Through four 15 minute films, the DVD covers day to day life for four different families caring for a child with special needs. Told from the perspective of the service user, it covers a wide range of issues in many areas of health, social care and education. A completely versatile inter-professional learning tool, it is equally appropriate for undergraduates and practising professionals of every discipline. It demonstrates the effects of practice on service users and gives unlimited areas for discussion and learning activities.

The DVD has been designed to be used with MINIMAL TUTOR PREPARATION and comes with a CD OF SUGGESTED LEARNING ACTIVITIES. The resources on the CD contain:

Key themes · Discussion Areas · Tutor Notes · Ideas for Activities · Family Biographies ·  Glossary of terms
There is enormous cope for tutors and lecturers to use it creatively and customize the learning in a variety of ways. Some of the key themes addressed by the films are:

· Impact of birth, diagnosis, dealing with grief
· Providing support
· Special education issues
· Equipment, supplies, home adaptations
· Family and social life
· Impact on fathers, impact on relationships, impact on siblings
· Skills and training needs
· Planning for the future

Four different families are portrayed in the film, each in a different situation and having their own issues:


Aidan and Family
.

Aidan is four years old and lives with Mum and Dad, Carol and Graham and older brother Ewan. Aidan is multi-sensory impaired, has a tracheostomy and is gastrostomy fed.  He was hospitalised immediately after birth and has undergone many surgical procedures.  Carol and Graham describe emotions around birth, impact on Aidan’s brother, challenges around organisation and delivery of supplies, overnight respite and day to day living.

Max, Harry and Family
.

Max and Harry are brothers aged 9 and 7 and both have Fragile X Syndrome.
The film follows the journey for their parents from diagnosis to the present day and illustrates many areas including the impact of diagnosis, dealing with grief, day to day activities, coping with the particular needs of the boys, and impact on social life, outings and holidays.

Mary and Family
.

Mary’s Mum Sarah describes life as a single parent, caring for her 12 year old daughter who is profoundly affected by cerebral palsy. The story explores support for fathers, education and expectations, dealing with adaptations, working and caring, difficulties in obtaining appropriate support and service user perspective of inter-professional working.

Jenn and Family
.

Jenn is a 17 year old girl who lives with her Mum and Dad, Helen and Kevin. She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. She is bright, lively and has a keen sense of humour. The film charts her parents' struggles with early intervention and education, Jenn's desire to achieve an inclusive social life, impact on carers, financial implications of caring and more.

“The DVD will be an excellent teaching resource for a multitude of professional training courses.”  …” the opportunities for interdisciplinary learning are numerous “
Abigail Ketley, Senior Lecturer, Rehabilitation, Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield

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