What families say about Early Support

Click on any story you want to read. Some come from our newsletter so you will need to scroll to get the right page.

The difference Early Support makes to families

My daughter is a lovely little girl, happy, cheerful, loves to draw – and she’s very cheeky... Having help has brought her out a lot more. I was pregnant when I was told that she had spina bifida and hydrocephalus, and that she might never walk. I was worried, scared even, when she was born. I wouldn’t be where I am now if it hadn’t been for having my Early Support key worker...

'Our youngest son, A, is almost three but is profoundly autistic... I had heard about [Early Support] and thank goodness I listened to their advice because what a huge difference having C as our key worker has made to our lives. C explained the scheme to me and introduced the Family Pack. 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 C if I needed help or a shoulder to cry on...'

What families think about key workers

As a working mum raising a child with special needs, my time is precious. I have to fit in four working days, endless appointments, daily physiotherapy as well as find time to enjoy my child and family. Before our key worker came into our lives I was struggling to achieve this ...

My first hurdle ... was re-housing. I was assigned my key worker and she went to work. Within the same week, I was assessed ... and moved into temporary accommodation one week later. She became the single point of contact and ... was able to eradicate all the problems. All of these things helped me to create a stable home environment for my son and took away the stress I would have otherwise suffered...

'My daughter Celia, when she was only five weeks old, was diagnosed with a rare syndrome ... We now have a family key worker. She has made repeated phone calls, searched for information, altered appointments for a more suitable time ... '
From Early Support Newsletter, no. 1, page 2

'As the parent of a disabled child, it took a while to understand the significance of what having a child with a disability would mean to our lives. There was the numbness, the steady-growing awareness that something just wasn’t quite right ... Our key worker was a lifeline in a sea of uncoordinated provision ... '
From Early Support Newsletter, no. 1, page 4

How the Family File helps

'Before Early Support my life would, at best, be described as chaotic. The youngest of my three children has an autistic spectrum condition ...[The pre-school teacher] suggested I fill out the ‘Introducing Ourselves’ booklet, which allowed me to give updated background information to any new professionals we came into contact with. This hugely alleviated the frustration of spending the first 15 minutes of appointments repeating information I’d given so many times before ...'
From Early Support Newsletter, no. 9, page 4

About Family Service Plans

'We started with Early Support last year ... to trial a Family Service Plan. As family living with a child with disabilities we were prepared to take on board anything that would help us make sense of this new world...'
From Early Support Newsletter, no. 1, page 3