Moving to Secondary School
Tips, links and helpful resources to ease you and your child through the transition to secondary school and beyond.
Our survival guides are here to help you.
Written, researched and produced each year to help families cope with the summer and Christmas holidays, SNAP’s Survival Guides provide key tips and ideas, along with useful information to help make those sometimes difficult periods in the year a little easier.
SNAP Summer Survival Guide
Created in response to feedback from families who were struggling to find appropriate things to do throughout the summer, SNAP’s Summer Survival Guide is packed full of tips and ideas for surviving the summer.
As the summer holidays at home can be both long and stressful, our survival guide aims to make this period easier by bringing together information from organisations across Essex that can offer activities, short breaks and events to keep everyone in the family busy. It also includes useful information for trips abroad, with tips and ideas on how to make air travel less stressful.
Don’t forget to use the SNAP Directory too for other useful contacts.
SNAP Christmas Survival Guide
SNAP’s Christmas Survival Guide is made up of a series of informative sheets filled with helpful hints and tips to support you through the festive season.
Covering a variety of different topics, our survival guide provides strategies to help make the holiday period less stressful for all the family.
Information Sheet No 1 – Gifts
Information Sheet No 2 – Decorations
Information Sheet No 3 – Visuals and Timetables
Information Sheet No 4 – Makaton, Braille and BSL
Information Sheet No 5 – Events and Activities
Information Sheet No 6 – Survival Tips
Information Sheet No 7 – Festive Apps
If you have any trusted tips and ideas that have helped you and your family do let us know, as we may be able to share them in our future editions.
We appreciate there isn’t always time to read a whole book, so if you are looking for a snippet of information on a specific topic you may be struggling with, SNAP’s Information Sheets provide key links, tips and strategies in a clear, easy-to-read manner. The topics covered are areas that families have frequently asked us for support with.
If there is a subject you would like SNAP to cover, do let us know by emailing [email protected].
- Tips to help improve behaviour
- Communication with your child
- Introducing an ASD diagnosis to your child
- Girls on the autism spectrum
- Moving to secondary school
- Postural Care: Night time positioning
- Sleep strategies
- Internet and social media safety
- Choosing a school
- Home education
- Eating
- Choosing a therapy
- Choosing toys for children with disabilities
- Puberty
Contact – 0808 808 3555
Contact’s helpline provides information and advice on diagnosis and medical information, local support services, benefits or financial support and special educational needs support.
Family Lives – 0808 800 2222
Family Lives’ free confidential helpline can provide information, advice, guidance and support on any aspect of parenting and family life, including bullying.
SCOPE – 0808 800 3333
SCOPE provides free, independent and impartial information and support whether you, your child or those you work with have a physical impairment, learning disability or any other condition.
National Autistic Society – 0808 800 4104
The NAS Autism Helpline provides confidential expert advice and support on autism, for autistic people, their families and friends.
Mencap – 0808 808 1111
The Mencap Learning Disability Helpline is a free helpline service offering advice and support for people with a learning disability, and their families and carers.
Cerebra – 0800 328 1159
Cerebra’s Freephone helpline is for parents who have a child or young person with a brain condition. This includes (but is not limited to) autism, ADHD, Down’s syndrome, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and developmental delay.
Young Minds – 0808 802 5544
Young Minds’ Parent Helpline can help answer questions about a child’s behaviour, emotional wellbeing, or mental health condition.
Unique – 01883 723356
Unique’s helpline can try to answer your questions about specific rare chromosome disorders and some autosomal dominant single gene disorders that are associated with intellectual disability/developmental delay/ medical issues/behavioural issues.
SOS!SEN – 0300 302 3731 or 0208 538 3731
SOS!SEN offer a free, independent and confidential telephone helpline for parents and others looking for information and advice on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).
SNAP Family Story
Being a SNAP family changes lives for the better. Just ask Jane, whose family is one of 4,689 who have been supported since 1994. Here, in her words, Jane talks about her personal family journey.
Superstar week for SNAP siblings
The SIBS4FUN programme is an annual fun-packed week which aims to give those siblings, who might miss out on opportunities because of their family circumstances, a week to remember.
SNAP Training
SNAP organises a unique and diverse calendar of parent and professional training opportunities and events.
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