Respite support for children

Pamela10

Hi. I am trying to get some respite care for my 11 year old son who has autism.  My son's dad and I are separated and he's left me to basically do everything myself and I'm finding it so tough. Does anyone know of anyone or any  organisations that may be able to work with my son to give me a break and to give him some independence away from me. I've tried a few options but I'm not really getting anywhere. Thanks

Richard_Scope

Hi @Pamela10, you may have already seen his but the National Autism Society run a short break service

Pamela10

Thanks for that. I didn't know so I ll give them a call

KarenO_Scope

Hello @Pamela10, I work for Scope Activities for All in Leeds and each local authority works in a different way when it comes to respite care. You may find like we have in Leeds they refer to respite as Short Breaks. Your Local Authority should have information on usually a website or web page called the Local Offer and this is specifically to signpost parents to information about services and support for disabled children and young people in your local authority, and in Leeds they have a Short Break offer, from providing support in universal/ mainstream activities, to targeted groups/activities specifically for children with disabilities to specialist provision. It may also be worth asking at school if they can help and support you in your search, some of our referrals come from discussions in Education Health Care Plan reviews and SENDIASS. I hope this information helps and you find some support.

Pamela10

Thanks so much for that. I already liaise with my local authority. They are just struggling at the minute due to lockdown as most of the services are still closed. Ive asked at his school also and getting nowhere with them either. My son's psychiatrist is ringing me on Monday so I ll see what she says. Thanks again for all the advice. 

KarenO_Scope

Hello @Pamela10 I hope you have managed to move forward with getting support for your son. I just thought I would drop you a line as this week the government have released further guidelines for Out Of School and playscheme activities and we as a service are finding more support services are looking at making sure they can run over the school holidays. They are having to offer reduced hours and take children in smaller groups, or offer outdoor activities. Might be worth contacting your Local Authority again to see what services may be available over summer.