Special Kids in the UK is a charity for families who have a child of any age with special needs.

Families who have children and young people with special needs often deal with similar challenges.

They may have concerns about education, services, therapies, respite and other issues directly related to their child. Special Kids in the UK aim is to bring families together for friendship, to share information and to support one another.

The charity was created by parents who have children with special needs and appreciate how important this type of contact and information is. They hope that Special Kids in the UK will help other families who have children with any kind of special need, to realise that they are not alone.

Special Kids in the UK started as an online support group in 2000. In July 2005, Special Kids in the UK became a registered charity in order to expand its services and reach more families. We are a member based charity serving residents throughout the United Kingdom. Special Needs covers a broad spectrum including learning, physical and behavioural difficulties.

The annual event run by Special Kids is ‘Camp’.  Just that – the kids and their families spend a week together under canvas in a field. Last year there were 114 adults and 108 children. It cost SK just under £9000, so you can see together we can make a significant contribution to this year’s event.

Here's some words from the parents about what camp means to them. It’s the reason why I will torture myself for 24 hours without a second thought and you might kindly donate some of your hard earned pennies. The last half is written by my sister, talking about her son, Michael.

“I think the thing about camp is we're not afraid of each other's lives.... Does that make sense at all? It's the place where our triumphs and disasters are normalised, where we don't get stupid remarks made and can really discuss stuff. As well as actually chilling without that constant nag of whether our children will be ok with whoever is playing with them/near them at the time. Where if we need a spare extension set or a drop or two of diazepam, it’s just the same as asking to borrow a cardigan. Where advice is lovingly given based on some real life experience.

It's being somewhere were the children all automatically make allowances and adjustments so they can all join in. Where the one child who doesn't need a wheelchair ends up borrowing a sibling's spare chair so she isn't left out.

It's where the phrase "it's just a seizure" means others will either get on with their lives or else offer useful help, rather than flapping about getting in the way and insisting on calling ambulances unnecessarily. 

Where someone will know the quickest way to hospital, and there are others who can deal with siblings with complex needs. Where it's no big deal if a ten year old is screaming or a three year old is still up at mod night, and when people see strings of fairly lights inside tents, no one thinks it's odd and a fair few see how useful it would be for their own children too!

Where everyone understands how evil gravel is to push chairs on, and no one insists on rounding up my daughter and returning her to me because she's too young to spend any time without an adult (currently working on her walking from us to my parents' house, 10 minutes away with just one big road which has proper pedestrian lights. I see her over the big road, and people get very, very cross when she then zooms off without me).

It's sitting around swapping tips, checking out various gadgets both high and low tech, seeing what different areas offer as standard and what's a fight. It's just living the forum really, but hopefully less of a nightmare for the administrators!

They pretty much sum camp up.  Last year, I took Michael's power chair for the first time and WOW. The feeling I got from seeing him flying round the field with 2 friends hanging on the back, all with guns in their hands is priceless, I hardly saw him all week (except when his chair needed charging). In day to day life he has someone with him all the time, school he has full time 1-1 and at home I am always here. The freedom he must feel must be incredible. At school, a lot of kids just walk past him or say help and that's it. He has 1 'real' friend, at camp he is on an even keel with everyone, he has someone to play with that accepts him for who he is, to be honest, I don't think the kids even think about it.....he isn't the 'odd' or weird kid that you just can't help staring at. For me, I get to sit in a field for a week with people that know what my life is like, understand my life. It's a bit like the comradeship you feel with the Marines, only a Marine will understand what it's like to be a Marine?! Yes?

Having a child with special needs changes your life immeasurably, you get thrown into a world of medical speak, legal statements that you are expected to understand and a world that isn't fully accepting of your child (it is getting better), you are also expected to make decisions about your child when sometimes you haven't a clue what the right decision is.

Through the year I have access 24/7 to the biggest encyclopaedia ever SK. I can go on the forum, ask any question and I am guaranteed to get a whole host of replies, giving answers because it has happened to them or advice because it has also happened to them.

If I feel hacked off because of some injustice or because life just isn't fare, there is someone there that just gets it. I really don't think I could have done this without them, Michael certainly wouldn't be having all of his daily therapies at school and he wouldn't have his communication aid. He has these because someone from SK has guided me through the maze of legal jargon, pointed me in the right direction and picked me up when I have wanted to give up. You can feel very isolated being a parent of a child with special needs, SK prevents that happening."