Helen
Appearances
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
PSDS is a charity supporting children and young adults with Down syndrome. It was founded 19 years ago by three mums who had babies with Down syndrome.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
The funding for services that the children needed was so scarce, we decided we'd try and fund it privately and then obviously through the charity. As a new parent, you're navigating a landscape unknown anyway. As a new parent with somebody with additional needs, it's a completely different layer that comes over all of that. So the support of others going through the same thing...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
was really important to all of us, I think.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
one of the big things these children need is to learn how to live independently. So we get six young people in here cooking, making sure they can create quite simple meals.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
A large part of what our children need is different therapies to make sure that they can move, speak, interact and be part of society. It's so scarce from the local authority, really, really difficult to come by. And a godsend, you know, this will help the children be mobile, it will get them walking, gets them moving around. And the joy on a parent's face...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
When a child that's been struggling to take a step at age three finally does that is priceless. It's something you just have to see.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
So PSDS is providing support for individuals with Down syndrome, but actually it was also right at the beginning, very important to us, that we thought about the child and young adult as an individual, and then PS, they happen to have Down syndrome. So we do have a philosophy of no label, no limits. We don't like to make assumptions on...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
on what our people with Down syndrome will be able to achieve in their lives. And actually, our objective as a charity is twofold. It's to make sure those individuals with Down syndrome absolutely achieve their potential. And secondly, to ensure the community and wider society understands how they can help and support and encourage those people to be a really valuable part of society.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
So we use it for two things at the moment. The first is a communication group for the young adults. So they come in here, they have sessions that are facilitated by a speech therapist, but very much led by those individuals to talk about topics that they might want to share with each other, grown up topics, you know, that they may not just want to talk to mum and dad about. So it's a safe space.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
But also we do provide formal training in here for professionals who are working with our children, for our own teams that work with our children and also for our parents. So parents being able to understand how best to support their children as they go through the different stages of life.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
So I think it's just getting that balance. Parents have described this as a lifesaver, this charity, because we...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
have been there to support and actually the three of us who founded it we've been one step ahead and I think that's been really useful we wish we'd had that actually I agree it isn't a big deal it's one chromosome let's let's move on and let's give these kids every opportunity but equally recognizing the emotional deal that it actually is when you're a parent of someone with additional needs it's it's it's a it's a full-time job
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
So we were really pleased to find this site in the middle of a neighbourhood where we have got people who wander by and ask us questions. You know, we're...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
hoping to build a garden a working garden outside for the children that's one of our next projects you know and i think the neighbors can get involved and people can come and help look after the crops that we put out there and you know just getting everybody involved i think it's a really important part of who we are and makes a really good story for the young people as well we are a charity run by families for families and we're fully self-funded so we don't receive any government grants or funding so all the services that we offer all the activities obviously the upkeep of the building is
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
Definitely, we will. And we need the next generation of trustees to come through. That's what we really need help with, I think. But yeah, definitely, these children will continue to grow. We've got some babies at the moment. So in 20 years, they'll be where our children are now. So, you know, we've just got a 25-year lease on this building. So that's definitely on our long-term plan.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
Whether we'll still be running it by then, let's hope not.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
77: The Reigate kids’ group with members from across the south-east… and more
When I see that three-year-old take his first step or I see somebody enter mainstream school in their little school uniform with their peer group when I see one of our older ones going off to college or getting a boyfriend and I think yeah you've just nailed that you've absolutely nailed that and I hope we've supported them in getting there.