Support for families

Afrikindness Neurodiversity Community Programme

Our Neurodiversity Community Programme is dedicated to supporting neurodiverse individuals, families, and schools. We offer a range of services, including tailored workshops, webinars, and resources that provide parents and caregivers especially from minority ethnic communities with tools to support their neurodiverse children effectively. We also work closely with schools, delivering training sessions and inclusive educational strategies to help educators create supportive learning environments and break barriers with neurodiverse children from African and ethnic minority communities. Our goal is to foster understanding, promote inclusion, and empower both families and schools to embrace and celebrate neurodiversity in their communities.

Email: info@afrikindness.org

Website: https://www.afrikindness.org 

Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) supports deaf babies and children to learn to listen and speak with Auditory Verbal therapy. Auditory Verbal therapy is a family-centred specialist approach to developing spoken language through listening for deaf children. It supports pre-school deaf children, from birth to five years of age, learn how to make sense of the sound they receive through their hearing technology, like cochlear implants and hearing aids, and develop spoken language so they can learn to talk like their hearing friends.

AVUK’s Auditory Verbal therapy family programme includes fortnightly therapy sessions. All therapy sessions are delivered by a highly specialist certified Auditory Verbal Therapist, who is a teacher of the deaf, speech and language therapist or audiologist who has undergone a minimum of three years additional post-graduate internationally accredited training.

As a charity, AVUK is able to offer sessions both in person at its location in north-east Leeds, online or using a hybrid approach of both depending on the needs and preferences of each family. We currently have bursaries for families living in Leeds and beyond to help access our programme.

Email: info@avuk.org

Phone: 01869 325000

Website: https://www.avuk.org 

Carers Leeds are the home of support for all unpaid carers in Leeds.

Are you helping a friend or family member due to their illness, disability, mental health issue or a substance misuse problem?

Yes? – Then you are one of 74,000 unpaid carers in Leeds and we are here to support you.

Email: advice@carersleeds.org.uk

Phone: 0113 380 4300

Website: https://www.carersleeds.org.uk 

Great Minds Together support children and young people with special educational needs and social, emotional and mental health needs as well as their families and the professional networks around them. The age range of the young people we can support is 0 - 25 years old.

Our organisation exists to prevent one of the three following elements:

• Wrongful hospitalisation.
• Unnecessary Police Intervention.
• Where possible, prevention of children entering the care system by supporting families in an intensive way to ensure positive outcomes.

Email: suzyzito@gmt.team

Website: https://www.greatmindstogether.co.uk/ 

0 to 5 programme

HENRY is a universal offer to all parents and carers who have a child within the family home aged 0-5years. The programme is free 8-week programme and is facilitated by both the 0-19 Public Health Integrated Nursing Service (PHINS) practitioners and Family Help Workers.

Some of the topics discuss are: Managing a child’s behaviour, introducing the Eatwell Guide, healthy eating, portion sizes, increasing parental confidence, responding to feelings and behaviours, family rewards systems and dental health

Website: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/leeds-community-healthcare-0-19-phins-73400088013 

5 to 12 programme

The HENRY Healthy Families Growing Up Programme is an 8-week course delivered by local HENRY facilitators for parents and carers. HENRY is an inclusive and universal programme for any parent/carer with at least one child aged between 5 and 12 years.

HENRY is ideal for any family who would like to find out how the whole family can become healthier and happier together. Our programmes explore key themes such as; well-being, whole family lifestyle habits, mealtimes, TV, sleep, food, behaviour, setting boundaries, parenting and physical activity. Programmes are delivered across Leeds and online and there is no cost to attend.

Email: HENRY5-12@leeds.gov.uk

Website: https://schoolwellbeing.co.uk/pages/henry-5-12-parent-s-page 

Irwin Mitchell is a national law firm with an office in Leeds, providing a range of legal services including services to support your child and family such as public law, court of protection, family, medical negligence and welfare law.

Email: sarah.coles@irwinmitchell.com

Phone: 0113 394 6894

Website: https://www.irwinmitchell.com 

We’re here for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, young carers and families. ​We’re on a mission to create a world where all kinds of kids have all kinds of opportunities. ​Childhood should be a joyful time. But some children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are defined by what they cannot do. That’s wrong.

Every child should have an equal opportunity to play, learn, grow and thrive.

Email: angela.knight@kids.org.uk

Website: https://www.kids.org.uk 

The Leeds Local Offer provides information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families in a single place.

It shows families what they can expect from a range of local agencies including education, health and social care.

Email: LLO@leeds.gov.uk

Website: https://www.leedslocaloffer.org.uk 

The Leeds Parent Carer Forum is a voluntary organisation led by passionate 

 and carers, who are working in partnership with the Local Authority, Education, Health and Social Care services to improve the quality of life for children and young people with additional needs, and their families, across Leeds.

Email: info@leedsparentcarerforum.co.uk

Phone: 07423 436813

Website: https://www.leedsparentcarerforum.co.uk   

Leeds SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service) is a statutory service that provides information, advice and support on matters relating to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Email: leedssendiass@leeds.gov.uk

Phone: 0113 3785020 (voicemail service)

Website: https://www.sendiass.leeds.gov.uk 

Little Hiccups is an award winning, Leeds based support group that has been set up by parents who have children with additional needs and disabilities.

Through personal experience we recognise the importance of allowing the parents and families of a child with an additional need or disability the opportunity to meet people in similar situations, to make friends and support each other.

We know that to every family that this is an individual journey but we also recognise the importance of sharing the events of that journey with other people in similar situations. We offer a range of support from our Outreach Programme for those families that are just not quite ready to come to one of our sessions. But for those that are, we offer a variety of support from Stay n Play to monthly Family Fun Days.

Email: info@littlehiccups.co.uk

Phone: 0783 123 0741

Website: https://www.littlehiccups.co.uk/ 

We are a voluntary led peer support service for parent/carers of SEND children experiencing distressed behaviours (physical violence etc.) We offer emotional support and a non judgemental space to share experiences, meet others and share strategies/ideas. We also host speaker/training events based on the needs of our members and a monthly drop-in.

Email: lotuslinks_ps@outlook.com

Website: https://www.facebook.com/lotuslinkspeersupportleeds/ 

Scope has opened a Community Hub in Leeds. Our aim is to support local disabled people and their families.

There is a cerebral palsy specialist based in the Hub. They offer support to people with cerebral palsy and their families.

We offer community events and workshops for parents and carers of disabled children.

Email: lucy.hindmarch@scope.org.uk

Website: https://www.scope.org.uk/ 

Sense supports children and young people aged 0-25 years, who are deafblind or multi-sensory impaired (MSI), and their families. We're here to enable everyone to communicate, play and explore the world around them.

Email: info@littlehiccups.co.uk

Phone: 0783 123 0741

Website: https://www.sense.org.uk/msi-support 

We are a sensory centre providing a safe space for all ages to come relax and play.

Phone: 07801 065589

Website: https://www.sensoryworldplaycentre.co.uk 

SNAPS (Special Needs and Parent Support) is a Leeds-based registered charity (No. 1171244) dedicated to supporting children with additional needs and their families whether you have a diagnosis or not. SNAPS provides a range of services, including hydrotherapy, rebound therapy, swimming, football, arts and crafts activities, as well as family support and holiday events, aiming to enhance the quality of life for both the children and their whole family. The charity creates a welcoming and inclusive environment where families can connect, share experiences, and access vital resources. SNAPS focuses on empowering families by offering practical assistance, social opportunities, and a strong support network.

Email: info@snapsyorkshire.org

Website: https://www.snapsyorkshire.org/ 

Leeds City Council's Welfare Rights Unit can:

• give free, confidential, impartial advice and support on a whole range of welfare benefits.
• help to complete claim forms over the phone.
• forms completed are posted to clients to sign, check and forward to the right department.
• offer guidance and support when making appeals.
• check for benefit entitlement and give guidance on using benefit systems.

Email: welfare.rights@leeds.gov.uk

Phone: 0113 376 0452

Website: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/benefits/welfare-rights 

The West Yorkshire Neurodevelopmental Family Navigator Pilot improves the support for families who are waiting for neurodevelopmental assessment and increase capacity in the system for parental support.

The Pilot works:

• To provide pre-diagnostic peer support.
• Where possible, introduce experts by experience to help improve service experience.
• To prevent potential crisis and deterioration of wellbeing for the family.
• To involve parents/carers in improving service delivery.
• To have relevant information and signposting to local community support.

Website: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/services/west-yorkshire-neurodevelopmental-family-navigator-pilot 

ZigZag has been supporting thousands of families with autistic children for over 20 years.

We offer a wide range of services designed to meet the needs of the entire family.

Our services include:

• Online advice and peer support through private Facebook groups.
• Parent/Carer meetings.
• Monthly soft play sessions.
• Twice-weekly trampoline sessions.
• Special holiday activity programs.
• Parent/Carer social events.
• Affordable autism awareness training.
• Book lending library.
• Information, advice, and referrals to relevant service providers.

Website: https://zigzagautismservices.co.uk