The impact of Early Support
People who use Early Support consistently report that it makes a positive difference to the lives of families with disabled children and helps the wide range of services that work with families.
Families say it helps with:
- co-ordinating services provided by different agencies and people
- getting better information
- continuity of support – particularly in areas where lead professional or key worker support is available
- confidence.
'What a huge difference having our key worker has made to our lives... The book on autism alone was worth its weight in gold – it was so user friendly and contained all the advice and information that we had been lacking before. I could phone our key worker if I needed help or a shoulder to cry on.'
Parent, East Sussex
Professionals say that using Early Support:
- reduces duplication of effort
- makes more effective use of the resources that are available
- enables them to share information about and with families better
- helps them understand how what they do fits into the network of services for families provided in their area
- prevents them working in isolation
- increases job satisfaction.
See practitioners talking about the use of resources.
The programme was evaluated by the Universities of Manchester and Central Lancashire – read more about this here.
Your stories gives a small selection of the quotes and case studies we have gathered from families and practitioners that illustrate how we make a difference.