We first started to support Alex (not his real name) on the helpline when he was still at school, after his Mum got in touch looking for advice. His Mum used our helpline a number of times over the years as he progressed through different learning pathways. She recently got in touch to say Alex […]
Posted: Thursday, October 31st, 2024
Sarah felt increasingly isolated in her final year before graduation. As life with her newly acquired health condition progressed, she struggled to keep up with the increasing demands of her course. Feeling unsupported by her university, she got in touch with Lead Scotland’s disabled students’ helpline. Sarah was diagnosed with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome going into […]
Posted: Wednesday, January 16th, 2019
“It’s hard…it looks like we are going to have to battle the system once again,” said Pat, after her son Matthew was told he had to find funding for another year at college himself, including the expensive travel costs he would incur as a result of his impairment. The challenges of funding were putting a […]
Posted: Friday, November 16th, 2018
Below is a list of organisations and resources that can offer support and advice in a variety of ways you might find helpful. BSL users can get in touch with any of the below using an interpreter through Contact Scotland: www.contactscotland-bsl.org Advice and Advocacy Citizens Advice Scotland – Free online publications, a helpline and local advisors at Citizens […]
Posted: Thursday, November 2nd, 2017
It has just been 5 months since Mark from Aberdeenshire started his Activity Agreement on Stage 1 of the employability programme back in January this year. He has discovered a new sense of confidence in these past few months. Not only has he nearly completed NC 4 Core Skills in Numeracy but also attended an […]
Posted: Friday, May 26th, 2017
Pauline is a Dundee adult learner on a mission, to find work and to be a good parent. Pauline experienced a period of anxiety and depression which led to her giving up work. One year on she has now taken up learning opportunities, has had work experience in different sectors and has achieved an Adult […]
Posted: Thursday, May 11th, 2017
I met Casey and her mum Sharron during November 2016. Casey is 19 years old and comes from a small village in the North East of Aberdeenshire. She belongs to a close knit family and has a special bond with her grandparents who live in the same village. At present, she is living with her […]
Posted: Monday, March 13th, 2017
A parent contacted the helpline, looking for information and advice about what their child’s rights were in relation to receiving ‘reasonable adjustments’ for a university admissions test for a degree course their child had applied to. The university was refusing to allow adjustments for an entry exam for their child, who had a specific learning […]
Posted: Tuesday, January 31st, 2017
Elizabeth, who is a member of the ASN staff at an Edinburgh school, contacted Lead’s information service regarding Calum, a learner with cerebral palsy who was leaving school and progressing to college the following year. Calum was going to require a relatively complex support package and funding arrangement and his family were not sure who […]
Posted: Tuesday, January 31st, 2017
A young disabled person phoned the helpline to try and find out how their benefits would be affected if they were to undertake post-graduate study. They were very anxious and frustrated as they had called multiple agencies to try and get the correct information, but had been receiving conflicting answers as their individual situation was […]
Posted: Tuesday, January 31st, 2017
During October to December last year, Barbara, our Aberdeenshire Learning Co-ordinator has been working in partnership with the Co-ordinator from The Bridge Project in Fraserburgh to arrange for two groups of 4 learners to work towards an Adult Achievement Award. The Bridge Project is a partnership between Day Services and Employability in Aberdeenshire Council. It’s […]
Posted: Friday, January 13th, 2017
Louise wanted to improve her reading, writing and numbers skills beyond the limits of only being able to write her own name. Louise’s social worker referred her to Lead for possible support with her learning. With support from the Fife Coordinator, Louise made progress with form filling and reading and she is now able to […]
Posted: Thursday, November 24th, 2016
Tommy found his way to Lead via his GP and psychologist after a period of depression because he was determined to learn reading, writing and computer skills. After a few initial meetings in the library they moved to home learning. The library internet connection wasn’t very good and Tommy actually preferred one to one support […]
Posted: Thursday, June 2nd, 2016
Eddie at the job centre told me about Lead. A lot of services don’t come to the house but that’s what I need because I have panic attacks and agoraphobia. I need someone with me all the time. I wanted to build up my confidence. Through Eddie, I met Amy the Learning Co-ordinator and she […]
Posted: Wednesday, April 27th, 2016
“I feel like I’m part of the world again. Amy came into my life at exactly the right point. I had been withdrawn and was frightened of people. I had become anxious and experienced agoraphobia. The home visit was really important. I would have had a lot of anxiety about going outside to meet anyone. […]
Posted: Friday, April 15th, 2016
Chris was nominated for the ‘Personal Achievement’ award at the Adult Literacies Awards in Fife, for all his hard work. Chris, initially contacted Leonard Cheshire to learn computing and was referred to Lead Scotland for their support. Prior to the referral, Chris had not used a computer before and, because of his visual impairment, was […]
Posted: Friday, December 4th, 2015
I first came out of hospital in 2001. A nurse told me about a man who was a learner with Lead Scotland. I contacted him and he put me in touch with Annabel Fairweather who was the Lead Co-ordinator based in Elgin in 2003. I got support and started off working through computer basics and […]
Posted: Friday, December 4th, 2015
Katy thinks back to school days as days of misery. Her mum knew that she needed extra support but the school refused to accept this. They suggested that she was not very bright, did not keep well and spent a lot of time absent from school. School was the last place this girl wanted to go to and by the time she […]
Posted: Friday, December 4th, 2015
Amy was referred to Lead Scotland by her guidance teacher at school. After being accepted by Lead Amy joined our MCMC (More Choices More Chances) SCOPE (Socialisation, communication, opportunities, progression, Effective Citizenship) group in Westhill where she worked on improving many skills such as IT, budgeting, confidence and social skills. We supported Amy to apply […]
Posted: Friday, December 4th, 2015
Rachel was referred for an Activity Agreement by Social Work as she left school after a poor experience regarding transition. Rachel moved from Children and Family Services when she was 18 and worked with Lead one to one to smooth her transition and help her to find her next positive destination. Rachel has a very supportive […]
Posted: Friday, December 4th, 2015
