Praise for 'amazing' support of disability service

Janine and Toby Clements said the support from the team had given them a brighter future

A family helped by a team supporting children with disabilities in Cornwall has praised the "amazing" difference they have made.

Supporting Change in Partnership (SCIP) was developed in 2016 after feedback from parents and carers who wanted a different type of support.

Rather than a social work assessment, a SCIP worker instead focuses on early intervention and empowering families to work through issues.

Cornwall Council, which runs SCIP, said the team had now helped more than 1,000 children.

'Huge difference'

Janine and Toby Clements, from Camborne, are both deaf and have four children.

They said they were struggling so they contacted SCIP for support for themselves and their seven-year-old son, who is being assessed for autism.

Ms Clements said: "We weren't managing well.

"Our son would be smashing doors, hitting, it was very difficult to get him to control himself.

"It was a really difficult time and we were struggling.

"SCIP has been really amazing. The support was not just for him, but it was emotional support for us as well."

Lisa Williams from the SCIP team said helping give children a better future was very rewarding

Lisa Williams, who was the SCIP support worker for the Clements family, said: "When you're in it and working with different challenges every day, that can be really difficult.

"Coming in and just saying, should we try it this way or should we do it this way? This can make a huge difference."

Crin Whelan, who is part of the Disabled Children and Therapy Service at the council, said the team had grown from three to nine and helped more than 1,000 children.

"Having a child with a disability is different, it can be quite isolating, and you often need to parent a little bit differently," she said.

"You need to be able to access lots of services and it's not always clear and easy that."

'Future is brighter'

The team said the approach had led to a reduction in social work caseloads and the way of working was being shared with other local authorities.

Ms Clements said their son "still has his meltdowns now and again", but they use the strategies they were taught.

"We are much happier, we really felt like we had no support whatsoever before, but now the future is much brighter," she said.