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Our Impact

Our impact is wide ranging as we touch the lives of people who have Down’s syndrome and all within their family, professional and social circles every single day. No two days are the same for us, or for any member of our team, our services range from being the first port of call for expectant parents, before their baby has even been born, to assisting children through education and family life, walking with young adults and their families as they transition from childhood to become more independent adults and take responsibility for their own lives and choices. We are there for adults of all ages- from young adults who are full of aspiration and ambition and who want to live lives just like their peers, to those who are older and facing health and ageing challenges.

We love to talk to professionals who are passionate about helping people who have Down’s syndrome achieve their full potential. The range of professionals who we work with encompasses midwives, doctors, therapists, psychologists, teachers and teaching assistants, carers, support workers and social workers.

We seek to influence and inform society as whole including government and policy makers, local authorities, media and the general public. All that we do strives to deliver equality for people who have Down’s syndrome every day.

Key facets of our work are summarised below:-

Reach

Maternity healthcare professionals trained

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The ‘Tell it Right Start it Right’ campaign educates health professionals working in maternity services and aims to improve information and support services for expectant and new parents. To date, more than 11,000 midwives and maternity healthcare professionals have participated in ‘Tell It Right’ training.

Enquiries To The Helpline Each Year

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In excess of 10,000 calls were answered by the helpline’s information officers, who, combined with our team of advisers and consultants, offered expert levels of advice and support about benefits, education, development, services, health, behaviour and additional diagnoses, speech, language and communication, employment and adult social care.

Individuals Trained Each year

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We offer training and support to individuals at every stage of their lives in a variety of formats, for parent carers and practitioners.

Education

  • Education and development at home, pre-school, primary school, secondary school and college
  • Positive behaviour support for individuals within different ages ranges
  • Relationships and sex education
  • Understanding dual diagnosis

Health

  • Health inequalities
  • Cognitive decline and dementia
  • Emotional well-being
  • DSActive training

Support for adults

  • A range of titles on all related areas with masterclasses on personal budgets, planning for good life, housing options, support to make decisions and planning for adulthood

Parent carer resilience

  • Sharing positive practice, in depth sharing of positive support for behaviour
  • Complex needs and /or autism meetings
  • Well-being Wednesday, well-being meetings led by a Mindfulness practitioner
  • Listening Service
  • Dads group

Maternity

  • Tell it Right training sessions for maternity professionals
  • Pregnancy and baby support meetings for pregnant women, partners and parents of young infants

 

    Hundreds of WorkFit placements

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    The WorkFit project provides training, information and resources to employers to support them to offer employment opportunities to people who have Down’s syndrome. Every employment placement for someone with Down’s syndrome will include a parallel programme of employer training and support. Advice and support is provided to individuals to enable them to embrace the exciting challenges that lie ahead on the journey to fulfilling their career ambitions. “I can’t praise WorkFit enough! I was ‘blown away’ by all the different placements and individuals being given an opportunity.”
    (Parent, North West)

    People Joining In DSActive DSEngage Sessions

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    Our DSActive DSEngage proramme provides essential opportunities for children and adults who have Down’s syndrome to participate in leisure, recreational, sporting and online activities.

    The importance of good physical and mental health is central to the programme.

    We work with and train partner organisations to facillitate successful inclusion.

    Followers on social media

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    Alongside our Facebook page we have nine closed Facebook groups, each with a unique focus. Our Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn channels provide our supporters with access to our wealth of free resources, the latest stories from our members and the latest news and information.

    With your help we can continue to make a difference to the lives of people who have Down’s syndrome and their families and carers…

    Real Lives:

    Click below to learn more about how DSA has changed lives.

    Spending your money

    In everything we do we are committed to our vision for all people who have Down’s syndrome to live healthy and meaningful lives in the community. We will only achieve this thanks to the generosity of our supporters. In return, we aim to be as transparent as possible so you can be sure your money is being used well.

    Every penny you give is vital in achieving our aims to provide information, support and resources, represent people who have Down’s syndrome and raise awareness nationwide. We do our best to spend wisely, making our funds go as far as possible while finding the best solutions which meet our quality standards, always seeking to achieve long term positive change.

    Each year we publish a full annual report and accounts, which provides more detailed information about where your money goes:

    Supporter Promise

    Whether it’s our donors, our members or any of the other key stakeholders, our supporters are critical to our success. We are only able to deliver real improvements to the lives of people who have Down’s syndrome because of the hard work, tenacity and generosity of our supporters. Without you we simply wouldn’t be able to do what we do. That’s why your trust is vital to us and why we’re committed to being fully transparent and accountable to you. 

    Our Supporter Promise is our guarantee to you that when you choose to support the Down’s Syndrome Association we will:

    Be transparent about how we spend money.

    We spend donations so they have the most impact for people who have Down’s syndrome. We value every donation, large and small, and we will always put this to work as quickly as we can.

    Make sure you hear the amazing stories that show how you’re helping transform people’s lives.

    Your support helps people who have Down’s syndrome around the world. We’ll share stories of our work, highlighting the difference we make, while being honest about the challenges we face.

    Respect for your privacy.

    We protect and do not sell your data.

    We will be guided by you.

    We will make it clear and easy for you to choose how you hear from us. If you ask us not to contact you, we will not.

    Respond to you in a friendly, open and timely way when you contact us.

    If we get things wrong, we will be upfront about our mistakes, apologise and fix them.