This page signposts to useful information and resources covering the following areas:

• Behaviour
• Child development
• Communication
• Dyslexia
• Eating and weight management
• Financial support
• Higher Education Access for All: Understanding the Disabled Students' Allowance
• Mental health
• Parental wellbeing
• Sleep
• Toileting
• Visual impairment
• Brain injury (external link)

You can also visit the Healthier Wigan Partnership website (external link) to find information and support covering everything on this page, including health and wellbeing, parenting support and home learning and development.

Looking for easy to read health information? Visit Easy Health for over 390 easy read health resources that include pictures, films and simple words (external link), making information more accessible to anyone who finds written information hard to understand.

Behaviour

• Behaviour resources to support people with autism (external link)
• Managing challenging behaviour in children with additional needs (external link)
• Advice and guidance for parents of children with ADHD (external link)
• Advice for parents of children with brain conditions (external link)
• Supporting behaviour behaviour positively in children with Down’s Syndrome (external link).

Child development

• Early years development journal designed to help parents record, celebrate and support their child’s learning and development (external link)
• School age development journal designed to help parents record, celebrate and support their child’s learning and development (external link)
• Early support development journal for babies and young children with visual impairment (external link)
• Early support development journal for Children with Downs Syndrome (external link)
• Early support development journal for children with multiple needs (external link)
• Early support development journal for deaf babies and children (external link).

Communication

• Communication and social interaction resources to support people with autism (external link)
• Wigan children's speech and language therapy service on Facebook - updated regularly with activities and information (external link)
• Afasic provides advice and support for families of children and young people affected by language development disorder (external link).

Dyslexia

Eating and weight management

• Advice on how to support people with autism on different eating-related issues, including restricted diets and over-eating (external link)
• Eating advice for families of children with disabilities (external link)
• NHS guide for parents on supporting underweight children (external link).

Financial support

• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) (external link) for help with the extra costs of looking after a child who has difficulties walking or needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability
• Carer’s Allowance (external link) for people who care for someone at least 35 hours a week and receive certain benefits
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (external link) can help with some of the extra costs for people aged 16 or over who have a long term ill-health or disability
• Family Fund (external link) provides grants to families with a seriously ill or disabled child who meets their eligibility criteria
• Blessings in Disguise is a Wigan charity (external link) providing equipment, activities and experiences for seriously ill and disabled children
• Turn2Us is a national charity helping people to access financial support (external link). Their website provides a benefits calculator and a grant search
• Disabled Students’ Allowances provide financial support to undergraduates (external link) to cover some of the extra costs due to a mental health problem, long term illness or any other disability.

Higher Education Access for All: Understanding the Disabled Students' Allowance

Written for disabled students and their guardians, this in depth guide on the Disabled Students’ allowance, created by Comparethemarket covers the following;

• An overview of what the Disabled Students’ Allowance is, what it covers, and how it is different from tuition fee assistance and maintenance loans
• Eligibility for the DSA, including the broad range of conditions in the Equality Act of 2010
• Step-by-step instructions on applying for the DSA, along with a guide to getting the requirements accomplished
• A list of other support a disabled student can get while studying.

Mental health

• Mental health resources to support young people with ADHD (external link)
• Help and advice for young people on different mental health conditions (external link)
• Free, safe and anonymous mental health support for young people aged 11-19
• Information and support on mental health for disabled children and young people (external link)
• Information pack to support children and young people with learning disabilities and their mental health (external link)
• Top tips and resources to support young people with learning disabilities and their mental health (external link)
• Mental health resources to support children, young people and families during COVID-19 (external link)
• Resources for people with learning disabilities, ADHD and autism during COVID-19 (external link).

Parental wellbeing

• Contact provides advice and support to help parents look after their wellbeing (external link)
• Scope offers information and support for families including:
  • Help to manage stress when caring for your disabled child (external link)
  • Emotional support for families of a disabled child (external link)
  • One to one support - you can speak to a Scope adviser about your issues by calling 0808 800 3333 or emailing helpline@scope.org.uk

Sleep

• Sleep advice for parents of children with disabilities (external link)
• Sleep advice and resources for parents of children with ADHD (external link)
• Cerebra sleep advice service for children with brain conditions - how to tackle issues to improve your family’s sleep and advice on dealing with specific sleep problems (external link)
• Sleep advice for parents of children with Down’s syndrome (external link)
• Early support information on sleep, how to develop good sleep practices and how to avoid sleep difficulties (external link)
• Sleep advice written by parents for parents of children with disabilities and additional needs (external link).

Toileting

• ERIC is a children’s bladder and bowel charity providing advice on potty training and toileting for children with additional needs (external link)
• Cerebra guide for parents of children with brain conditions to help deal with common toilet training problems and techniques to help (external link)
• Specialist toilet training advice and support for families of children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (external link)
• Advice on bladder and bowel problems in children and young people with additional needs (external link)
• Support and advice for families on toilet training a child with a disability (external link).

 Visual impairment

• Nystagmus Network - Supporting people living with nystagmus (external link)