The first UK & Ireland family meeting for the new decade will take place close to the Foundation office in Grays Essex. Just a few minutes from the M25 and with a good rail service from London (30 minutes away). The date is Saturday May 8th and the venue is the Treetops School in Buxton Road, Grays.

Treetops is a brand ne purpose-built special needs school which specialises in supporting people on the autistic spectrum. As part of its general ethos the school extends its services into the whole special needs community including support groups and several of its staff will be on hand to help the young people with CdLS make use of the facilities
during the day.

There are several children with the syndrome attending the school and the Foundation’s SCAT member, speech and language pathologist Sara Smith heads the school’s communication therapy team.

Already a number of the professionals have said they will attend. The meeting will start at 11am and finish by 5pm. The Trustees are planning a social/fundraising event in the evening either at the school or at a nearby hotel to enable families to continue the personal networking that has proved so valuable in the past.

There is no charge for attending the conference and there will be a buffet. Foundation vice-chairman James May said, “We know how important it is for families to get together and to meet the professionals. Because of the high cost of putting on these meetings we have held back a bit but now we are ready to go. It will be different from the Holiday Inn meetings we have had in the past but this is an excellent facility and the school has been really helpful. There is room for the consults, a good room for the doctors to present and space for the kids to enjoy it.”

Families wishing to attend and stay overnight should contact Jacquie in the CdLS office who will be able to advise about local hotel or B&Bs nearby.