Residential breaks for a disabled child

[juststayingafloat]

Can anyone offer any advice on this please? My daughter has Down Syndrome and is quite capable at home but very shy and has only spent time away from me with other family members.

I hoped she could join residential school trips at her new special needs school (she was in mainstream up to year 8) but of course we have all been at home together over Covid. I am worried that she has become quite dependent on me and I know that she needs to spread her wings and become a bit more independent. Has anyone got any suggestions for any suitable residential activities that i could perhaps book her onto for next year? She needs some support with personal care occasionally. Thank you all.

Calvert trust, lake district and another site do trips. Have you considered short breaks through your social work children with disabili team. We had a teenager with autism every month to stay for a weekend with our family. It's a positive thing for her having a sleepover she wouldn't normally get and we do lots of things with her her family can't manage as they have another autistic child. It also gives the parents a wee break.

Thank you horseymum I have registered with Calvert and they are sending me details of what they have coming up. I would need to attend this with my daughter though. I have thought about the short breaks before but I always feel I should leave them for families who are really in need of some respite as I know they are over subscrobed round us. Thank you so much for your suggestions.

I used to volunteer with Vitalise although a) I don't know if they still exist and b) I think they might have been adults only?

It still might be worth looking at short breaks as actually a child with lower care needs is easier to match, there may be short breaks carers waiting on a match who can only take children with lower care needs. That was certainly our situation. We can only offer a certain type of child a stay, and waited a while, possibly because parents felt the same as you that their situation was 'easier' than others. Not every carer can offer a place for someone with high care needs, so those may the ones you see not getting a place, it doesn't mean you can't use the service too.

Talk to the school. A Special Needs school will be used to taking children away who have never been away from home before.

My sons former school do things like a sleepover in school or camping on the school playing field. For my sons year they had a one night away and then a two night stay. Followed by a week at Calvert Trust which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you all. This has given me a few hopeful options.