11 December 1998

Grant to helps Scotland's first Sleep Clinics

In the next few weeks, school holidays and pre-Christmas excitement will cause sleeplessness in many households where young children are hanging up their stockings and waiting for Santa Claus to visit. But for hundreds of Scottish children with special needs, sleeping disorders are a permanent problem causing their parents and siblings severe physical and mental stress which sometimes leads to marital break down or children being taken into care.

Now, thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Charities Board, a Scottish Charity will set up the country’s first network of Sleep Clinics where specially trained counsellors will offer guidance and support to parents. Edinburgh-based Sleep Scotland has been awarded a grant of £419,048 under the Board’s Community Involvement Programme which today announces grants worth £10 million to 64 organisations.

Sleep Scotland was launched earlier this year by its director Jane Ansell whose own ten year old son, Andrew, is autistic and would rarely sleep beyond 3 a.m. Since realising that sleeping disorders were not uncommon amongst children with special needs, and with the help of an initial NLCB grant, Jane has compiled information on the extent of the problem in Scotland, has trained Sleep Counsellors in different parts of the country to run sleep clinics, and established a need for the service.

With today’s grant announcement, Sleep Scotland is set to deliver its service throughout the country. It will establish more Sleep Clinics and recruit and train sleep counsellors in several areas. The service will be backed up by local parent support groups and there are plans to establish a sleep crisis telephone nightline.

Jane Ansell has welcomed the grant for Sleep Scotland. "Our aim is to make a difference to families throughout Scotland whose children with special needs have major stressful sleep problems. This grant will make all the difference to the hundreds of families who have been in contact with us. "We will be able to help at the moment of crisis in the middle of the night as well as work intensively with families to improve the sleeping patterns of their children. When that happens its like a weight lifted from every house."

Media Enquiries to Kay Caldwell, Communications Officer, on 0468 583441 or 0131 221 7100.

Further information about Sleep Scotland from Jane Ansell on 0131 651 1392 (d) 0131 667 6698 (e).