People we've helped
In the this year alone the Special Educational Needs Families Support Group helped over 500 individuals and families.
The following case studies and extracts from letters and emails are just a few examples of the ways that we have helped and what people think about the service .
For privacy reasons, names have been omitted or changed.
Letters from young people we helped and testimonials
1. My name is Ibi , I am 16 years old please can you give funding to SENFSG group as they are needed to help young people with special needs. I would not go to any other group because they do not understand my problems and help me when I need them. If the charity closes we will have nowhere to go for real help.
2. My Name is Jasmin, I am 11 years Old. I went to see Marsha and Emma with my mum because i was being excluded from school again. When I talked to them i was made welcome and they give me time to talk about school and why I was so upset and wanted to commit suicide. Everything in life was getting to me. Emma spends a lot of time with me and helped me with school work and talked to me about what was happening at home. My parents don’t love me and I don’t have any toys of my own. Marsha went out and got me toys and art book and things, she also talked to my Mum and Dad about how unhappy I was. Marsha came to a school meeting with me and spoke up for me and asked for more help. I was so sad I ran away from home and didn’t know what to do. I when to a mans house I didn’t know and called Emma. Marsha called me back to find out where I was. I left the man’s house and went to a lady flat. I didn’t want to go home. Marsha talked to me until 5 in the morning and the police come to get me when I told Marsha the address I was at. The police man took me home and Marsha talked to Mum and Dad. I have got EBD and Marsha is getting me the help I need and is always at the end of the phone.
3. Delroy, I am a client of the SENFSG age 36 with mental health problems my interest is international dinging, also sailing. I believe that the SENFSG is the best thing since sliced bread with honey on. I have become a part time volunteer to advice on mental health matters supporting people of all ages to have a clear understanding of the services that are available and to help them to take an active part in their treatment program.
4. Please help to keep this charity open, so that it can help more children like me. All we need is a little bit of support and kindness. My name is Justin, age 14. I help Marsha at the charity as a volunteer, I do this because Marsha and Emma and the charity helped me when I needed it. I was not happy in my old school because no one listened to me. They did not understand how difficult school was. I am now at a different school, attending part time with support from Trafford's outreach team, I am feeling more confident about attending school, and about myself in general. This is all thanks to SENFSG for listening to me as an individual and not the grownups.
Thanks for all her help.
In 2010 my son had a breakdown. He saw a children’s psychiatric nurse who thought he possibly has Aspergers Syndrome and depression. It was decided that he would try Cognitive behavioural Therapy to try and enable him to get back into school which he wasn’t managing to do. However things just got worse and the CPN decided he needed to see a child psychiatrist. We waited for an appointment but it took a long time. SJ went to a local unit for children who couldn’t cope with school but his attendance wasn’t very good. I was worried because he was in year 9. SJ started to refuse to go to school, crying saying he wasn’t good enough and had to be perfect, I wrote to my MP to try and get her to speed up the system. SJ told me that he was too frightened to sleep in case anything bad happened and because he had to plan the following days events and if they went wrong then something bad would happen
I was frightened myself because SJ had threatened suicide in the past and we still had no appointment. I knew aboutSENFSG through a friend and had also spoken briefly to Emma about the centre SJ was studying at and if she would support me in review meetings. The morning after SJ told me his thoughts I went to Emma in tears and told her what was happening. It was like a whirlwind in action, That day Emma was so focused and she made me feel like a load had been lifted. With her help we wrote a letter to various people and then she drove me around the borough so we could hand deliver them and get a receipt. Within 24 hours SJ had an appointment and since then with the aid of medication and Emma ’s support SJ has gone from strength to strength, he’s now at the centre for two and a half days a week and at college for one day. Without the help of Emma I honestly don’t believe my son would still be alive
From Baroness Beverley Hughes of Stretford, former MP for Stretford and Urmston and Minister for Children, Young People and Families.
Marsha and the team at SEN Family Support Group work tirelessly to provide a much-needed service for families. I know from my long experience supporting families with a child with special educational needs that it is often the support from other families in similar circumstances that makes the most difference.
SENFSG enables families to help each other, with the support and expertise of Marsha and her colleagues. Whilst I am no longer MP for the area, I have continued to work with Marsha because she and all at the Family Support Group offer a service that no other organisation does- practical help, emotional support and strong advocacy when it's needed and the opportunity to link with other families. It's vital that they can continue to provide these services
From The Manchester Autistic Society
I know only too well the difficulties faced by families with a child with Special Education Needs and all too often the battles they have to go through to gain the support they need. Now more than ever the complications and pressure facing families with a disabled child are incredible, and the work of organisations like SENFSG essential to so many families. Marsha and her team are exceptionally dedicated to supporting families and individuals with the difficulties they face in so many ways and I can only hope that this can continue for many years to come.
Paul J King
Chief Executive
Autistic Society Greater Manchester Area
Kate Green MP for (Stretford and Urmston )
As a longstanding campaigner for children and families, I know that parents raising children with special needs face additional challenges and disadvantages in accessing specialist services, respite care and support. Marsha and her team at SENFSG play a vital role in championing disabled children and their families, providing an advice and support network for families across the constituency. I know just how important it is for families to feel supported and empowered, and from talking to parents, it is clear to me the tremendous difference the SEN Support Group makes. I look forward to continuing to work with them
Kate Green
MP
Parents veiw about the SENFSG help
I wish I’d know about the SENFSG ages ago - especially for people with special needs children, every family should be given information about your service.
I first heard of the SEN Family Support Group in 2009. At the time my son was having problems at school and they thought he had Aspergers Syndrome. I got a letter about a forum event and went along out of curiosity. I found the people there very friendly and welcoming and for the first time didn’t feel alone. I got a lot out of the workshops giving me the confidence to deal with authority figures within the LEA when they did not carry out the support set out in my son’s statement. I continued to go to forum events finding out information regarding exclusion, and communication disorders such as Aspergers. At the time I considered volunteering to help but I needed things to be settled for my son first. When he was back in school on a part time basis having been home educated for a while I contacted Marsha to see if I could help in any way.
I was welcomed into the fold and have been able to observe the excellent work that they do, and am constantly amazed at the knowledge both Marsha and Emma possess with regards children’s welfare. I do a small amount of admin work to free up Marsha’s time to see parents and their children. I also try and help with their fundraising, unfortunately for personal reasons I can’t be there today. The ADHD/ASD support group, a relatively new venture has helped me but also enabled me to help other parents who are where I was a few years ago. We meet regularly, have the freedom to talk very openly plus not feel like the odd one out because our children do not fit to societal norms.
I am a mother of five children. Two with Asperser’s syndrome, ADD and one with learning disability and I found the support I received from Emma invaluable and a complete life line for me and my children The support this charity provides is excellent. They act quickly to offer support and help to devise an action plan to involve the child with needs as well as the family. They also help a huge amount in dealing directly with school and council
Tracy Clarke - Engagement & partnership officer
NHS Trafford
Marsha has a wealth of knowledge and it’s always interesting to chat with her to learn more about experiences of those with disabilities and their families when using health services. It’s really important that the views of those with disabilities (and their families/carers) are heard when planning health services and the SEN Family Support Group has been a real champion in ensuring this.
Councillor Mathew Colledge Leader of Trafford council
As Leader of Trafford Council I am deeply grateful for the wonderful contribution that the voluntary and community sector, including SENFSG, make to the life of the Borough. The willingness of local people to give their time and energy to help others, often on a voluntary basis, through our voluntary and community sector is truly inspiring."
Director of Education from Trafford Margaret Woodhouse
The Children and Young People’s Service in Trafford value very highly the work of the SEN Families Support Group and we are proud of the effective working relationships that have been established. The group play a key role in the life of parents of children with SEN and their families. They support them through the sometimes daunting procedures, act as advocates in ensuring that families and children receive their entitlement and give them a voice to influence the future development of Services. They also provide effective and sensitive mediation between parents and council services in times of difficulty.