support during coronavirus

During these difficult and unprecedented times the CICRA team are working from home and doing their best to offer the same level of support and information for families.

As we have for the past 42-years we are here to help and support you, please continue to contact us by telephone and e-mail.

E-mail: support@cicra.org or Contact Us
Tel: 020 8949 6209**
Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
We will check both our telephone messages and e-mails regularly over the Easter weekend
** If we are unable to answer your call, please leave your name and number and one of the team will call you back.

We have experienced staff and trustees who have long time knowledge of caring for children with IBD and are happy to chat and answer questions. We cannot give medical advice but should you have a question we will do our best to find the answer.

• understanding and support for the whole family
• information and advice on the condition
• emotional support
• practical advice on living with IBD
• information on social distancing, shielding – what does it mean
• what to do in the event of a flare-up
• attending GP or hospital appointments

Advice on Coronavirus from the UK government is constantly changing, we are doing our best to get the most up-to-date information for you.

We have guidance on COVID19 and wherever we can, we will update on the best medical advice.

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In addition, we will be offering support to help families deal with the emotional impact of social distancing, self-isolation and the crisis.

Some useful websites on dealing with the psychological impact of the current situation:

• useful article about the discomfort we feel is grief
• talking to kids about the Coronavirus
• looking after your mental health during the Coronavirus outbreak
• minding your mental health during the Coronavirus outbreak
• for young people: what to do if you're anxious about Coronavirus
• how to talk to children about COVID19 (opens PDF)
• helping children cope with stress during COVID19
• supporting young people's mental health during periods of disruption

A clinical psychologist suggests making positive use of the time families will have together:

activities to try out during quarantine, isolation or social distancing

Not Another Mummy Blog has an excellent list of 58 activities you can do – split up into age – because a toddler isn’t going to be interested in the same fun stuff as a ten-year-old.

Spread the Happiness has a list of 100 things to do indoors

It's important to keep friends connected even when they are apart, so have a look at Play Together Apart and their growing list of suggested activities.

Carol Vorderman's Maths Factor now free https://www.themathsfactor.com/

Digital Mum's Guide to the Best Free Digital Resources for Homeschooling

https://kahoot.com/home/mobile-app/

Daily online science experiment from Glasgow Science Centre

David Walliams releasing free stories each day

The Scouts have some fantastic suggestions for the Great Indoors

Please also let us know what you are finding helpful, either by contacting us or tweeting us or messaging us on Facebook.

We are in this together, and we are here for you.

coping resources

This Covid Daily Care Card (opens PDF) is an excellent way of looking for positives in the current situation. Great for adults and children alike!

Here are also a selection of helpful resources we have found for children and young people, to cope with adversity. They can be used if they are struggling with a chronic health condition, but also to help them deal with a difficult situation like the Coronavirus epidemic. On most browsers, you should be able to save any of the pictures to your phone or computer.

There is also some general useful advice from Action for Children on anxious feelings

And The Mix is a useful site with support for anyone under 25 on a range of topics