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Member Recommendations
SCAMPPS doesn't endorse any of the information listed here, but sometimes it is nice to know that a product or service has been succesful for some of our other members. We hope this will become the place you choose to share recommendations and tips. If you have anything you would like to add please Contact us here
Please note that the information shown here has been supplied directly from our members and is posted here in good faith. Prices listed will quickly be out of date, but have been left in to give you a general idea of cost.
Books
We have a variety of books recommended here for both children and adults. Please click on the links to see the reviews
Books for Adults
Childrens Books
Coffee Bar
St. Geoge's Church in Ashtead runs a coffee bar that employs adults with learning disabilities. Why not go along to support them? To find out more read our article on page 4 of Nov2008News.
Clothing
Continence Underwear I found some nice looking (if there is such a thing!) continence underwear for children on the following website. pshealthcare.co.uk. Go into “Products” and select “Upsey Daisy”. All the children’s items are listed there'. Their address is: Edward House, King Edward Street, Hucknall, Nottingham, NG15 7JR. Tel 0115 968 1188
Swimwear and Bibs for children who are disbaled and in wheelchairs as well as Vests with poppers underneath for older children can be purchased from racketys.com.
Days Out
Legoland Comes highly recommended for younger children. They offer a great guest service for families who have children with special needs. Although you pay for the child, the carer goes free. You do need to bring proof of you childs disability, such as your DLA award notice, and you do need to buy your tickets through the park. They will give your child an exit pass, which means they can access the rides from the exit gates without having to queue, and up to 3 guests can accompany the child this way. (Correct as of 10/06)
Natural History Museum Already a free place to visit, but I would like to mention their fast track system. If you would like to see the dinosaur exhibit, just mention to a member of staff that your child has special needs and you wont have to queue. You do miss the first part of the exhibition, but you get to see the main attraction of T-Rex along with the second half of the exhibition. It certainly beats queuing for 30-40 mins and no proof was required which is an obvious benefit to those children whose disibaility is not visable. Wheelchair and pushchair entrance to the museum is from Exhibition Road.
Thorpe Park does not have a huge amount of rides that our younger or physically challenged children are able to access. However, they do offer really good Guest Services enabling any child over 1m with disabilities to enter the park for £14.50 and up to 2 carers for the same price. The usual price is £19.50* per child and over 12 years £28.00, children under 1m go free (Carer’s of children under 1m still qualify for their concession rate). Octopus’ Garden is designed for the younger child but most rides do not allow a carer to accompany. The flexibility of the guest services allows our children to have a number of adults as carers, to go on rides, I therefore dedicated 5 adults who were all given wrist bands to accompany Frank on other rides. Children within the child’s party do qualify to go on rides at the same time. This to me was superb as my friends took Frank on some rides while I went on a few BIG ONES!!!! Once again, most rides are pain free queuing and accessed through the exit gates. They do have a Farm and Railway however only open during peak season. Not as tiring on the legs as Legoland was.
*Please note prices will be out-dated
DVDs
It's Signing Time by Singing Hands. If you've enjoyed seeing Singing Hands at our events, or perhaps you've even seen them on the telly, you can now purchase a DVD of them singing and signing 25 nursery rhymes and songs. Have a look at the Old MacDonald section and you may even recognise a few SCAMPPS faces! Including P&P it costs £17.74 from their website singinghands.co.uk
Feeding
High Chair Although not specifically designed for children with special needs and a little bit pricey at £99, I have found the Trip Trapp Hig Chair invaluable for my son with Down syndrome. With completely adjustable seat height and seperate foot rest, it allows him to be properly supported with good posture at our table. Being comforatble, has enabled him to sit for longer at meal times and to be more focused for therapy. The chair can be continually adjusted over the years until finally transforming into a proper adult chair. You can buya a baby kit suitable from around 5 months. Available in a range of colours, we ordered ours online at backinaction.co.uk/tripptrapp.
The 'Snack-Trap' consists of an attractive, colourfully imprinted, handled cup that allows children to grasp and hold the cup themselves. The soft pliable lid enables children to see and retrieve food with ease themselves. The lid gently closes when the child removes their hand. The Snack Trap enables children to feed themselves while helping to prevent spills when the cup is knocked over or dropped. www.snacktrap.co.uk
Tommee Tippee Plate Gripper Suction Mat This is a fantastic invention. It is a rubber mat that grips the high chair and the bowl or plate to stop children knocking over their food. Dishwasher safe and it rolls up for taking out and about. You just press your dish, plate or bowl down firmly on the suction pad. They advise Tommee Tippee bowls, plates and food pots work best, but I have found most of our bowls do stick including ones from Ikea. I found mine at Mothercare.
Fire Safety
Did you know that Surrey Fire & Rescue Service will come to your home and do a FREE Home Fire Risk Assessment? They can help you make an appropriate plan, so that everyone will know what to do in an emergency. Call 0800 085 0767 or check out their website surrey-fire.gov.uk
GP & Hospital Visits - Top Tips
Read this for advice about making the most of medical appointments.
Glasses
Leighton's Opticians We get our sons glasses from Leighton's Opticians in Epsom following recommendations from other parents. They are great with little children and are very happy to straighten out his frames whenever we pop in (fairly frequently!).
Collisons Opticians at Sutton Eye Hospital run the Low Vision Clinic. You have to be a patient at the hospital or referred by your GP. They ordered special magnifiers for my son which we are able to borrow to help him with his reading. See the full article on page 7 of Feb 2009 News.
See our Tips link for ideas about glasses.
If you are interested in using visual communication with your child and you don't feel like running around taking photos of everything, just enter a word like 'post-box' or 'strawberries' into your Google search engine. Push the tab that says 'Images' next to the box where you entered your text. Thousands of images will pop-up of your keyword. Even places like Epsom town Centre will show up. Great for somewhere you haven't been yet, like for example Longleat Safari Park. Right click the image you want and then 'Save As'. You can then print the image and show your child where you're going. Beware, some of the images can be a little dubious.
Hand Puppets
These unique hand puppets are great fun and cleverly disguise the purpose of teaching! The glove puppet consists of 5 digits and a theme such as 5 little speckled frogs, 5 currant buns, etc. They come with a song sheet so you can practice before hand and concentrate on your child’s anticipation, counting, reaching and memory skills. They are reasonably priced at approx £5.00 per set and available from The Puppet Company Ltd 01462 446040 or visit www.thepuppetcompany.com to view the hand puppet plus many other puppets.
Holiday Venues
See also Travel Insurance
Cornwall - Last year we visited Treginegar, which is situated a few miles from Padstow. We were so impressed that we have decided to return this year. There are just seven bugalows on the site. They have low level ramps for access and the inside is spacious and easy to get around with a walking frame. There are wet rooms instead of baths and it is possible to hire a disabled bathing chair, but we found it easier to use a patio chair for a child. See Treginegar.co.uk
DisneyLand Paris - Read our Member's article on page 6 of Feb 2009 News
Dorset - Ellwood Holiday Centre Offers self-catering accomodation suitable for guests who are less able. The single story accomodations include accessible wet rooms and kitchens. Hoists and other aids are available by arrangement. Ann & John Heath can be contacted on 0158 818 196.
I have just been going through the process of getting my daughter assessed for a Statement, and as we are not associated to a special needs school, this process has been left to me! I've been really worried about it, but today I found this website which has helped me enormously. It has a wealth of useful information on it and the people on the phone are so very helpful. Basically in one day I have made the application for assessment and got an Early-Years Co-ordinator to approach her pre-school and set up a meeting, fantastic. I can't recommend it highly enough - it's pwpsurrey.org
Time Timer
How does any young child manage time? With extreme difficulty! The Time Timer is a brilliant large visual measurement of time with 1 to 60 minutes so you can select any amount and set. It has a white face and displays a prominent red portion of clock that disappears when the time you have selected is up. It can be used for exercise/physio sessions, journeys, time left till bedtime, the list is exhaustive. It is also really good for children with visual impairment or learning difficulties as it only has two colours for them to watch. A 6” x 6” clock is approx £20.00 which seems expensive but a small price to pay for less tantrums. Available from UK supplier Taskmaster Limited 0116 270 4286 or taskmasteronline.co.uk product code T1498. They do a smaller version as well. You can also visit timetimer.com
Tips
Our members have collected many interesting tips over time. We hope you find them to be a good starting point and very useful, but remember to check with your health or education professional first as SCAMPPS cannot endorse these recommendations. Click on the link below for some great ideas.
Tips
Toileting Products
Toilet Seat If, like me, you have a little one who needs to spend a bit longer on the toilet than your average child you might find the Rymax toilet seat useful. It’s much sturdier than the usual plastic ones that you buy for potty training as it is built in to the main toilet seat so it doesn’t move around. Our son, who has Spina Bifida, feels much safer climbing on and off. It comes in Pine, Beech or White and costs £29.99. We found the cheapest place (including delivery) was Cradle and All, PO Box 131, Gamlingay, Sandy, SG19 3WT, e-mail: mail@cradleandall.co.uk, Tel. UK(01767) 600601
Visit our Tips link for ideas on toilet-training techniques!
Most travel insurances include children for free but are you aware that you still need to declare your child's disability and may not be covered for certain things? I have found that many insurance policies do not cover certain parts of my son's disability and either get completely rejected or asked to pay a ridiculously high premium. However, after many telephone calls I have finally found an insurance company that is helpful and able to provide me with the cover we need at no extra cost.
Shene Insurance Ltd, 457 Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen, London, SW14 7PR. Tel: 020 8878 7822
They are underwritten by Fortis Insurance, who carry out the medical screening, and they treated us like a person, not just a disability.
Wheelchair Information
Go Kids Go, Association of Wheelchair Children provide wheelchair training for children, including negotiating stairs, kerbs and even how to get back in if you tip out. Read our members article about this amazing group on pages 6 & 7 in our Feb 2009 News.