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.

In this article

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

920

Listening Ear appointments in 2022/23

92%

know what their next step will be as a result of the appointment

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

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:

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.

Listening Ear booking form

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If there are no available appointment times listed, please come back soon as we are always adding new dates and times.
Name*

Please note: In the below section you can select what issues you’d like support on. As the Listening Ear session is 45 minutes long, if you select more than one option we may not be able to discuss everything.

What are the key issues you want support on*
Accessibility
If you have any accessibility needs regarding the Listening Ear Appointment, please contact [email protected] as early as possible.
Keep in touch
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