to registered participants to view one month after the event.
Click here for more information and to Register to Attend.