What Matters To You? Research with children and young people

Date: 26th July 2010
Category: Disabled children, Respect for the views of the child

The fSDC liaison project has teamed up with LTCAS to carry out research with children and young people. If you work with children and young people with a long term condition or disability, we want to know what matters to them.

There is a core survey that asks how children and young people feel about life, friends, family and so on. It's 27 very short, simple questions requiring yes or no answers. Then there are two extra bits. The first asks about school and experiences there. And the second one asks about experience of services and leisure activities.

We hope you will be able to take part in the survey by yourself. But it's okay to get help from a parent, friend or support worker. What is important is that you take part!

We are doing this research so that we know more about what matters to children with disbailities and what is going on in their lives. No one will be identified from what they tell us. We take all the information together and will pass it on to people who make decisions about children's lives. So we will tell the Scottish Government and MSPs about the survey results, especially about services and how children with disabilities feel about things. We will also be sharing the information about life at school with teachers. And what is said about services and professionals will help us talk to people in councils and health boards who plan what services children need.

There are two ways to take part in the survey. It can be filled in online here:

If you can't open the survey straight away, highlight the link, right click, and copy into your web browser.

Or you can fill in a paper survey which you can get from info@fsdc.org.uk or by calling 0131 659 2939 or print off our website.

If you need a different format - Braille, audiotape, easy read - let us know and we will get that arranged for you.

Even better, if you do a paper or other version, you can post it back for free! So what are you waiting for? Please encourgae the children and young people you know to take part and tell us what matters to them.