Big Lottery Fund
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Over half a million pounds for families coping with autism
Over £600,000 has been awarded to a leading Edinburgh based autism charity from the Big Lottery Fund’s Investing in Communities scheme in Scotland.
Since 2008 the Tailor Ed Foundation has been helping to teach daily living skills to children with autism. They work with families who live in Edinburgh and have a child with autism aged between three and 12 years old. Tailor Ed’s unique, individual, tailored approach involves concentrated home-based support, plus workshops, drop-in and group sessions.
They help the children develop skills that let them take part in the everyday elements of daily life such as dressing, mealtimes and going to the toilet. Parents learn techniques which help them provide better support to their child and which gives them more confidence to deal with practical problems. Yesterday’s grant of £605,903 will secure the project for the next five years and means they will be able to help more families.
Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: “Tailor Ed Foundation supports families in Edinburgh who have at least one child with autism. This project highlights the ethos of our Investing in Communities fund which aims to tackle need and address inequalities. I’m delighted to announce this grant and the rest of today’s awards which willfund a total of six very different projects across Scotland but which share one common aim – to help vulnerable peoplemove towards a happier and healthier place in their lives.”
Ruth Philip, Tailor Ed Project Manager, said: “The support we’ve been shown by the Big Lottery Fund is incredible. The first grant we received from BIG let us pursue an idea and see it work. This second grant gives us the security we need to develop as an organisation and ensure we can keep providing our successful services long into the future. It means that the children with autism we support and their families know they’ll continue to have someone that can help with the daily challenges they face.”
Bill is nine years old and has a significant learning disability as well as autism. Unable to talk he struggles to communicate his wants and needs to his parents leading to misunderstandings and frustration. Tailor Ed have taught Bill and his parents some basic sign-a-long to ease their communication difficulties. They’ve also addressed various difficulties Bill had around going to the toilet, mealtimes and hospital appointments. Bill’s needs are complex but his parents now have the hope that there are methods that help their son learn and they’re gaining confidence in knowing how to teach him.
This grant is part of a package of four Big Lottery Fund Scotland, Investing in Community grants totalling £2,567,975 million.
Further Information
Frances Chisholm, Press Team Scotland: 0141 242 1458
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 7110
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £25 billion over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
- The Scotland Committee has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee, led by Chair, Maureen McGinn, has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.
- The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through its Investing in Communities portfolio, as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All, Investing in Ideas, Communities and Families and 2014 Communities.
