Growing Up

Growing Up

ASUK is committed to improving services for our young people and their families.

In 2015 and 2018, we secured funding from Children in Need to provide support by providing fun activities and one to one support through transition, ensuring that young people who are affected are less isolated, healthier and able to better manage change. 

This funding has enabled our Transition Coordinator, Marie McGee to continue to work with young people and their families on all areas of growing up.

Ensuring that all youngsters are supported to manage change, develop skills and confidence and unleash their potential.

Marie explains more in these short videos:

The project has enabled young people to unleash their potential through activities which they never thought possible, such as driving a car or flying a plane!

It has also brought families together to enjoy Foodie Fun Friends Clubs, learning more about healthy foods and fun exercises to enjoy.

You can find more about these activities on the ‘Having Fun’ page.

ASUK have now developed a range of T-KASH Transition resources which have been developed by young people for young people.

What is T-KASH? 

T-KASH (Transition-Knowledge And Skills in Health) are FREE resources created by young people (YP) from the Alström Syndrome UK Hear My Voice Youth Forum. They are for YP, families and professionals to help them understand transition in health settings.

The resources aim to:

  • Draw attention to the knowledge and skills YP should be developing to manage their healthcare, while having the best life possible
  • Prepare YP/families for identifying and coping with change at key points in their lives
  • Supporting YP to plan for their future and cope with their eventual transfer/settling into adult services

What are the T-KASH resources?

The T-KASH resources consist of a transition journey poster, knowledge and skills poster and 11 logos that can be used in any health/speciality or education setting e.g. Hospital, GP, or school to signify different aspects of transitional care. Transition in health covers wide and varied aspects of young person’s lives, which supports them as they mature and enter into adulthood.

 

What are the T-KASH resources?

The T-KASH resources consist of a transition journey poster, knowledge and skills poster and 11 logos that can be used in any health/speciality or education setting e.g. Hospital, GP, or school to signify different aspects of transitional care. Transition in health covers wide and varied aspects of young person’s lives, which supports them as they mature and enter into adulthood.

The logos draw attention to knowledge and skill areas that young people say they should be competent in by the time they transfer to adult health care. The message is that young people, with long term health conditions, have full and active lives. They also expect healthcare professionals to be able to have wider discussions about areas such as vocational choices, confidentiality or how to develop life skills. All the resources were created with young people’s ideas, and suggestions and were launched at the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) 30th anniversary rare disease in paediatrics conference and Rare Disease Day tea party 23.03.2016.

 

Pictured above: Maariyah with Mum, Farzana,  Kion with Mum, Kerry, ASUK National Development Manager, Professor Tim Barrett, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Marie McGee, ASUK National Transition Co-ordinator (BCH, Rare Diabetes Transition Co-ordinator) at the launch.

How can I get the T-KASH resources? (FREE DOWNLOADS)

ASUK would like these resources to be used as widely as possible to ensure young people’s voices are heard at every stage of transition. These resources are free of charge by registering with ASUK, simply send an email with your name, job title, place of work and what the materials will be used for to ASUK Office Manager, Catherine Lewis Catherine.lewis@alstrom.org.uk or call 01803 368871 to request copies of the information.

 

Inclusion – Transcribing the resources into Braille

Attached here is a word document that can be sent to any transcription service to have the detail of the posters transcribed into Braille.

ASUK have used the services of Queen Alexander College, Birmingham, Transcription Service known as All Formats http://www.allformats.org.uk/ Paul and Andy have transcribed the information into a user friendly document so Braille users can interact with the information. If you would like copies in Braille please order from Catherine Lewis (There will be a charge depending on how many are ordered).

Suggestions for use

Use T-KASH logos to identify key aspects of a young person’s life within Transition Assessment Plans.

Young people with additional needs, be creative in how you use the resources e.g. Design ‘Flash your T-KASH Awards’ recognising growing competencies in the knowledge and skill areas (examples of this will be showcased here in April 2016).

Laminated copies of the T-KASH circle for use in clinic/consulting rooms, to prompt discussions.

Use in displays for clinic areas, each month highlight an individual aspect covering it in greater detail  e.g. work experience ideas, preparation for independent consultations.

 

Endorsement

If an organisation would like to endorse the resources we can add your logo and contact details on our website and when the resources are revised we can add your logo to the printed materials. For further information please contact ASUK Office Manager, Catherine Lewis by email catherine.lewis@alstrom.org.uk or call 01803 368871.

Acknowledgment Statement

ASUK requests that when organisations are using the T-KASH resources that they adhere to the acknowledgement statement at the bottom of the posters. ASUK also requests that the source of the materials are acknowledged on organisations websites.

Further Information

Please get in touch if you would like any further information about this exciting project.

We would like to thank the inspirational young people who designed the resources alongside ASUK National Transition Coordinator Marie McGee marie.mcgee@alstrom.org.uk as well as the designers at Ambinet  www.ambinetsoftware.com who brought the designs and vision to life.

Media Reviewed: March 2020
Next Review: March 2022

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