The Children and Youth service is designed and dedicated to empower families to support children and young people who have sustained an acquired brain injury (ABI) throughout Northern Ireland.
We recognise that the whole family system is affected when a child or young person sustains an ABI. Our service works with the whole family unit to enable everyone to better manage the impact of ABI in daily life. Evidence-based practice forms the foundation of all our work.
Who can make a referral?
Anyone can make a referral to Children and Youth Services and we accept referrals from across Northern Ireland. Once a referral is received we will contact the family or referral agent directly to discuss the next steps. To make a referral please complete the children and youth referral form.
Social Activities
Activities will be provided regionally for children, young people and their families. These will provide fun activities and the opportunity to model and facilitate connection and interaction.
The benefits of the programme will consist of:
Family Based Support
Our practitioners work alongside the child, young person and family unit to empower them to provide the appropriate support to their child with ABI. Tailored support takes place in the family home, local community or online via our Family First portal.
We work in partnership with parents/carers, children and siblings to ensure the family are equipped to take confident steps towards positive progress.
Workshops
Workshops are run by children and youth service practitioners regionally to help connect families who have shared experiences of childhood ABI. We provide workshops for parents/carers, children with ABI and siblings involved in our service. These workshops are tailored to meet the specific needs of families.
Peer Mentoring
This programme will educate and support young adults with ABI to become mentors to a group of 13-18 year olds with ABI. The peer mentoring scheme will be delivered in the Southern Trust Area in partnership with Southern Trust Community Brain Injury