Disability and SEND
Specialist sleep services, equipment grants and advice lines.
The short version
- Start here if your child is disabled: Contact, 0808 808 3555, freephone, 9.30am to 5pm weekdays, Tuesdays from 10.15am. Sleep is in scope.
- The Down's Syndrome Association's point is worth carrying: expect professionals to take your concerns seriously, not put the signs down to the condition.
- Cerebra runs a Sleep Advice Service for children with a brain condition, 0800 328 1159. They publish no opening hours, so ask when you call.
- Sleep is not a listed helpline topic for Scope or Mencap. The National Autistic Society no longer runs a public helpline. Use Contact or Cerebra.
- Grants for beds and equipment: Family Fund (apply yourself) or Newlife (needs a professional co-applicant). Check both first: applications were paused or restricted.
The rest of this page explains where this comes from. You do not have to read it tonight.
About 4 minutes to read
Disability, SEND and neurodivergence
Sleep is often harder, and often lasts longer, for disabled and neurodivergent children. It is also worth knowing which helplines actually cover sleep, because several of the best-known disability charities do not list it as a helpline topic.
Contact (formerly Contact a Family)
Freephone Birth to 25 Sleep in scope
0808 808 3555Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm, Tuesdays from 10.15am. Closed public holidays
Start here if your child is disabled. Contact supports families with disabled children from birth to 25, and sleep is explicitly within what the helpline covers. They also handle benefits, education and the practical grind that comes with it.
Cerebra
Freephone Sleep specialists
0800 328 1159Cerebra do not publish opening hours, so we cannot give you any
Their office number is 01267 244200. Cerebra runs a Sleep Advice Service for families of children with a brain condition, and publishes a detailed sleep guide, currently version 4 dated October 2025. The downloadable guides are confirmed free. We could not confirm whether the Sleep Advice Service itself is free, or how long the waiting list is, because nothing on their site says. Ask when you call.
Scope
Free Sleep NOT a listed topic
0808 800 3333Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, open most bank holidays
Saturday opening makes Scope unusual and useful. Sleep is not one of the topics Scope lists for its helpline, so for a sleep-specific conversation go to Contact or Cerebra instead. Scope is strong on disability rights, benefits, equipment and everyday practicalities.
Scope's old "Sleep Right" and "Sleep Solutions" sleep resources appear to have closed and the links now fail. Both the National Autistic Society and the Down's Syndrome Association still link to them, so do not be surprised when you land on an error page.
The National Autistic Society
No public helpline
The National Autistic Society no longer runs a public helpline. The number widely circulated for it will not reach a support service. The only telephone number they publish is an administrative line which their own website describes as not open to the general public, so we have not reprinted it here.
They do run a Parent to Parent Emotional Support Service, which is telephone support but is arranged by requesting a call back rather than by ringing a number. For a phone conversation about an autistic child's sleep, use Contact on 0808 808 3555. The National Autistic Society's written information remains available on their website.
Down's Syndrome Association
0333 number, national rate
0333 1212 30010am to 4pm. The days of the week are not published anywhere, so we cannot tell you which days it is open
This is a 0333 number at national rate, not freephone. The DSA's own guidance on getting professionals to listen is worth carrying with you: you should expect professionals to take your concerns seriously, and the signs you have noticed should not simply be put down to the fact that the person has Down's syndrome.
Royal Mencap Society
Free (England line) Sleep NOT a listed topic
England: 0808 808 1111Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm
Wales: 0808 8000 300We could not confirm the Wales hours
Northern Ireland is on 028 9069 1351, Mon to Fri 9am to 5pm, or by email at helpline.ni@mencap.org.uk. Sleep is not a listed helpline topic for Mencap, so for sleep specifically, Contact or Cerebra will be a better call.
Newlife
Equipment grants Nurse helpline
0800 902 0095Nurse appointments Mon to Fri, 10am to 4.30pm
Newlife makes equipment grants of up to £10,000, including beds where there is a postural or medical need. Two things to know before you spend energy on an application: a professional has to co-apply with you, and Newlife cannot fund beds for co-sleeping, time out, or safe spaces. When we last checked, Newlife's equipment applications were paused, with the site saying they are opening soon, so check the page before you spend time on a form.
Family Fund
Grants General line 01904 550055
Grants for families raising a disabled or seriously ill child, including beds and bedding and sensory toys. You apply yourself, without needing a professional. Children aged 0 to 24, with an income test and a test requiring three of seven support needs.
When we checked, applications were closed to families in Wales and Northern Ireland. Check the current position before you spend an evening on a form.
Where this comes from
- Charity Commission register for England and Wales, every England and Wales charity number on this page.
- OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, every SC charity number on this page.
- Cry-sis contact page, the Cry-sis number and hours, corroborated on the NHS colic page.
- The Lullaby Trust contact page, both Lullaby Trust lines and their hours.
- The Sleep Charity National Sleep Helpline, the helpline number, hours, call cost and the 12 month age rule.
- sleepaction.org and OSCR SC027560, the Sleep Action rename and the absence of a phone number.
- Coram Family Lives, the current number and hours, replacing the register's stale 24 hour wording.
- Gingerbread contact page, the helpline closure on 1 April 2025.
- Bliss support page, confirming there is no telephone helpline.
- National Autistic Society contact page, confirming there is no public helpline.
- Samaritans contact page, 116 123, call cost and availability.
- Babyzone Baby Buddy, where the Baby Buddy app went after Best Beginnings ceased to exist.
- Action for Children Parent Talk, the free online service that replaces the helpline people look for.
- OSCR SC027007, The Breastfeeding Network, behind the National Breastfeeding Helpline.
- Healthy Child Programme, health visiting ages 0 to 5, the five mandated reviews in England.
- NHS Best Start in Life, the renamed NHS parenting hub and its baby sleep section.
- Find a family hub, gov.uk, family hub coverage in England.
- NHS 24 and NHS inform, the Scottish phone routes.
- Parent Club, Scottish Government sleep information.
- 111 Wales, the Welsh phone route and its availability.
- Flying Start programme, Welsh Government, enhanced health visiting for under fours in some areas.
- nidirect GP out-of-hours service, every Northern Ireland area number and the confirmation that there is no 111 service.
- FamilySupportNI, the Northern Ireland services directory whose phone line costs 70p per minute plus access charge.
Last checked 1 August 2026. This page is general information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your child, speak to your health visitor or GP.