Activities, Services, Toys, Products and Holidays for Children with Special Needs

Special Kids in the UK offers an online support forum, regular newsletters and offers to parents/families of children with a special need and/or disability. We also has a wide range of information available on our site around the subject of respite, services, education and more.

What makes us unique is that we parents/carers of children with special needs ourselves. Understanding the difficulties and emotions involved with a child of any age with special needs is something we can all associate with. In addition friendship, support and practical hints and tips are a major feature of our organisation.

For more information visit our website:

Web: www.specialkidsintheuk.org
Email: information@specialkidsintheuk.org

The New Eccles Hall School is set in beautiful grounds in rural Norfolk near the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk borders. We are a mainstream, independent school with Nursery, Junior and Secondary departments and we have day pupils and weekly boarders.

Our Individual Tuition Unit provides strong support for pupils with special educational needs and we have many years' experience in helping with dyslexia, dyspraxia, aspergers, Specific Learning Difficulties and Communication Difficulties.

Web: www.neweccleshall.com

I have run my massage company for over 13years and am a qualified infant massage Instructor.

I run workshops for both parents and carers teaching the wonderful art of massage in a beautiful environment in Muswell Hill, North London. Massaging your baby can promote a feeling of wellbeing therefore resulting in restful sleep... a happy baby and parent!

I arrange home visits to groups and couples and am based in North London. Call me on the above number or email for further information and next workshop dates.

Who says there's nothing to do in the holidays?! UKSA are running a variety of new activity clubs for 8 - 15 year olds, giving them the opportunity to get wet, make new friends and have lots of fun!

Choosing which discipline to pursue when you're new to watersports can be a real dilemma, so why not try them all? The summer camps and multi-activity programmes include taster sessions in Windsurfing, Dinghy Sailing and Kayaking from our experienced and qualified instructors. And with a full programme of social activities and team games, we'll ensure the week results in non-stop action. Discos, Iron Man competitions, dragon boating, raft-building and lots more are added into the mix for spice and variety.

It's a great way to make new friends, explore new watersports, and ensure those long summer holidays pass with fond memories you will look back on for the rest of your life. Interested? Check our website for more information.

Email: info@uksa.org

Fairley House was founded in 1982 for children aged 5-14 with specific learning difficulties. We specialise in offering therapy as an integral part of a child’s education not simply as a ‘bolted on extra’. Our whole school approach means that children are taught in small classes and small groups by specialist teachers, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists.

We emphasise the development of the whole child, helping him or her to gain confidence and self-esteem through an encouraging and nurturing ethos. The children have plenty of opportunities to develop sound academic and social skills and to become independent.

Senior Department
30 Causton Street
London
SW1P 4AU
(020) 7630 3750

Junior Department
220 Lambeth Road
London
SE1 7JY
(020) 7630 3789

Gymnastic and Cheerleading classes for children age 3 upwards, fun, safe classes for all levels of abilities including gymnastics and cheerleading for children with disabilities.

Classes available on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Qualified coaches teaching gymnastics and cheerleading to each child's individual and special needs. The club holds an annual show and a club competition each year as well as performing at displays.

The children also work for badges & certificates which gives them great encouragement and gains confidence.

Alan is a professional Children's Entertainer and appears regularly at Private and Corporate functions, Schools, Carnivals, Fetes, Playgroups, Handicapped Centres, in fact anywhere children want fun and laughter. Alan's audiences have ranged from 6 to over 600 and ages from 2 to 100 years. He presents his shows in costume as "The Wizard", "Wizz The Magic Clown", "Al The Magical Tramp" or "Mr. Glitter The Magician". His shows include puppets and real live rabbits. He has appeared on TV, Film and Stage and is a member of Equity.

We teach the safest method of riding horses. Our speciality is to one tuition for all ages starting from 4 years. We are BHS and ABRS approved.

Group lessons and Private Group lessons, ‘Ride With Your Mind’ Coaching and exam training. We also work with special needs individually, offer tutoring in caring of your animal and we are a Pony club centre.

Russell’s Livery offers full facilities. We can look after your horse or pony for you.

Epona Trust is a non-profit making organisation that re-habilitates horses and ponies. Horses and ponies available for loan.

The Osteopathic Centre for Children is a registered charity committed to the osteopathy care of children.

At the OCC clinic in London, babies and children come for treatment with such diverse conditions as asthma, cerebral palsy, colic, Down's syndrome, eczema, sleeplessness and the more common childhood ailments. Pregnant and post-partum women are also cared for.

The OCC is further committed to research into the effectiveness of osteopathy, and the raising of public awareness that osteopathy is for children first. More than 25,000 treatments are given at the clinic in London every year and no child is ever turned away for want of a family's ability to pay.

London Clinic
Osteopathic Centre for Children
15a Woodbridge Street, London EC1R 0ND
Tel:(020) 7490 5510

Manchester Clinic
Osteopathic Centre for Children
Phoenix Mill, Piercy Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 7HY
Tel: (0161) 277 9911

Web: www.friouk.com

SNAP! Childcare places specialist nannies and carers for babies, children and young adults who have additional needs. We offer a friendly, but professional service, both to individual families and organisations.

We offer a nationwide service, providing experienced and qualified nannies, carers and enablers for children and young adults who may have a range of special needs from a mild learning disability to profound and multiple disabilities and their siblings!

Our carers have a wide range of experience, including Makaton & British Sign language, Conductive Education, speech, occupational and physio therapy. We deal with live-in, daily, permanent and temporary positions. All nannies and carers are carefully vetted and personally interviewed. At least two references are verbally verified and an Enhanced Police Check is required (SNAP Childcare is a Registered Body with the Criminal Records Bureau).

Please log onto our website for full details.

Web: www.snapchildcare.co.uk

Established for over 20 years TFH are providers of carefully selected fun products designed to help you or those in your care enjoy life, and achieve more. Positive experiences unlock potential and so our "toys" will lead to functional as well as emotional benefits including:

• Controlled sensory input stimulates exploration of the environment.
• Practicing fine and gross-motor movement develops and retains skills.
• Responsive equipment aids self-awareness, a stepping-stone towards responsibility.
• Positioning devices and swings help coordination, confidence and self-regulation.
• Participation in turn-taking games encourages socialization.
• Interactive Equipment empowers the user, leading to independence.

Order our free colour catalogue or visit our website to stimulate your imagination, begin programs, or reinforce encouraged behaviours, there is a lot that we can achieve…while having Fun.

Email: mail@tfhuk.com

Whizz-Kidz is a national charity that improves the quality of life of disabled children and young people up to 18 by providing them with customised mobility equipment such as powered wheelchairs.

We also offer wheelchair skills training, advice and information and campaign to raise awareness of disabled young people's needs. Many of those we help become members of our Kidz Board, acting as our ambassadors and getting involved in projects and events.

Through this support Whizz-Kidz has given nearly 4,000 disabled children and young people the chance to enjoy an independent life at home, at school and at play.

Web: www.whizz-kidz.org.uk

Science Boffins provide interactive hands-on fun party entertainment for children aged 3 to pre-teens. You can sit back and relax as we offer a mix of age appropriate entertainment and education used at thousands of parties to introduce aspects of science to pre-teens.

Guaranteed educational fun with games, safe experiments and hands on exploration, very interactive. Oh! And we must not forget to mention the take home goodies.

For the 3 to 5 year olds we offer the softer side of science with our Bubbles and Balloons themed science party.

Extras include: Slime making, Rocket Launch, Dry Ice and The Science of Sweets and Pop Corn.

Wow!! What a fun way to learn and reinforce Key Stage 1 and 2 taught at school.

Entertainers Police vetted by CRB and fully insured.

We also provide assemblies and workshops for Schools and Holiday Clubs.

We leave no mess, just happy faces.

For a fab Kids birthday party at your home or hall do contact us through our website link below or free phone on 080 8231 5620 or 020 3603 6867

We cover: Worcestershire, Wiltshire, West Yorkshire, West Sussex, West Midlands, West Lothian, Warwickshire, Tyne & Wear, Surrey, Suffolk, Staffordshire, South Yorkshire, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Shropshire, Scottish Borders, Oxfordshire, Nottinghamshire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Northamptonshire, Norfolk, Middlesex, Merseyside, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire, Kent, Isle of Wight, Humberside, Hertfordshire, Herefordshire, Hampshire, Greater Manchester, Gloucestershire, Essex, East Sussex, Dorset, Devon, Derbyshire, Cumbria, Cornwall, County Durham, Cheshire, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Bedfordshire, West London, South London, North London, East London, Channel Islands, East Riding of Yorkshire, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll & Bute, Central London, Dumfries & Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Greater London, Mid Lothian, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Rutland, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Northern Ireland

CCP is a sports, leisure and cultural trust that manages the Pemberton Leisure and Conference Centre and the Splash Pool, both in Rushden and the Nene Centre in Thrapston.

We aim to provide a variety of great value for money events and activities to assist a full and healthy lifestyle.

Activities for children and young people, activities for people living with a disability, a wide variety of Group Fitness Classes, help with healthy lifestyles, swimming lessons, racket and team sports, SPIN® cycle group classes, venue hire plus entertainment all come within the range of what we do.

Our aim is to work co-operatively with partner organisations to offer the best range of cultural and leisure facilities for local communities.

To see the detail of what our centres deliver, and the full range of what we offer, please log on to our website and have a look:

Contact:
Nene Centre, Cedar Drive, Thrapston, NN14 4JY
T.01832 734090
E.nene@c-c-p.org.uk

Pemberton Centre, H E Bates Way, Rushden, NN10 9YP
T.01933 350324
E.pemberton@c-c-p.org.uk

Splash Leisure Pool, Station Road, Rushden, NN10 9SJ
T.01933 410505
E.splash@c-c-p.org.uk

Is your child/adult learner struggling with spelling and related skills?
Is your child/adult learner underachieving or is possibly dyslexic?
Do you want to see him/her succeed NOW?

RwRR can help you. RwRR (Read it wRite it Remember it) is a unique multisensory STRATEGY, which deals with common areas of failure regarding spelling and related skills and due to its flexible nature it can be tailor-made to individual, group or class needs with little or no preparation.

Our selection of workbooks, flashcards and guides give parents and teachers the tools to help learners acquire the necessary skills for confident spelling. This will in turn help with better long and short-term memory, better concentration, improved self-esteem and encourages independent learning.

Visit our website today and discover an exciting way forward and one you will want to tell others about!

Mobile: 07752 599968
Email: dianeguerard@hotmail.com

Nestled in woodland within the amazing Kielder Water & Forest Park in Northumberland, one of the UK’s most beautiful areas, Calvert Trust Kielder has been providing outdoor activities and holidays suitable for adults and children of all abilities, their family and friends for over 26 years. Our fully accessible facilities make us the perfect venue to explore and discover the surrounding area.

Packages available to both adults and children include Self Catering holidays, fully inclusive Activity holidays, holidays and Day packages.

Self Catering holidays include accommodation (sleeping up to 7) in one of our 4-star Scandinavian-style lodges. All lodges are fully equipped with everything you could need from HDTV and DVD player to a cooker and washing machine. Lodges are spacious and accessible for wheelchair users.

Activity holidays include accommodation in our main centre, all meals and a wide range of exciting activities. Activities offered include High Ropes Course, King-swing, Climbing, Canoeing, Sailing, and Laser Clay Shooting.

We also have a sensory room, hydrotherapy pool, games room, and computers. A take-away service for Self Catering guests is available or they can join us for meals in our dining room.

Visit our website, email or give us call for more information.

Accessible holidays for disabled people and families in Brittany, France. We can provide accessible accommodation, transport and a support service. We try to make your holiday as "hassle free" as possible. From self catering to luxury hotels we can offer you confidence with accessibility. Contact us for more information.

The Parent Support Service, run by a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, provides practical, professional guidance for common parenting concerns such as: difficulties with children and adolescents' behaviour; problems with eating and sleeping and strained family relationships. Face-to-face parenting guidance is available for parents in Bristol (UK) and the surrounding area. For certain difficulties, telephone and email support is also available for parents across the UK. The service specialises in increasing parents' understanding of their child's behaviour and equipping parents with practical strategies for improving family relationships.

The Parent Support Service also provides psychological therapy for children and adolescents, using brief, evidence based techniques to address emotional concerns such as: anxiety; fears & phobias; depression; low self-esteem; obsessive thoughts & compulsive behaviours and post-traumatic stress. Assessment for social communication difficulties and autistic spectrum disorder is also available.

Funtastic Fantasy Golf is a great new idea for a fun day out for the whole family. We are the first place in Scotland offering Blacklight mini-golf, a unique sensory experience with amazing special effects.

Our exciting and fun interactive mini-golf courses have been designed so all ages and abilities can join in. Our themed courses include Dinosaur/Jungle and Atlantis/Underwater and include 3D models, sounds and interactive props.

Reasons for visiting Funtastic Fantasy Golf:

• Value for money
• Excellent Party Packages
• Café offering a wide range of healthy meals
• Fun for everyone!

Sports academy with football coaching run by fully qualified football coach. Coaching given to children aged 8-18 years every Monday from 5pm - 6.30pm. Caters for special needs.

SenseToys offers practical information and an interesting range of toys and activities for pre-school children and particularly for children with special educational needs – all based on first hand experience!

The emphasis of our resources to promote the acquisition of language through play for both verbal and non-verbal children.

SenseToys was set up by parents of two children with special needs, one with a language delay and one with autism. The carefully selected range of resources aim at helping children acquire language through play by helping to make learning fun and rewarding. Even the most ordinary toys can help your child if you know how to use them effectively.

The range includes thick wooden jigsaws with simple non-stylised pieces, lovely fabric beanie bags to teach shapes and colours, threading activities with large holes and chunky pieces, cause and effect toys and a great selection of tactile and sensory balls for lots of squishy bouncy fun. We also now include basic games and actvities to help with alphabet, counting and language concepts such as prepositions, opposites, small medium and large and we have a new range of toys to facilitate construction play.

Tel: 0845 257 0849 for a catalogue
Web: www.sensetoys.com

MOVE is a national charity working with severely disabled children in a Programme designed to increase their mobility and therefore their independence.

MOVE combines therapy and education in a programme which helps children work towards goals that they really want to achieve, which can range from learning to hold their head up by themselves to learning the skills needed to play football with their friends using a pacer. MOVE is unique in that no child is too disabled to use it and works with the child’s parents, teachers and therapists to teach them skills which are then practised in everyday life, enabling parents to be involved in key decision making and instrumental in their child’s development.

Visit our website or call us on 020 7407 5344 to find out more information, speak to a specialist or a parent of a child already on the programme or to visit a school using MOVE.

Email: move@move-europe.org.uk

SYC Yoga is a beautiful yoga centre based in Kensal Rise, North West London (near Queens Park).

We hold a range of classes for children including:
- Mummy and Baby / Mummy and Toddler Yoga
- Kids Yoga ages from 2.5 - teens
- Kids Kung Fu 7 - 12yrs
plus regular family yoga workshops.

For pregnant ladies, we have regular specialist yoga classes as well as our popular Breathe to a Better Birth and Birth Preparation workshops which help you and your partner relax and get ready for big day. We offer Post-Natal Yoga, Baby Massage Courses and an early Early Parenting Support Group for new mums.

Finally for exhausted parents we offer a wide range of Yoga and Meditation classes for all levels, to relax and re-energise you, so there really is something for everyone!

SYC Yoga supports The Special Yoga Centre- a charity and the UK home of Yoga for the Special Child LLB Programme offering yoga therapy for infants and children with special needs. The centre also has a large outreach programme promoting yoga in local schools and community centres. By attending classes or workshops at SYC Yoga you are directly supporting this vital work.

The SYC Yoga Teacher Training programme includes:
- Yoga for Children with Developmental Challenges (Autism, ADD, ADHD, Global Development Delay)
- Teaching Yoga to Children
- Yoga for Teenagers and
- Yoga for the Special Child™

Information on all classes and workshops: www.specialyoga.org.uk Tel: 0208 968 1900 Email: hello@specialyoga.org.uk

If you are interested in yoga for children with special needs, please contact: jess@specialyoga.org.uk

Established since 1990, MXT Swim is a premier swimming school teaching babies from 6 months, children up to 14 years and adults. Our unique programme is designed to produce confident and capable swimmers in a safe and fun environment.

MXT provide a fast track programme with one-to-one teaching as well as group sessions.

Each child is treated as an individual and we progress them at their own pace according to their ability.

Water confidence is nurtured by ensuring that structured lessons are fun and playful while encouraging two-way communication between teacher and child. Swimmers will achieve the highest standard of strokes to equip themselves with the skills required to enjoy all water-based activities.

Intensive swimming courses are also available during all school breaks.