HDSSG would like to say a great big THANK YOU! to two gentlemen that ran the Bupa Great North Run to raise money for our group.
The Bupa Great North Run, the world’s biggest half marathon, starts in Newcastle on Tyne, concludes in South Shields, and comprises 54,000 runners. The Great North Run is a hugely popular event for all types of runner. Runners come from all over the world to experience this iconic event.
Tim Heyes and Andy Proctor completed the 13.1 miles in fabulous times and have so far raised a very healthy £230.00 for Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group. There is still time to add to this total – if you would like to, just click here!
HDSSG has lots of exciting projects and opportunities that will benefit greatly from your donations. Including helping 7 of our amazing swimmers reach the Special Olympics in Bath next year – you can read more here, and funding our Tiny Talkers targeted speech & language sessions for our early years members – find out more here.
So a huge thank you to everyone that has very kindly donated and to Tim & Andy. We are very grateful.
Thank you to the Huddersfield Examiner for another lovely article. As part of their ‘Wish 2012’ campaign they will feature all the charities and organisations in Huddersfield that have joined up in the hope of receiving a share of £25,000. Today our very own HDSSG got their chance to shine:
FAMILIES who have children with Down Syndrome in Huddersfield have access to a parents’ network of advice and support.
The Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group has harnessed the latest technology to ensure they are constantly in touch.
An easy-to-use website, Facebook page and Twitter feed mean friendly help and advice is only a click away.
The group, which has some 40 members, is open to all Huddersfield parents with children from birth age to 21 years.
Communications officer Leanne Davies, whose six-year-old son Jack has Down Syndrome, said the group was run by parents for parents and always welcomed new members.
The group regularly holds social events and gatherings aimed at all the family including brothers and sisters.
Days at the seaside, impromptu picnics, trips to the zoo, swimming sessions and the much-anticipated annual panto visit are loved by the children.
The group, though, offers a great deal of practical help and advice for parents.
Leanne said: “The idea is that we can all share our experiences with each other.
“We all have different areas of expertise. For example some of us work in schools and can help with issues involving schooling.
“There are some great services available locally and we can help people access them.”
This weekend the group will launch Tiny Talkers, a six-week speech and language therapy programme.
The Sunday morning sessions will take place at The Watershed in Slaithwaite.
Due to demand from parents, the group has invested in training for one of their number, Bernie Egan, a mum of two children with Down Syndrome.
Bernie trained with Symbol UK and will deliver the programme to younger children first.
Leanne, 32, who lives in Oakes, said: “This is something that has come from parents.
“As we all know resources are stretched in the area and communication for our children is absolutely vital.
“Hopefully we will be able to continue to develop the programme as we go along.”
While the accent is on fun, the group is about so much more than that.
“It’s not just about days out,” said Leanne. “It’s about educating and empowering parents.”
To contact the group go to: www.hdssg.org.
Down Syndrome is a genetic condition which results in some level of learning disability and a characteristic range of physical features.
Learning disability significantly affects a child’s ability to learn compared with other children of their age.
It does not mean, however, that a child cannot learn at all.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISPLAY ONE OF OUR POSTERS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COPY & PRINT THIS PDF – HDSSG token poster
COMING SOON – a fabulous unique calendar put together by Huddersfield’s Shabang! Theatre Adventures – a creative arts project working with families and children with additional needs.
The 2013 calendar features fantastic pictures of little stars in typical Shabang! style all supported by signs and symbols!
The calendar will retail at £9.99 with all profits going directly to fund the brilliant projects that Shabang! offer.
Here’s a sneak preview of some of our HDSSG stars in December….
…Or should that be Stephanie Millward meets Ruben?! in his own words read all about Ruben’s day at Olympic Park:
“On September 1st I went to the Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park. I met Stephanie Millward who won two silver medals and a bronze medal. she showed me around the Aquatics Centre and let me try her medals on. The medal was really heavy! I asked her lots of questions about swimming and asked her for some advice. She trains in the pool for 2 hours nine times a week and also trains in a gym. She told me to keep working hard at my swimming”
Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group are proud to announce that seven of our swimmers will be representing BOK Borough Of Kirklees) at next years Summer Special Olympic Games to be held at the University Of Bath in August 2013.
This fantastic opportunity will see our squad travel to Bath for 3 days of swimming events where they will compete against swimmers from across the country. Swim coach Gemma Ripley and group coordinator Chris Kempley work tirelessly to support the squad who train every Friday at Almondbury High School pool.
HDSSG are pleased to be helping the squad raise the money required to fund the trip to Bath by hosting a Body Shop Party and raffle at the Watershed, Slaithwaite, on Friday November 30th. Click here for more info.
Three of our swimmers swim for Great Britain at Down Syndrome European and and World Championship levels and in November Joanne Kempley and Ben Sweeney will be representing Team GB in Liguria, Italy. Sadly the International Paralympic Committee turned down a recent request from the Down Syndrome International Swimming Organisation to create a new paralympic classification for athletes with Down Syndrome.
As the start of a new school term looms, we have to say goodbye to ‘summer’ and recap on all the fantastic activities and opportunities that came our way over the holidays.
We have had some great fun over the last six weeks with the fantastic families that make up Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group.
One of our local SureStart centres hosted a series of weekly sessions aimed at children with SEN and their siblings. These were superbly organised and the staff were excellent. Our ‘Little Stars’ had the opportunity to use the lovely indoor & outdoor facilities including a fabulous sensory room and also take part in craft and singing sessions!
Another weekly session aimed exclusively at children with SEN took place at ‘The Zone’ – a leisure facility in Huddersfield. Children had exclusive use of the ‘Kids Zone’, Yorkshire’s biggest indoor play structure!
This Summer also saw the return of SEN holiday clubs at Eureka! Children’s museum in Halifax. These sessions were brilliantly planned and great fun. Each week had a different theme and after the club had finished your family were welcome to continue to tour the museum for as long as you wished! Eureka! are planning Saturday clubs specifically for children with Down Syndrome to start next March! We will of course keep you posted….
Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group also organised some fun activities for our members.
Our younger HDSSG’ers enjoyed several sessions at Hollybank Trust’s amazing Hydrotherapy pool. The private sessions in beautifully warm water along with the muted lighting and music make it a very relaxing experience!
We booked two sessions with the lovely Tracey and Bongo the dog, aka Bongo Beats, to come along and share their music magic with our little ones. We bopped along to music, sang songs, played instruments, pretended to be sleeping bunnies, played with parachutes and pom poms and hula hoops and bubbles! Great fun!
We left Huddersfield on a grey Sunday morning to head to the seaside! We took 14 members and their families to Blackpool and the Sea Life Centre courtesy of Merlin’s Magic Wand. The weather wasn’t much better when we arrived at our destination but after touring the wonderful attraction and seeing some amazing sea creatures we stepped out into glorious sunshine! Perfect for our families to enjoy the rest of the day exploring the sights or playing on the beach!
Our last day out of the summer was spent with the brilliant guys at Safe Anchor Trust cruising the Huddersfield waterways. Once again we were blessed with good weather as we set sail from Shepley Bridge Marina in Mirfield. Our families had opportunities to work the locks and steer the boats, even the smallest sailors chipped in! After mooring to enjoy a picnic on the towpath it was time to head back to the marina after another exciting day out!
HDSSG would like to thank all the people we have met in the places we have visited over the last few weeks. We would also like to thank our families for continuing to support our group, we hope you have had a lovely summer and look forward to our next opportunities to get together.
Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group members and their families had a wonderful day visiting the Sea Life Centre attraction in Blackpool this weekend. 14 of our members had the opportunity to see some amazing sea creatures courtesy of the charity ‘Merlins Magic Wand’ – Merlin’s Magic Wand is a worldwide charity for children, aiming to provide magical experiences for those who are seriously ill, disabled or disadvantaged.
The sun was out in Blackpool for our visit so we had chance to spend time on the beach too!
Thank you to all the families that joined us, to Merlin’s Magic Wand and the brilliant staff at Blackpool Sea Life Centre who made our visit so enjoyable.
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Huddersfield Down Syndrome Support Group have been awarded £4111.00 thanks to the Community Foundation for Calderdale and the Comic Relief Fund. The grant is to fund sporting and healthy living projects for our members.
Thank you so much for this incredible sum of money.
Designed by the wonderful Mark Travis and featuring the gorgeous Poppy and handsome Marley we are proud to unveil our new posters! We hope to have these displayed very soon in GP surgeries, hospitals, health clinics and children’s centres within kirklees.
Royds Hall High School helped to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day with a fundraising cake stall. The students baked buns in HDSSG colours and advertised the sale with some brilliantly designed posters which they displayed around the school. The additional needs team and Royds Hall TV made an informative film about Down Syndrome which was shown to every form at tutor time. A digital photo montage was also compiled with an audio track of Ruben (pictured) reading a poem.
HDSSG would like to thank Royds Hall for demonstrating such a positive proactive move – as far as we know the first high school in Kirklees EVER to recognise World Down Syndrome Day!
The proceeds of the sale – over £120, will go to HDSSG, but more importantly awareness has been raised. The students at Royds Hall ( a few of whom, statistically will be touched by Down Syndrome at some point in their own lives) have gained a greater understanding of people with Down Syndrome which will hopefully ripple outwards and help make positive changes for all our children with Down Syndrome.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.