actionforme.org.uk

Action for ME runs a dedicated "18 and under" section for children and teenagers with ME/CFS and the people around them. It covers four practical areas: understanding the illness and managing energy, free counselling, family support, and guidance on school, leaving school and university. It also offers a Young People's Community and free online events so younger people can connect with each other. All of this sits alongside the charity's general support services, healthcare information and online forum.

What the "18 and under" section covers

The young people's area is organised around the questions that come up most often after a diagnosis:

• You and ME – an introduction to the condition for a younger audience
• How we can help – the support available specifically to under-18s
• Symptoms and energy – what ME/CFS feels like and how to manage limited energy
• Friends and relationships – dealing with the social side of being unwell
• Free counselling for young people with ME – a dedicated counselling offer
• Family Support – help aimed at parents, carers and siblings

There is also a Young People's Community and a programme of free online events, which matter because ME/CFS can be isolating and in-person meet-ups are often not realistic.

Education: school, leaving school and university

Education is treated as its own topic rather than a footnote, which reflects how much of a young person's life it occupies. The site covers:

• Going to school – managing attendance and school life with ME/CFS
• Leaving school at 16? – options and considerations at that transition point
• Considering university – what to think about before and during higher education

If you are a parent or a young person trying to work out how to talk to a school, these pages are the natural starting point before you contact the school directly.

Health, sleep, eating and seeing a doctor

The young people's health pages cover the everyday foundations of managing ME/CFS:

• Support from your doctor
• Sleeping and resting well
• Eating well

These sit under the wider "Living with ME" material, which includes pacing and energy management, managing symptoms, accessing health and social care, and work and welfare. For under-18s, the school and family pages are usually more relevant than the work and welfare ones.

Counselling, family support and peer connection

Three things are worth knowing about specifically:

1. Free counselling for young people with ME – listed as a distinct service within the 18-and-under section.
2. Family Support – recognises that ME/CFS affects the whole household, not just the patient.
3. Young People's Community and free online events – a way to meet other young people with the condition without needing to travel or commit to a fixed energy budget.

For a broader picture of the charity's services, see What support services does Action for ME offer for people with ME/CFS? and What is Action for ME and who does it help?.

How to actually use it

A practical sequence if you are new to this:

1. Start with What is ME? and Symptoms and energy so you have shared language for appointments and school meetings.
2. Check How we can help and the counselling page to see what support you can request.
3. Use the education pages before any meeting with a school or university.
4. Point family members at Family Support rather than expecting them to read everything.
5. Join the Young People's Community or a free online event if isolation is the main problem.

What to check before relying on it

The site is UK-focused (en-GB), so education and healthcare guidance assumes the UK system. The pages describe what the charity offers, but availability, waiting times and eligibility for counselling or events are not fixed on the page — confirm current details with Action for ME directly. Membership and donations are separate from the free support content, so you do not need to join to read the guidance.

Action for ME is a UK-based charity that provides care and support for everyone affected by ME/CFS, while working to secure future change through research and campaigning. It is relevant to you if you live with ME/CFS, are under 18 and affected by the condition, or are a carer, family member, or friend of someone with ME.

Who Action for ME helps

The organisation describes itself as being there for people with ME and for anyone living with the condition. Its audience breaks down into several groups:

• Adults living with ME/CFS — through support services, healthcare information, and practical guidance.
• Young people aged 18 and under — with dedicated sections on symptoms and energy, friends and relationships, counselling, family support, and education.
• Carers, family, and friends — who can find information and support for their own situation.
• The wider ME community — including people who want to fundraise, volunteer, or campaign.

What Action for ME actually provides

The charity's work falls into three broad areas: support, research, and campaigning.

Support services

Action for ME offers free support services and healthcare services. On its website, the "Supporting you" section covers:

• What ME is
• Pacing and energy management
• Managing symptoms
• Accessing health and social care
• Work and welfare
• Information for carers, family, and friends

There is also an online forum called ME Friends, described as a friendly space to get connected.

Support for under-18s

The "18 and under" area includes guidance on symptoms and energy, friends and relationships, free counselling for young people with ME, family support, and education topics such as going to school, leaving school at 16, and considering university. There is also a Young People's Community and free online events.

Research and campaigning

Action for ME runs research work and campaigns for change. One named project is "Keeping ME Warm." The organisation also invites people to share their story, which feeds into its campaigning and research efforts.

How to get involved or get help

If you want to use Action for ME's services or stay connected, the site offers several entry points:

• Newsletter — sign up to the quarterly newsletter, "Keep me updated."
• Membership — join as a member and receive the InterAction magazine.
• Online forum — get connected through the friendly forums.
• Donate or fundraise — support the charity through donations, fundraising, or leaving a gift in your Will.
• Volunteer — work or volunteer with the organisation.

The site also has a search function and a "Get in touch" page for direct contact.

What to keep in mind

Action for ME is a support and advocacy organisation, not a medical provider. Its healthcare services and support services are described as free, but the website does not specify eligibility criteria or waiting times for every service. If you are looking for clinical treatment or a diagnosis, you would still need to go through your doctor or specialist. Action for ME's role is to help you live with ME, understand your condition, and access the right support — while pushing for broader change through research and campaigning.

Action for ME is a UK charity that provides care and support for everyone affected by ME/CFS, while also pursuing change through research and campaigning. Its support offering covers free support services, healthcare-related services, practical guidance on living with ME, and dedicated resources for children and young people, as well as for carers, family, and friends.

Free support and healthcare services

The charity lists two main service categories under "Supporting you":

• Our free Support Services – support available at no cost to people affected by ME.
• Our Healthcare Services – services connected to health and care needs.

Both sit alongside the charity's wider work in research and campaigning, which it describes as securing future change for people affected by ME.

Living with ME: practical guidance

A large part of the support is informational, organised around day-to-day management of the condition. Topics covered include:

• What is ME? – background on the condition itself.
• Pacing and energy management – how to manage limited energy.
• Managing symptoms – approaches to symptom control.
• Accessing health and social care – navigating the health and care system.
• Work and welfare – guidance on employment and benefits.
• Carers, family, and friends – material aimed at the people around someone with ME.

There is also a ME Friends Online forum, described as a friendly space to get connected to others.

Support for children and young people (18 and under)

The "18 and under" section is a distinct area of the site with its own resources:

• You and ME – an introduction for younger people.
• How we can help – the support available to this age group.
• Symptoms and energy – understanding and managing symptoms.
• Friends and relationships – social aspects of living with ME.
• Free counselling for young people with ME – counselling offered at no cost.
• Family Support – support for families.
• Your education – covering going to school, leaving school at 16, and considering university.
• Your health – including support from your doctor, sleeping and resting well, and eating well.
• Useful contacts – further sources of help.

There is also a Young People's Community and free online events for younger people.

Resources for carers, family, and friends

Carers, family, and friends are treated as a group with their own support needs, with a dedicated section in the main "Supporting you" navigation. This sits alongside the family support material in the young people's area.

How to access and stay connected

• Newsletter – a quarterly newsletter, "Keep me updated", is available by subscribing.
• Membership – joining as a member includes the InterAction magazine.
• Online forum – the ME Friends Online forum is open for connection with others.
• Severe ME/CFS guide – a resource titled Severe ME/CFS: A Guide to Living is listed among the materials.

The site also provides routes to get in touch, and the charity notes that with support it can be there for even more people affected by ME.

You can support Action for ME by donating, fundraising, volunteering, joining as a member, subscribing to the newsletter, or leaving a gift in your Will. The right route depends on whether you want to give money, give time, or stay informed — and some options, like membership, come with their own benefits such as the InterAction magazine.

Donate

A direct donation is the simplest way to support the charity's work. The site's main navigation includes a prominent Donate option, and there is also a dedicated BBC Lifeline Appeal page listed under "Support us."

If you are unsure how much to give or whether to make it one-off or regular, the site does not publish specific giving tiers in the material available here, so check the Donate page for current options.

Fundraise for Action for ME

Fundraising lets you raise money through your own activity while the charity supports you in doing it. The site groups this under several linked pages:

• Fundraise — the general starting point
• Fundraise for us
• Supporting your fundraising — guidance for people running their own events
• Blue Sunday 2026 — a named fundraising event

If you already have an idea (a sponsored walk, a birthday fundraiser, a workplace collection), start with "Supporting your fundraising" to see what help is available. If you want to join something already organised, look at Blue Sunday 2026.

Volunteer

Volunteering is listed under both "Support us" and "About us" (as Work or volunteer with us). This is the route to choose if you want to contribute time and skills rather than money. The site does not detail specific volunteer roles in the material available, so use the "Work or volunteer with us" page to see current opportunities.

Join as a member

Membership is a recurring way to support the charity and receive something in return. The site states: "Join as a member and receive our InterAction magazine!" The membership page is titled Join or renew your membership.

Choose membership if you want ongoing involvement plus the InterAction magazine. Note that membership is described as something you join or renew, which implies a subscription-style commitment — check the membership page for current terms.

Subscribe to the newsletter

If you are not ready to donate or volunteer but want to stay connected, you can sign up to the quarterly newsletter, "Keep me updated." This is a low-commitment way to follow the charity's research, campaigning, and events.

Leave a gift in your Will

A legacy gift is a way to support Action for ME beyond your lifetime. It appears under "Support us" as Leaving a gift in your Will. This option suits people who want to make a lasting contribution; the site does not publish legal or tax guidance here, so take independent advice for your own circumstances.

Other ways to support

The site also lists Philanthropy, Trusts & Foundations under "Support us." This is aimed at larger-scale or institutional giving rather than individual donations.

Which option fits you?

A practical note

The site's pricing signals mention "subscribe," but no prices or payment details are published in the material available here. Before committing to membership or a donation, open the relevant page to confirm current amounts, renewal terms, and any login requirements.

Action for ME runs two connected strands of work: research into ME/CFS and campaigning for change. Its research work is listed as a distinct area of the charity, alongside a campaign arm called "Campaigning for change," and one named project appears on the site: Keeping ME Warm. The charity also invites people affected by ME to share their story, which feeds into its wider mission of securing future change for everyone affected by ME/CFS.

Research work

Action for ME describes "Our research work" as one of its main areas of activity, grouped with campaigning under a single "Research and Campaigns" heading. The site does not publish a detailed list of research methods or funding criteria, so the specifics of individual studies are not set out on the pages reviewed here.

What is visible is one current project:

Keeping ME Warm research project

Keeping ME Warm is named as a research project on the site. Beyond its name and its placement under Research and Campaigns, the source material does not describe its aims, methods, or findings, so anyone wanting detail on this project would need to check the project page directly.

Campaigning for change

"Campaigning for change" is the charity's advocacy strand. Its stated purpose sits within the organisation's overall mission: to provide care and support for everyone affected by ME/CFS while securing future change through research and campaigning.

The site does not list specific policy asks, targets, or campaign wins in the material reviewed, so the direction of campaigning is best understood as change-oriented advocacy on behalf of people with ME rather than a published set of demands.

Sharing your story

One concrete way to contribute to the campaigning side is to share your story. "Share your story" appears as a standing item under Research and Campaigns, alongside News and Events. This suggests personal accounts are used to support the charity's advocacy and awareness work.

If you want to take part, the practical route is to look for the "Share your story" link in the Research and Campaigns section of the site and follow the submission process described there. The source material does not specify what happens to a story after it is submitted, so treat that as something to confirm on the page itself.

How the two strands fit together

What impact to expect

The charity frames its purpose as delivering impact for people affected by ME and securing future change. That is a broad, long-term framing rather than a set of measurable outcomes published on the pages reviewed. If you are looking for evidence of specific results — policy changes achieved, research findings published, or numbers of people reached — those details are not available in the source material and would need to be checked against the charity's news and project pages.

Where to go next

• Research: start from "Our research work" under Research and Campaigns, then open the Keeping ME Warm project page for detail.
• Campaigning: start from "Campaigning for change" for the current focus.
• Get involved: use "Share your story" if you want your experience to feed into the charity's advocacy.
• Stay informed: the site offers a quarterly newsletter sign-up and a membership magazine, InterAction, which are likely to carry updates on research and campaign activity.