Penpal for a teenager with a learning disability?

kingfisherblue

My son is 15 and has Down's Syndrome and a long list of medical problems and conditions, some of which are notrelated to the DS. He loves reading and writing, although at a low level of ability for his age. His interests are also quite immature.

He would love to write to someone and to receive letters himself. I thought about Post Pals, but they only accept children who fulfil the following criteria, which is fair enough.

The criteria for becoming a Pal is:

• Living in the United Kingdom
• Aged between ages 2 and 18 years old
• Frequent long admissions to hospital
• Have been diagnosed with a chronic life-threatening illness
• Currently undergoing treatment (i.e. chemo, radiation), awaiting transplant or terminally ill (less than 18 months to live)
• We also request that applicants have a cognitive age of 2 years or over to be able to benefit from the project

My son is fortunate enough not to have frequent hospital admissions, although his paediatricians are surprised at how well he manages. His conditions are not life threatening, and he is not undergoing treatment in the way described above.


So, my question is if anyone knows of another organisation that can help? He adores writing, but letters might be a bit repetitive.



Any help or suggestions appreciated

FutureCooper

Have you asked his teachers for help? I'm sure his school has links with other schools around the UK, most secondaries do. This would be a huge benefit for all his friends i'm sure so perhaps a whole class project of penpals at another school of like minded teenagers would be a great suggestion.

building_with_lego

Couldn't he write to a post pal? Would he have to be the recipient of letters, or could he be the one to write to another child?

Does that make sense?! Would your son have to meet the criteria for Post Pals in order to write to someone? Or am I missing the point

kingfisherblue

Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn't thought of that. The school does have links abroad and they write as a class (8 pupils), but I'll ask if there is a school in the UK that they can suggest. He wants to receive post at home and have a special friend to write to, so I'm not sure if this would work, especially as he is only at this school for another year, but it's certainly worth looking into.

Thank you.

kingfisherblue

BWL, he could become a PostPal, another thing I hadn't thought of, but he wouldn't get a reply and he's really keen to receive a real letter with real stamps, through the post. Another good idea I will consider though.

Thank you for the suggestion.

fabforty

I did a quick Google search for 'penpals for people with disabilities' and also for 'people with learning disabilities' and a whole page or organisations came up. You could start with that. Obviously you will need to verify that they are above board but it's a worth a go.

Own_My_Own

Are you in any contact with Down's Syndrome Association.
They may be able to assist you.

http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/

kingfisherblue

Fabforty, I can't beleive I didn't think of that! Blame it on lack of sleep (more so than usual). Thank you, I'll check out those that come up on Google.

On My Own, I've had some contact with the DSA over the years, but not for a while. I'll ring them tomorrow for advice.

Some great ideas so far. My brain is like mush at the moment and I'm just not thinking.

Thank you both.

top_drawer_2

Hello

If you find a relevant organisation please do post the link. I read your post and thought Why did I not think of that?!?!

I have a sister who is 20 and she has Downs Syndrome - her writing ability is quite limited but she can draw / make things and her reading isn't too bad....

I have just Google and haven't managed to find anything that would be suitable - some dating agencies and "normal" penpals available as well as a online forum for chatting but no snail-mail penpals....

I would actually like a penpal for myself, I wrote to a french girl for awhile and enjoyed it so much! Looking at the site though I didn't know how to go about choosing one, particularly since many seemed to be aiming for dating type situations. Does anyone else have a penpal?

neverdespairgirl

kingfisherblue wrote: »

BWL, he could become a PostPal, another thing I hadn't thought of, but he wouldn't get a reply and he's really keen to receive a real letter with real stamps, through the post. Another good idea I will consider though.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Could he swop letters, by post, with Granny / Uncle Fred / Cousin Annie? Would that work?

kingfisherblue

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Neverdespairgirl, the only person living away is his dad and he sees him every week. He doesn't bother to ring when he says he will, so I doubt if he would write.

A quick update so far:
The Down's Syndrome Association are ringing me back. They have a publication for people with DS and my son could write to them asking for a penpal, but I'm not sure if this is the right thing for him. He has a rather unique sentence structure and it might not be easily understood by someone else with a learning disability, although a person without difficulties would be able to understand what he is trying to say. I wouldn't want others with DS to be confused by his wording. Equally, I want him to be able to understand what his penpal has written, and if someone writing to him also has a different sentence structure, it could be difficult for him to understand. I want the experience to be good, rather than a chore.

Google unfortunately did not bring up anything suitable. As top_drawer posted, everything seems to be either dating or online communication, neither of which are appropriate.

I haven't been able to speak with anyone at school yet - they were all in a meeting straight after school, and I didn't want to ring during the school day as the teachers and TAs are with the children (even over lunch and breaks).

I rang Mencap, who suggested that I contacted a volunteer centre. They gave me a couple of numbers in my area. The first said that they cannot help as my son is not resident in the town where they are situated, although we are in the same county. The second was more positive and I have emailed some basic details across to the manager. She is going to ask via their newsletter and their Twitter account if there is anyone willing to volunteer to take on the role of penpal to my son. She also agreed that a person without a learning disability might be more appropriate for the reasons explained above. In fact, she said that it would be a great project for people with learning difficulties, but their current funding would not support it.

Top_drawer, maybe you should write to my son and I should write to your sister as there doesn't seem to be an organisation to help us. You might want to ask at a volunteer centre in your county to see if there is anyone suitable for your sister. A befriender or advocate might help.