17th June 2019

APSGW and Smiles are pleased to confirm that Jo Keys of Autism Anglia will be presenting an Autism Awareness talk for us on Tuesday 9th July 2019.

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This is a ticketed event and all tickets must be purchased in advance from Eventbrite. 
Tickets cost £7.00 per person. All tickets are non refundable.

The talk will cover:

- What Autism is
- How Autism can affect a person
- Sensory Difficulties

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This Autism Awareness talk will be approximately 2 hours long and is designed to introduce people to what it might be like for people on the Autism Spectrum.

The talk will start from 7pm, doors will open from 6:30pm.

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The venue address is: Miracle House, 2 Silva Island Way, Wickford, Essex, SS12 9NR

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Free off-street parking available.

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All monies raised through ticket sales will be going to Autism Anglia and Miracle House.

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Tickets can be purchased HERE

23nd November 2018

On Thursday 22nd November 2018 APSGW and Smiles were pleased to be host to an Autism and Anxiety talk at the Wickford CLC Centre where we welcomed two Autism specialists. In this two hour session these two specialists talked to us all about Autism and Anxiety and the links between them both and how they may affect an individual, coping strategies and ways in which to help those suffering.

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It was an extremely insightful meeting and we were pleased to see so many faces attend, it was certainly a great turn out. We were also able to raise £100 from donations from those who attended which was donated straight back directly to the Wickford CLC centre who so kindly allowed us to use their venue for the evening

4th July 2018

This evening APSGW and Smiles held their first joint evening Support Group meeting at the Wickford CLC and what a successful meeting it was. We were absolutely delighted with the turn out.

We also welcomed the Takiwatanga school team into the group who come to talk to us all about their aspirations of opening a school for children aged 7 to 18 years who suffer with high functioning autism and associated anxiety within the local area. 

22nd June 2018

This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming the wonderful Lissie into our group. Lissie, a former Mental Health Nurse had come to talk to us all about mental health, its impact on our lives and how important relaxation is in order to help us in our day to day lives. She showed us all some great relaxation techniques which we were all able to take away with us . Such a great meeting and we appreciated Lissie giving up her time to come and talk to us all

18th June 2018

We are delighted to announce that APSGW and Smiles Support Group will be combining forces  and will be holding a joint evening support group meeting at the Wickford CLC.  We appreciate that morning meetings are not always convenient for those who have to work or have younger children so we are hoping to reach out to these people with our monthly evening support group meetings. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday 4th July, 7 - 8:45pm at the Wickford CLC, Grange Road, Wickford and all are welcome to attend

14th October 2016

This morning we were delighted to be welcoming back Abi from Occupational Therapy Essex who came into the group to talk to us all about how Occupational therapy can help those children with developmental co-ordination disorders. 

The talk was extremely insightful and it was lovely to welcome Abi back into the group and we appreciated her giving up her time to come and talk to us all today

12th October 2016

We are delighted to announce that our Parent Support Group has been nominated in the Prid in Basildon Borough Volunteer Awards. We are all absolutely delighted that we have been nominated for this award

11th September 2016

At our meeting on Friday we welcomed Dawn and Cassie from C&D Independent Speech and Language Therapy. They are a private service supporting children and young people in the local area helping to support them with their communication. Dawn and Cassie both gave us all an insight into speech, language and what speech and language therapy is and how they can help those people requiring their services, providing valuable information to all who attended the meeting. It was an extremely insightful talk and the group would like to say a huge Thank you to them for taking the time out to come and speak to us all. We all thoroughly enjoyed having them there with us

8th July 2016

This morning we were delighted to Welcome Stephen from ADHD+ into the group who had come to talk to us about ADHD and their charitable organisation who aim to provide information, support and services to those affected by ADHD and its many associated and co-existing conditions. 

Stephen gave the group a wonderful presentation and an insight into what it is like to live with this condition along with valuable information that our members were all able to take away with them today

28th June 2016

The Abacus Parent Support group are thrilled to have been nominated for the second year running for an Essex Mums Award. The Abacus Parent Support Group has been nominated in the catergory "Best Support Group".

We are all absolutely thrilled with this nomination and to receive recognition for the support we offer to parents and carers of children and young adults with disabillities and additional needs in Wickford and the surrounding areas.

If we could please ask for people to help support us by voting for our group in the best support group catergory via the below link it would be most appreciated.  http://www.essexmums.org/awardsvoting.html

27th June 2016

The Abacus Parent Support Group are excited to have arranged for several guest speakers to join us at our meetings over the upcoming months to talk to the group about their organisations and what they do.

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On Friday 8th July we will be welcoming ADHD+ Support

On Friday 9th September we weill be welcoming C&D Speech and Language Therapy and on Friday 14th October we will be welcoming Occupational Therapy Essex into the group.

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20th March 2016

On Thursday 17th March some members of our parent support group attended an event which was held by the Essex SEND Information Advice and Support Service at the Wat Tyler centre in Pitsea.

 The event was a free workshop day for parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and aimed to bring them together with various professionals who offered their wealth of knowledge and skills across a selection of workshops which included: Behavioural Approaches and Communication, Understanding Emotional Health and What is ADHD?.

It was an extremely informative day with lots of useful information and advice that we were able to take home and use and adapt to our own particular needs. 
 

24th February 2016

Yesterday evening some members of our parent support group attended SNAP Charity in Brentwood to attend the ASD Behaviour talk presented by Anna and Austin from Anna Kennedy Online, a charity dedicated to promoting the inclusion and equality of children and adults with an autism spectrum condition throughout society. 

With 20 years of experience of living with ASD himself Austin spoke on the subject of behavior and some of the many issues and situations which can occur and impact the behaviour of a person on the autistic spectrum. It was an extremely thought provoking talk which really did give a powerful insight into the subject. Austin  was able to share with us his own experiences  which it was evident so many in the room were able to relate and left us all with a better understanding of how to approach and manage such situations. 

This was an extremely beneficial talk and we woud highly recommend any parents, carers or medical professionals caring for a person with ASD to attend one of the Anna Kennedy ASD Behaviour talks, to gain a better understanding and become more aware of behaviour and autism. 
 

22nd January 2016

This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming Liane and Claire from the Hamelin Trust to our meeting. The Hamelin Trust is a leading Essex based charity for supporting children and adults with disabilities and their families. Providing short break services, a resource centre, supported accommodation and outreach services to those who need them. It was lovely for them to take the time to come and talk to our members and they provided some fantastic information on the services which they provide.

20th November 2015

This morning the group had the pleasure of welcoming iSEssex into our meeting. They came along to help give us an understanding of the recent changes to statements of educational needs and the transition over to the new education and health care plans and what that means to young people and their families.  iSEssex provide independent advice and support to families within Essex, helping and guiding them through the process. This was an incredibly informative meeting and answered lots of questions that we had, It was also lovely to see some new faces join our meeting and be able to help them too.

13th June 2015

We are delighted to announce that the Abacus Parent Support Group has been nominated in this years Essex Mums awards for the catergory "Best Support Group". We are all absolutely thrilled with this nomination and to receive recognition for the support we offer to parents and carers of children and young adults with disabillities and additional needs in Wickford and the surrounding areas.If we could please ask for people to help support us by voting for our group in the best support group catergory via the below link it would be most appreciated.  http://www.essexmums.org/awardsvoting.html

20th March 2015

This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming Jo Keys from Autism Anglia into the group. Autism Anglia is an independent charity which provides care and support to children, adults and families affected by autism. Jo came into the group and spoke to us all about autism, what it is and the services Autism Anglia provide.  It was an extremely informative meeting and we all really appreciate the time she took out to talk to us all. It was also refreshing to see some new faces at the meeting this morning and hope they found our group helpful and we can continue to support them how ever we can.

30th January 2015

This morning the group welcomed Jodie from BOSP (Brighter Opportunities through Supported Play). The charity offers support to families by providing Activities, clubs and short breaks for their children and young people with learning and physical disabilities. We would like to thank Jodie for coming to talk to our members about what it is they do and for giving up her valuable time. 

17th October 2014

This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming Debbie from FACE Essex into our group meeting.. FACE Essex represent the views and experiences of parents and carers of children and young people with disabilities and additional needs in Essex in order to influence the services that they receive within Essex. Todays meeting was extremely beneficial to thos who came as Debbie spoke to us about the huge changes with the transition of Statements to EHC Plans and what this means to children and their families. This was extremely valuable to all who attended and we thank her for the time she took out to talk with us today.

From September 2014 the Abacus Parent Support Group Wickford will be holding some of our meetings at Miracle House, Silva Island Way, Wickford.

Miracle house is a wonderful new centre being opened at the heart of the community on the Wick and our group are extremely excited to be able to use their facilities for our meetings.

On the 21st March the group was given the opportunity to visit SNAP Charity in Brentwood. 

They were ever so kind enough to give the group a tour of their facilities and talk to the members about the charity, the work which they do and how they can help parents and children.

SNAP Charity helps Essex families with children and young people who have special needs and disabilities. The charity is there to support, encourage and provide information to parents , so that they can grow in strength and knowledge and become better equipped to give the best possible help to their children. As well as providing services including activities for children and their families.

3rd November 2013

At our meeting on 3rd November 2013 the group welcomed into the group Abi Johnson from Occupational Therapy Essex. Abi was kind enough to give up some of her time to come and talk to our group about Occupational Therapy, what she does and how it can help and benefit those children with disabillities and additional needs. It was a great talk and beneficial to all those who attended. 

31st July 2013

Following our successful Charity Meal at the Royal Tiger the Abacus Parent Support Group were delighted to present two cheques for the sum of £1658 to both SNAP Charity and Abacus Primary School SEN Department

13th July 2013

The Abacus parent Support Group Wickford would like to say a huge Thank You to all those who came along and supported us at our Charity Evening yesterday evening at the Royal Tiger in Rettendon. The evening was a huge success and we hope that all who attended had a wonderful evening. We had so much amazing support and we are pleased to announce that the evening raised an amazing £ 3316. This money is to be split equally between the Abacus SEND Department at Abacus primary, Wickford and SNAP Charity in Brentwood.

6th June 2013

The Abacus Parent Support Group are organising an exciting Charity Evening at the Royal Tiger Restaurant, Rettendon. All monies raised on and before the evening will be split equally between the Special Educational Needs Department at Abacus Primary school in Wickford and SNAP Charity in Brentwood. For further information or to buy tickets please email:info@abacusparentsupportgroupwickford.co.uk

28th May 2013

The Abacus Parent Support group Wickford would like to say a really Big Thank You to Refresh in Wickford who generously donated to us a cheque for £51 from the tips which they have collected. This money will be going towards the Abacus Special Educational Needs Department at Abacus Primary school. Thank You so much guys

May 23rd 2013

Did you see us in the newspaper? This evening one of the parent Support Groups founders Joe and his son Alex were featured in our local Evening Echo promoting the charity meal that we will be holding on Friday 12th July at the Royal Tiger restaurant, Rettendon to raise monies for the Abacus Primary Special Educational Needs department and SNAP charity in Brentwood.

April 22, 2013

On Friday10th May the Abacus Parent Support Group welcomed Michelle from FACE Essex into our meeting, she told us all about the organisation and what it is they exactly do.  FACE Essex represent the views and experiences of parents and carers of children and young people with disabilities and additional needs in order to influence the services that they receive within Essex.

It was a really informative, useful meeting for all of our members where we all learnt a lot  and took some information away with us.

If you would like to know more about Face Essex you can visit their website at:  http://www.face-essex.org