Office address

Contact Scotland
The Melting Pot
5 Rose Street
Edinburgh
EH2 2PR

For more news and updates visit our Scotland Facebook Page 

Just published! Money Matters Scotland - A checklist for when your child has additional needs

There have been many changes to benefits and funding this year and to keep you up to date we have developed a new guide for families in Scotland.  The Money Matters Scotland guide provides an overview of the key financial support available to families including the new benefit Child Disability Payment, the Young Carers Grant and the Scottish Child Payment.

Download your free copy of our Money Matters Scotland Guide to find out more.

Fask Mask Exempt Badge

Euan's Guide  are providing badges and cards for disabled people that can't wear a face covering or mask.

The purpose is to help you to indicate to other people that you are exempt. Make sure to double check the Government Guidance to determine whether you are exempt.  To find out more and to request a badge visit Euans's Guide.

Cerebral Palsy Scotland - Free therapy sessions

Lockdown and coronavirus restrictions have had a negative impact on the physical and mental health of people with cerebral palsy. To tackle this, Cerebral Palsy Scotland has launched "CP Connect". This new service offers free therapy sessions to children and adults to help address the mental health, wellbeing and physical needs of people with CP at this time and help rebuild strength, mobility and confidence.

Sessions can either be provided in person at the Glasgow centre or virtually.

Parent Club to help with impact of Covid-19.

Advice for parents and carers on managing the impact of Covid-19 on their child's learning and family life is now available.

Following school closures, a new hub of information has been created on parentclub.scot covering health information, advice on how to talk about Covid-19 and ideas on helping children through this time.

In addition; councils and headteachers can also advise parents and carers on the continued provision of education and childcare for key workers.

Face Mask Exemption

The Accessible Travel Hub have produced handy information for those who can't wear a face covering. Using a face covering may not be possible for some disabled people or for people who need to communicate with someone who relies on lip reading. You do not need to prove to anyone that you are exempt from wearing one, but if it would make you feel more confident in public you can print or download the face covering exemption card from the hub. Visit the Disability Equality Scotland Accessible Travel Hub https://accessibletravel.scot/face-mask-exemption-not-ever…/ for more details.

Coronavirus Carer's Allowance

Coronavirus Carer's Allowance Supplement payment will be paid from Friday 26 June.
This one-off payment is in addition to the regular six monthly Carer's Allowance Supplement. As with the current supplement, carers will not need to do anything to get this extra payment as it will be paid automatically to people who were living in Scotland and in receipt of Carer's Allowance on 13 April 2020 eligibility date. Social Security Scotland will write to eligible carers in advance. For more details visit Social Security Scotland 

Easy Read Information on Coronavirus

The Scottish Commission for Learning Disabililty (SCLD) has been developing and collating easy read information about the coronavirus, including Scottish Government Guidance.  You can access these resources at https://www.scld.org.uk/information-on-coronavirus/

Transitions Scotland Bill: responses needed

A public consultation has been launched on the proposed Members Bill, the Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions) (Scotland) Bill.  

Developed by Johann Lamont MSP, with support from Camphill Scotland and Inclusion Scotland, the Bill will aim to ensure young disabled people are properly supported as they transition to adulthood. 

Ms Lamont, and her colleagues involved in the development of the Bill are welcoming responses from members of the public as well as relevant organisations.

Those in favour are also being asked to write to their local MSP to support the Bill through to the next stage. The consultation closes on 22 January 2020.

Scotland 

Contact Scotland will be running a series of free workshops for parents and carers starting January 2021 - watch this space for further details!

Volunteering for Contact 

• Our volunteers have a defined place in the structure of the organisation and are treated equally within Contact 
• We recognise the individual skills each person brings to the organisation.  We encourage volunteers to develop and build on existing skills and knowledge.
• We endeavour to involve volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities and ensure our volunteering opportunities are as accessible as possible.
• We recognise the benefits volunteering brings to the volunteers themselves, to service users and to paid staff.

We appreciate the benefit volunteers can bring to our small team and if you w ould like to help us provide the best information and services to parents of disabled children in Scotland then we would love to hear from you. 

If you would like find out more or explore possibilities for volunteering then please email scotland.office@contact.org.uk or call 07458046071 to talk to a member of our team.

Welcome to our Scotland Page on all things Transition!

Talking About Tomorrow

The Talking about Tomorrow website was developed with parents, for parents, as a guide through the journey to adulthood for disabled young people in Scotland. Please share and help us make sure this essential information reaches as many parents as possible. www.talkingabouttomorrow.org.uk  #TalkingAboutTomorrow

Coronavirus and Transitions - Scottish Transitions Forum

The UK and Scotland Government's emergency coronavirus legislation affects transition planning and practice for disabled young people. The Scottish Transitions Forum have produced a briefing to pull together the key actions relevant to transitions that affect education, social care and mental health services. To down load the briefing visit Scottish Transitions Paper 

Enable Scotland -  transition support

Enable Scotland are putting in place online transition support to young disabled people (and their parents) approaching transition from school in light of the COVID19 closures.

The Stepping Up schools team will offer support remotely via a number of options (Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp video, phone) and are making their service available to a young person with an additional support need in the senior phase of school ANYWHERE in Scotland. Visit Stepping Up Live for more information. 

Thinking about applying for the ILF Transition Fund?

To find out more about the fund and how it is helping young people living with disabilities to become more independent and involved in their communities, head over to: https://ilf.scot/transition-fund/what-is-it/

As more young people apply for the fund, ILF Scotland will be sharing stories about how young people are choosing to use the money they receive, and what difference it is making to their lives. 

For more details and to apply for a grant visit  http://ilf.scot/transition-fund/ or call 0300 200 2022.

Welcome to our Scotland Parent Support Group Information page!

Looking for information for your support group? This section is for you if you are a support group lead or involved in running a local parent support group in Scotland.

We work extensively with groups to build knowledge, information sharing and provide sources of support to help every group thrive. As well as our information on our main UK support group webpage and via our Scotland Support Group E-bulletin, here you will find more local news, training and funding information for your group in Scotland. 

Support in your area

Many parent support groups across Scotland are still providing support during the Covid-19 situation so if you are looking for a local group please do get in touch with us and we will help source one for you.  Parent groups and local carers centres are being very creative about keeping in contact with families i.e. running live webinars, sharing experiences and connecting with each other by phone and online.  Everyone needs a space to connect with others so please don't feel alone at this time - make that call or talk to Contact if you need some help 07458 046 071 (Monday to Wednesday) or email Scotland.office@contact.org.uk. 

Share Your News

Your comments, information and news are important to us so if you would like to share this with other groups in Scotland or sign up to the Scotland Support Group e-bulletin then please do email me at donna.tomlin@contact.org.uk