South Manchester Down's Syndrome Support Group (SMDSSG)
Who we are
South Manchester Down's Syndrome Support Group exists to empower children and young people with Down’s syndrome to reach their potential and lead fulfilling lives. We do this both directly by facilitating their access to social and educational opportunities and indirectly by helping their family members and carers to provide more effective support. We are a registered charity run by parent volunteers (Registered Charity No: 1164570).
What we do
We organise regular social events throughout the year including Christmas parties, bowling, soft play and many more.
We support families by providing opportunities to meet, talk, swap stories, share information, make friends and develop support networks, thus promoting social coherence and resilience.
We provide advice, activities, social events, information, resources and training for children and young people with Down's syndrome, their parents, carers and siblings, and the professionals who work with them
We issue a monthly newsletter, with lots of useful information and updates about the group and its activities, to over 300 families and professionals across Greater Manchester
We have an active website, Facebook page and Twitter account
We nurture friendships between children who have Down's syndrome and between their siblings
We organise high quality training for parents, carers and professionals (teachers, learning support assistants, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists) that addresses the specific learning needs of children with Down’s syndrome
We offer a range of resources – DVDs and books – for families to borrow
We run a monthly Chatterbox Club, attended by 40+ families, offering opportunities for families to meet, and providing specialist group speech and language therapy classes, arts and crafts activities, sing and sign sessions, and yoga
We run a fortnightly pre-school group for children aged 0-4 and their siblings; with singing and signing or speech and language therapy activities
We work in partnership with the Down's Syndrome Association to deliver its WorkFit programme in the South Manchester area, helping adults with Down's syndrome into training and employment
We organise activities and social events, including a very popular Christmas party!
We rely on successful grant applications, donations and fundraising by our members and friends to fund all our activities. If you would like to, you can make a donation here:
https://localgiving.org/charity/dsmanchester/
Chatterbox Club
One Saturday morning each month, we run a Chatterbox club. A family event with opportunities for families to socialise whilst children can access a wide range of activities including speech and language sessions, sing and sign classes, drama group, yoga and craft workshops.
Lancasterian School, West Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2XA
email: contact@dsmanchester.org.uk for more details
Preschool Group
Fortnightly on Monday morning. All children welcome aged from birth to 4 (Including siblings)
Drop in or stay the whole time. Have a drink, biscuit and chat with other parents/carers and grandparents.
We have monthly visits/workshops with specialists to help provide useful information on care and education.
Come and tell us what you’d like to be on offer at these groups.
East Didsbury Methodist Church, East Didsbury, M20 5QQ
email: contact@dsmanchester.org.uk for more details
WorkFit
We are working in partnership with the DSA to deliver its WorkFit programme in the South Manchester area, supporting people who have Down's syndrome into work
Our Local Support Network Lead is John Henry, who can be contacted at
john.henry@downs-syndrome.org.uk, mobile: 07767 123 849
Our Newsletter
We have a monthly newsletter that goes out to over 200 families around Manchester. It contains lots of information about meetings, resources, websites and updates about our activities.
Other Activities and Resources
We provide professionally delivered training events for parents/carers and practitioners.
We also have resources such as books, DVD’s etc for loan.
email: contact@dsmanchester.org.uk for more details
Who to contact
- Contact Name
- Esther Whitaker
- Contact Position
- CEO
- Telephone
- 07593 542107 07593 542107
- Website
- Down's Syndrome Manchester
- Scan to visit this website
- https://www.facebook.com/SMDSSG
- https://twitter.com/SMDSSG
Where to go
- Name
- South Manchester Down's Syndrome Support Group (office)
- Address
-
Unit 17
41 Old Birley Street
Manchester
- Postcode
- M15 5RF
- View M15 5RF on a map
Who is it for?
- Ages
-
- 0-25
- Supporting People With
-
- Learning disability
- Communication
- Profound or Multiple Needs
Accessibility
- Details
Parking
Costs
- Details
- Free
Availability
- Referral Required?
- No
Last Updated
Last updated: