Speaker Meeting, 6.15 for 6.30pm

In the picture: Rotary Club President Terry with Kim West, Chairperson of the Swindon Down's Syndrome Group, and Kim's daughter Sophie.

Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group (SDSG) is a volunteer led charity supporting people with Down’s syndrome and their families in Swindon and surrounds.  It offers support from birth through to old age.  It’s mission is that people with Down’s syndrome should have the same opportunities as everyone else.  Families are referred to them by Hospitals and local schools and currently the Group is supporting 110 families.

Down’s syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21.  Typically people have 46 Chromosomes but someone with Down’s syndrome has 3 copies of the 21st chromosome.  Down's isn’t as a result of anyone’s fault nor is it an hereditary syndrome.  It is not known what causes the extra chromosome and it occurs in all races, social classes and in all countries worldwide.  

It causes physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual disability, and characteristic facial features but in many ways children with Down’s are just like any other child.  Despite having poor auditory memory skills and short-term memory they are good visual learners and with additional support most can attend mainstream schools.   SDSG provides specific training for teachers, training which is not provided by the Local Authority.  It keeps the cost of such training low so that schools can send as many members of staff involved in the education of a child with Down’s syndrome as they can.

SDSG’s annual operating costs are in the region of £40,000 most of which has to be fundraised.  Parents and families are not charged.  For 25 years SDSG has offered speech and language therapy sessions because being able to communicate effectively increases the opportunities and choices for Down’s sufferers.  The Group received a Queen’s MBE Award for their speech therapy work 

It runs a youth club for teenagers and adults to meet up with their friends in a safe and secure environment.  They can chat, play computer games, listen to music, dance, sing and watch films.   There is a kitchen, living room and several games rooms where there are console games, pool tables, table football and air hockey.  It also organises outdoor trips as a group.

WorkFit is a particularly exciting SDSG project.  It not only helps adults with Down’s syndrome into work-related activities (paid jobs, volunteering roles, work experience and traineeships) but also supports employers to facilitate this.  WorkFit is a tailored service dedicated to training employers about the Down’s syndrome learning profile. Finding the right employment for the right people is key and paid work is not always right for all so a job might be work experience or voluntary work.

The Group even offers a 5-day firefighting course for those aged 12 and over.  It is one of their most popular courses and has run for over 10 years.  The course is run by the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and features firefighting activities with the mentoring role of actual firefighters to encourage, support and develop life and work skills in a positive, nurturing environment.

On proposing a vote of thanks to Kim, President Terry said that the Rotary Club will be raising funds for SDSG by means of a couple of fundraising events being held in the next 2 months.

The Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group is a local charity which champions and supports people with Down’s syndrome in Swindon and the surrounding area. It started as a small group of parents who met for coffee and provided each other with support. As time passed, more parents connected with the group and in 2003 it became a charity in its own right.