Latest News

The Derby branch of the National Autistic Society was formed by a group of parents and professionals with an interest in Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Please feel free to join. Here are their meeting dates for this year so far:

• Thursday 13th January 7.00pm – The Farmhouse, Mackworth
  Tuesday 1st February 7.00pm – Quad, Derby
  Thursday 17th February 7.00pm – The Farmhouse, Mackworth
  Tuesday 1st March 7.00pm – Quad, Derby
  Thursday 17th March 7.00pm – The Farmhouse, Mackworth
  Tuesday 5th April 7.00pm – Quad, Derby

Further meeting dates, themes and/or speakers will be confirmed nearer the meeting date.

The National Children’s Bureau is working with Oxford University and Nuffield Department of Population Health to recruit parents and caregivers for a research project on the impact of changes in healthcare delivery on the care of children with chronic illness during the Covid-19 pandemic. Looking specifically to talk about these health conditions: Asthma, Mental Health, Cancer, Diabetes, Neurodiversity i.e. ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia and Complex health conditions. Please email ghassard@ncb.org.uk for more information.

The UK Commission on Bereavement has launched national surveys for children and young people bereaved in the last three years to get their views on how families, friends, schools and services can provide support. It is important that the Commission hears directly from children and young people to inform their recommendations to government and other decision-makers about how bereavement support can be improved. Surveys for 5-12 year olds and their parent or carer, 13-15 year olds and 16-17 year olds are open until Monday 31st January.

The latest Local Offer newsletter is available and tells the story of what is going on across the city to help young people, parents and professionals stay up to date.

Niamh Jarvis-Smith was a carer for Disabled children. She sadly died last year. Drew Taylor, her partner, has started a petition to champion Niamh’s passion for disability rights. On many occasions during days out, staff members discriminated against the needs and rights of the children she was looking after. These include but are not limited to experiences at cinemas, swimming pools, soft-play, restaurants, and theme-parks. The petition urges the government to introduce mandatory disability awareness training for all public facing staff in the UK, across all industries.