Listening Ear

Our 1-1 telephone appointments for parent carers looking for emotional support.

You might be struggling mentally and looking for strategies to help you cope.

Or maybe you just need to talk to someone who understands the extra challenges you face.

Our Listening Ear is here for you.

What is Listening Ear?

Our Listening Ear service offers hour-long 1-1 telephone appointments with a family support adviser.

Where our helpline provides information and advice, Listening Ear is for parent carers looking for emotional support and reassurance – though we can provide practical help too.

The parent advisers in our Listening Ear team are all parents of children and young people with disabilities,
plus they have a huge wealth of professional experience.

“It was just the support I’ve been looking for for years! So wonderful to be able to talk to people who have lived experience and truly understand and take time to listen and then give very wise and useful advice.”

Parent carer

Listen to our podcast episode about Listening Ear, in which our adviser Noreen explains how the service started and how it can help you.

Watch our senior parent adviser Shona talk about Listening Ear below to find out more about what the service is, what parents can talk about during their call, what families think of their Listening Ear experience, and some of her most memorable calls so far.

Important information before booking

• Please ensure that you book your call for a time that you know you will be free to talk and somewhere that you feel safe and is quiet so that you can get the most out of the time you have
• Appointments are 45 minutes long.

One-to-one telephone support on autism

For London and Midlands families

We also offer individual support sessions on autism, providing support, information and guidance for parent carers based in London or the Midlands. All our calls and sessions are delivered by people with lived experience of autism.

To find out more, visit our autism support pages:

• Autism support in London.
• Autism support in Midlands.

Book an appointment

Making an appointment is simple:  Choose the day (morning, afternoon or evening), and when you register choose the time slot you want. Appointments are regularly updated and are subject to availability.