Advice and Support 

This page lists advice and support services available for disabled young people and their families.


The page is divided into the following categories:

1. Advocacy

2. Bullying and Disability-related harassment

3. Knowing Your Rights

4. Support - Local Areas

5. Support - National

6. Support - Scotland

7. Support - Northern Ireland


1. Advocacy

Access to independent advocacy: an evidence review
This report from the Office for Disability Issues includes a chapter looking at advocacy for disabled young people in transition to adulthood.

Advocacy Resource Exchange
Advocacy Resource Exchange helps meet the changing needs of any who seek advocacy intervention for whatever reason. They do this through promoting and supporting the provision of a choice of advocacy models to a broad range of disabled and/or disadvantaged people in order to secure their Human and Civil Rights.

Children's Rights Officers and Advocates
Children's Rights Officers and Advocates deliver a wide range of advocacy, children's rights and participation training for adults and young people.

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign - Advocacy and advice
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaigns team offer free advocacy, support and advice to anyone who is experiencing difficulties with their local services.

National Standards for the Provision of Children's Advocacy Services
The standards set out the core principles that children and young people can expect from professionals providing advocacy services.


2. Bullying and Disability-related harassment

ACE - Tackling Bullying
This page provides an introduction to tackling bullying at school.

Anti-bullying Alliance
The Anti-bullying Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals working together to stop bullying and create safe environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn. 

Bullying Involving Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 
This guidance is part of the government's anti-bullying strategy: Safe to Learn: Embedding anti-bullying work in schools.

Buylling Wrecks Lives 
A report by Mencap about the experiences of bullying of children and young people with a learning disability.

Bullying and children with a learning disability
This factsheet explains what bullying is and why it takes place. It looks at some ways you can try to prevent bullying from happening or to stop it when it is happening.

Don't stick it, stop it!
Mencap's campaign to against the bullying of children and young people with learning disabilities.

Hidden in plain sight - the inquiry final report
'Hidden in plain sight' is the final report of the EHRC's inquiry into disability-related harassment. The report uncovers that harassment is a commonplace experience for disabled people, but a culture of disbelief and systemic institutional failures are preventing it from being tackled effectively.

Out in the open - Tackling disability related-harassment: A manifesto for change
In this follow-up to Hidden in plain sight, the EHRC summarise a wide range of formal responses from relevant organisations and set out their final recommendations.

Stop Disability Hate Crime
Disability Rights UK has produced a number of practical guides aimed at stopping disability hate crime.


3. Knowing Your Rights

A short guide to the equality duties for social care service users
Easy read guidance to the Equality Duties to support people with learning disabilities when engaging with public authorities to challenge institutional discrimination.

Disabled Children: A Legal Handbook
Disabled children: a legal handbook is an authoritative yet accessible guide to the legal rights of disabled children and their families in England and Wales. It is available for free online.

Equality matters for children
This website has a wealth of information for both children and adults on children’s rights under equality law.

Learning and your rights
This DirectGov webpage provides information on the Equality Act 2010 and how it has increased protection for disabled learners against unfair treatment.

Meningitis Research Foundation Disability Rights and Benefits
The Meningitis Research Foundation has a tool for people affected by meningitis and septicaemia to guide them through the disabilities rights and benefits system.

Ours to own: Your human rights
This easy read booklet explains what human rights mean in the context of everyday life, how they have affected real people and why they are therefore so important.


4. Support - Local Areas

Cornwall Council
Website includes easy read information about services for people with learning disabilities.

Young Adult Network Devon
The Young Adult Network Devon is a group of disabled young adults in Devon, who came together to ensure Living Options Devon were involving young disabled people in its work and in local and national consultations. The young adult's network has 5 key themes. These are information, involvement, education, campaigning and peer support. For information, Please contact [email protected] or 01392 459222

Essex County Council
Information about transition by Essex County Council.

Families Acting for Change Essex (FACE)
Membership of FACE is free and gives access to current information and the chance to contribute to focus groups and consultations and to become more involved in any way that suits you and your family.

Harrow4U
Information for disabled young people in Harrow.

Hertfordshire Council
Information about transition by Hertfordshire Council.

Centre for Independent Living in Kent (CILK)
CILK was formed in April 2002 to support the positive promotion and uptake of Direct Payments and Independent Living for Disabled People living in Kent.

Living Options Devon
Living Options Devon is a user-led organisation which works to ensure that disabled people can live the life they choose. In June 2012 they set up a Young Adults Network for people under 25 years old.

Manchester Learning Disability Partnership (MLDP)
MLDP provides health and social care services to help people attain a good quality of life.

Parent Partnership Services
Parent Partnership Services are statutory services offering information advice and support to parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs. Every Local Authority has a Service, find yours here.

Our Way
Our Way is a self advocacy group for disabled people in Wyre Forest.

Youth Lambeth
The Youth Lambeth website provides a directory of services, activities and events for children, young people and families in Lambeth, as well as up to date information about registered childcare vacancies.


5. Support - National

Action for Children
Action for Children provide specialist help for disabled children, young people and their families. Their disability services include residential and short break care, help dealing with challenging behaviour, specialist education and leisure opportunities, and programmes such as the Access to IT project.

Advisory Centre for Education (ACE)
ACE provide the information, support and high-quality advice that parents need to help their children at school, particularly where there are problems.

Carers Trust
The Carers Trust works to improve support, services and recognition for anyone caring for a family member or friend.

Challenging Behaviour FoundatioN (CBF)
CBF provide information and support to family carers and professionals caring for individuals with severe learning disabilities and challenging behaviour.

Changing Faces
Changing Faces is a charity that supports children, young people and adults with disfigurement on the face or body.

Contact a Family
Contact a Family provides advice, information and support to families with disabled children. They also provide medical information on disabilities and rare disorders and details of support groups throughout the UK.

DIAL UK
A national network of over 120 local disability information and advice services run by and for disabled people. It provides information and advice on welfare benefits, community care, equipment, independent living, mobility and transport, discrimination, holidays and much more.

Dimensions
Dimensions supports people with learning disabilities and autism across England and Wales to live the lives they want.

Disability Rights UK - Advice
Factsheets, telephone helplines and links to other organisations.

Family Lives
You can talk to Family Lives about any family issue big or small via phone, email, online chat or face-to-face.

Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (FPLD)
FPLD works to promote the rights, quality of life and opportunities of people with learning disabilities and their families.

I CAN
I CAN offers parents and practitioners the opportunity to book a phone call to talk to a speech and language therapist. The call-back service provides expert information about speech, language and communication.

Info 4 Care Kids
This website is for looked-after children and young people. It is designed to help them know what care and support they can receive and what choices they have. The site also offers advice to those who are preparing to live on their own. 

Mencap
Mencap provides information and support to people with learning disabilities and their families.

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign offer free advocacy, support and advice to anyone who is experiencing difficulties with their local services.

National Autistic Society
The National Autistic Society provides information, services and support, and campaigns for a better world for people with autism and Asperger's syndrome and their families.

National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS)
NDCS is dedicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and young people.

National Parent Partnership Service (NPPN)
NPPN lists the contact details for all Parent Partnership Services (PPS) in England. PPS's provide advice to families with children with special educational needs.

Netbuddy
Netbuddy contains over 1,000 tips from people with first-hand experience of learning disability, autism and speical needs.

Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
RNIB is the leading charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people with sight loss.

Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Young People's page
Are you under 25? On these webpages you'll find information on a wide range of issues that are important to blind and partially sighted young people.

Scope
Scope is a charity that supports disabled people and their families.

The Autism Directory
The Autism Directory provides signposts families to information about autism.


6. Support - Scotland

Autism Network Scotland
Provides a Scottish hub for reliable information to individuals, to families/carers and to professionals.

Lead Scotland
Lead Scotland, (Specialists in Linking Education and Disability), is a voluntary organisation set up to widen access to learning for disabled young people and adults and carers across Scotland.

Parenting across Scotland
This website contains information and support for families in Scotland. This link takes you to their webpage on transition.

Scottish Autism
Scottish Autism is an autism charity that exists to help those diagnosed with autism to lead full and enriched lives and become valuable members of the community they live in.

Speak Out Advocacy Project
Speak Out is an advocacy project which is managed by Ace Advocacy and funded by South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire. Speak Out aims to help people with learning disabilities to speak up for them-selves so that they can participate in decisions about their lives. If a person cannot speak up for themselves, Speak Out will provide a spokesperson who will express that person's opinions as if they were his or her own.

The Scottish Child Law Centre
The Scottish Child Law Centre is the only Law Centre in Scotland that works exclusively for children and young people. They provide services throughout the whole of Scotland.

Values Into Action Scotland
Rights, choice and control for people with learning difficulties and individuals on the autistic spectrum


7. Support - Northern Ireland

Parents Carers Council for Disability Northern Ireland
The Parents Carers Council for Disability was established in Northern Ireland to advocate on behalf of parents/carers, their children, young people and adults with disabilities and their families promoting an understanding of their unique needs.