Join STAND for a full-day Empowerment Workshop designed to help parents and carers of neurodivergent children build confidence, understand their rights, and learn practical ways to be heard.
We are extremely grateful to the GSB Solicitors for their generous contribution towards the costs of running this workshop.
Saturday 29th November 2025
10am until 4pm
Maitlandfield House Hotel, Haddington, EH41 3FZ
The venue has free on-site parking and step-free access to all event areas.
Click here to purchase tickets. Details of the different ticket options are set out below.
If you have any issues purchasing tickets please email events@standuk.co.uk and someone will get back to you.
£15 per person
We thoroughly recommend this option if you can make it. This covers both the morning and afternoon sessions (details below) and includes tea/coffee during both sessions and a light lunch.
We often use examples that our attendees share (if they wish to do so) and thread them through the entire workshop and you will get the most benefit from that by attending the whole day. We also find that, although it can be quite tiring to spend the whole day learning and discussing the various things in the workshop, it is also uplifting and benefical to have spent the day with people who understand the struggles you face.
£10 per person
This ticket will cover the morning session and include a light lunch so you can stay after the session, reflect on what we have discussed and chat with other attendees.
£10 per person
This ticket will cover the afternoon session and include a light lunch so you can come and join us before the session starts, and chat with other attendees about the key points from what was discussed in the morning.
We are aware that not everyone is in a position to afford the cost of tickets to our workshops, or in a position to prioritise the expenditure at this time. We do not make profit from our workshops, and rely on grant funding and donations in order to supplement the income from tickets and ensure we can afford to provide the workshops.
However, we also do not want anyone who would really benefit from a workshop being unable to attend. Therefore, if you would otherwise have attended but are currently unable to pay the cost of a ticket (or know of someone else in this position) please email us at empowerment@standuk.co.uk and we will try to find a way for you (or them) to attend.
STAND’s Empowerment Workshops are designed to give you a flavour of the rights that exist and how they might apply to everyday situations you find yourself in. The aim isn’t to tell you everything about everything, or to give you all the answers - it’s to help you build confidence and develop an instinct for when your rights might be relevant.
You won’t remember everything, and you don’t need to. What matters is gaining a basic understanding of the kinds of rights and systems that exist, so you’ll know where to start looking, or when to seek help, when issues arise in the future.
The workshop is split into two sessions. The first - Empowerment Fundamentals - covers what we believe are some basic tools that are useful when advocate for your child and your family. The second - Rights and How to Use Them - covers some of the most important and relevant rights that are useful in the context of neurodivergent children and their families, and explores ways that you might consider using them when you have to.
(Professionals and others involved in the care or support of neurodivergent children are very welcome to attend, but please note that the focus of the day is on the lived experiences and needs of families.)
Learn the essential tools to advocate for your child and family.
Topics include:
Writing effective emails and managing meetings
Making applications and complaints
Accessing information and understanding decision-making
How our democracy works and how to use it to be heard
Understand what your rights are and how to use them in practice.
We’ll cover:
How our democracy works and how to use it to be heard
The Equality Act and how it protects you
Education and housing rights
Enforcement of rights and what to do when things go wrong
A soup and sandwich lunch will be provided. Please let us know at empowerment@standuk.co.uk if you are attending and have dietary requirements.
Tea and coffee will also be provided during the day.
The workshops are intended to be "safe spaces" where people can share their personal experiences without fear of judgement, and without worrying that their information, experiences and stories will be shared outwith the workshop itself. Thankfully, all our workshops so far have been judgement-free, supportive and empowering experiences, and we want to keep it that way.
As part of our commitment to this, we will ask all attendees to confirm the following things before attending:
I agree not to share any information, experiences or stories containing someone else's personal information with anyone who is not in attendance at the workshop.
I agree that I will not judge anyone for anything which they share with others during the workshop.
I agree that I will not criticise anyone else's parenting or caring style during the workshop.
I am aware that I can let one of the STAND volunteers know if I am uncomfortable at any time during the workshop so that they can take appropriate action.