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01761 431388

Parent-Carers Unite To Improve Services

Helen Church with her son, Charlie.

“As a parent-carer, it feels really good to know your views are being listened to and that you can make a difference, that’s why I got involved with Parent Carers Aiming High,” said Helen Church, mother of 8 year old Charlie, who has non-verbal autism and 5 year old Oliver.

Parent Carers Aiming High is a group of mums and dads whose children have a range of special needs, physical or learning disabilities. Through the support of the Carers’ Centre, the expertise of these parents has been used to help improve local services for disabled children and their families. 

Helen is Chair of the group. “Our main achievement has been to build a good relationship with Children’s Services at Bath and North East Somerset Council,” she explained. “Parent-carers are the best people to consult when services are developed, and now the Council has easy access to our views.

“We’ve been involved in the commissioning of play schemes and Saturday clubs for disabled children. As a result of our work there will be a Christmas holiday play scheme this year where the children can go to have fun, giving parent-carers some time out.”

Helen is a former Director for Children’s BBC and a qualified primary school teacher, but her years of working for and with children didn’t prepare her for her son’s diagnosis of autism at the age of just 2.

“I never looked at Charlie and thought he had a serious problem,” said Helen, from her Bath home. “I was completely unprepared when I found out he was autistic and was in denial for a long time afterwards. He still can't talk and that, for me, is the most difficult part of his condition.”

More parents are needed to make a real difference to the planning and delivery of services for disabled children in the area. Contact Lorraine Frapwell from the Carers’ Centre on 01761 431388 for more information about Parent Carers Aiming High.