Chichester & Arun Down's Syndrome Group - parent carer support group

Service

The Group was started in 1987 to provide support for families of children with Down’s Syndrome in Chichester, Bognor Regis and the surrounding villages.

There are presently about 70 families in the local group whose children range in age from 4 months to over 24 years.

We hold regular social evenings, Christmas and Easter parties, trips and other events. We run our own dance groups, Early Development classes and 16+ social evenings/activities. Offer specialist training sessions.

What we do:

What is Down's Syndrome: Down’s Syndrome is one of the most common forms of learning disability, occurring in about 1 in every 700 births.
Speech Therapy: As a group we help subsidise specialist speech therapy as children with Down’s Syndrome can have more complex speech delays.
Fundraising: We hold various fundraising events throughout the year, to help fund private speech therapy, social events, and various trips eg. trips to the theatre. Dance classes can help with hypotonia/low muscle tone.
Social Events allow parents and children to meet up and keep in touch. This is a valuable form of support, talking with other parents, sharing experiences and exchanging information.
From babyhood through to adulthood, we support our members. Early Development Group: We run specialist sessions for our preschool children from around 6 months old. 16+ Social Group: various activities are regularly arranged.