Services for young people

Memorandum submitted by Mrs Gill M Dixon

About me/my area of expertise

A registered nurse, I practised in a wide range of specialities for a total of 14 years.

Following the birth of my children I re-trained in teaching, and juggled a variety of roles in the voluntary sector for several years.

Subsequent to the recognition of my own son's severe verbal and motor dyspraxia in 1995, along with the realisation of how poorly understood the condition was I decided to study for a degree in Health Sciences and subsequently an MA in Disability Studies. My research to date has focused on the needs of children who learn differently, and their families. I have two books published relating to dyspraxia.

I ran a helpline from home for four years which has given me the opportunity to listen to many families. I facilitated a youth club for young people with dyspraxia/learning difference and run social skills courses for those who find making and keeping friends problematic. I have also fostered vulnerable youngsters.

My now adult son is a great teacher and I am constantly learning about the unique qualities possessed by people who experience the confusion and prejudice brought about by a hidden disability.

I believe that my background in health, education and my personal experience gives me a unique insight into this very complex and subtle disability and I hope some expertise this area.

1. It is with interest that I read the Gov’t proposal to establish a National Citizen Service (NCS), and I welcome any initiave which may give vulnerable young people and opportunity to integrate with others and to learn skills which may be transferrable in other life areas, particularly employment.

2. If the NCS is well thought out and offered by organisations/groups with a genuine interest in its service users then it may be a welcome platform to volunteer roles and potentially paid employment.

3. Volunteer roles are so often limited to Charity Shops and organisations where young adults are surrounded by people who do not fall into their age range or areas of interest.

4. More organisations should welcome volunteers into areas of work where vulnerable young adults can be amongst people of their own age and therefore have access to excellent role models.

5. Statutory and private employers should offer more volunteer opportunities.

6. I view any such proposal with a degree of scepticism because the initiatives seem to target people at an age when they could have been so much better prepared for life than they actually are. This is because, in my opinion, training and information is not available to those who shape our young people throughout their educational career. Ignorance so often results in the self esteem of a person being demolished to such an extent that they feel incapable of taking on a worthwhile role in society or indeed they are tempted into a sub culture where criminal activity is seen as a way forward.

7. In my experience there is a great deal of ignorance and confusion relating to people who do not fall into the category of neuro typical, or learning disabled. People with dyspraxia and other hidden disabilities inhabit a relative no mans land because services do not exist which full embrace the qualities or skills of people with these differences

8. I live in a small rural community in Yorkshire and services (both universal and targeted) are very limited indeed. However my son has volunteered successfully for a number of years and is now fully satisfied with a part time volunteer role at a small local theatre where he is welcomed by the team as a worthwhile member. This opportunity was brought about solely by personal research and tenacity.

9. Targeted services for his educational/cultural/social growth are very limited and he currently attends a specialist College in Sheffield. There are a number of targeted services which he accesses successfully. One of these ‘Love n’ Stuff’ is a service dedicated to assisting in the establishment of friendships and or relationships and allowing vulnerable people with learning difficulties the opportunity to enjoy and participate in a range of social/musical and cultural activities. The service users are fully consulted on the way in which the service runs and develops.

10. It is my strong belief that services such as these should be available in all parts of the country and that they will make a huge difference to how vulnerable people view themselves and their potential role in society.

11. The Dyspraxia Foundation is a small National Charity which is dedicated to the provision of services and to raising awareness of dyspraxia and the way in which it affects individuals. It is totally dependent on donations/membership/volunteers for its survival and like many small charitable organisations it struggles in the current economic climate.

12. There is a huge need for training and development of staff/volunteers that work or have the potential to work with young people with hidden disabilities. Without an insight into the condition and how it is likely to impact on an individual’s performance and ability, any service is likely to fail it’s users.

13. It is of paramount importance that any individuals who inhabit supervisory roles in the National Citizen Service have access to training which gives them a real insight into the way in which people with hidden disabilities perceive their world in order that those deemed to be helping them have the opportunity to empathise with the vulnerable people in their charge.

14. The Local Authority where I live has a number of schemes that are run during holidays periods for those who are 18 and under but very little otherwise.

15. There seems to be gaping hole in provision into which those between 18-25 disappear. It seems to be an age in which interest in the needs of vulnerable individuals ceases to exist and yet it is at this time in life when people are often at their most exposed and susceptible to exploitation.

16. It is at the ages 18-25 when people may find themselves most vulnerable. A transition period in most people’s lives which for neuro typical individuals are filled with university, college, apprenticeships and the like. For those who do not fit into that mould opportunities are scare and hard to come by.

17. I believe that there is a relationship in existence between targeted and universal services but that these often pay no more than lip service to Government rhetoric

18. It is my belief that on the whole wider society does not view people with dyspraxia or other hidden disabilities as vulnerable, because there is nothing tangible about the condition, nothing visible or sympathy provoking.

19. The risk is that people expect too much of the individual, not making allowances for their disability, or expect too little of the individual believing them to be lacking in intelligence.

20. I have been speaking nationally on the subject of dyspraxia and other hidden disabilities and whilst the audiences are keen to learn, the message does not reach the wider society. Pockets of interest exist.

21. There are a number of worthy initiatives but they seem to stop firmly at the doorstep of the organisation in control, rather than being disseminated to others. North Yorkshire LEA for example. In August 2009, published and excellent resource entitled ‘Supporting Children and Young people with Co ordination Difficulties. Eat Yorkshire LEA seem totally unaware of its existence which is a travesty.

22. Pockets of excellence remain pockets. There is little sharing of knowledge resources or expertise. No pooling of knowledge which is both sad and unnecessary,

23. A register of services that welcome volunteers would be a useful source of information to parents/carers/individuals. Everything seems to be such hard work and there is a real lack of easily available information.

24. Public sector spending cuts can only serve to make the vulnerable even more so.

25. It is my opinion that services for young people with dyspraxia and other hidden disabilities are sadly lacking at the current time and society has only paid lip service to the whole notion of inclusivity.

December 2010