The group meet at my Occupational Therapy premises monthly where they can chat and meet other parents in the same position as themselves. They also have a closed Facebook page where the admin post daily tips on how to help the children and their families at home and school. They organise events and go out into the wider community with their families which gives confidence to the children and their parent/carer.
The group meet at my Occupational Therapy premises monthly where they can chat and meet other parents in the same position as themselves. They also have a closed Facebook page where the admin post daily tips on how to help the children and their families at home and school. They organise events and go out into the wider community with their families which gives confidence to the children and their parent/carer. They have secured funding from County Durham Community Foundation where they organised sensory integration training from a trained SI Occupational Therapist. Also, they have been nominated by Tesco for the blue token award which starts September to end of October where they are hoping to gain more funding to organise a conference/training event to raise awareness of their children’s difficulties and also gain vital training on how to help them more at home/school with regards to anxiety, ASD, SPD, sleep and feeding issues and many more.
By funding training they have been able to show parents/carers how to help their children which enables them to go into the wider community to actually enjoy life and be more like their peers. They hold events as a group which enables the children and parents/carers to meet likeminded people, swap strategies and just to be there for each other.
The ultimate aim of the group is to make the lives of our children easier and ensure the parents/carers feel they are not alone in their daily struggles.
The group is self-funded apart from the grant they have just secured. They help each other and ensure they are there at the end of the Facebook to make sure no one feels alone. Tips and strategies are swapped and solid friendships have been made through the group which is vital as the majority of the members do not socialise, get invited to parties or even attend school which they find overwhelming. This group is a lifeline to all and without it the families would find life very hard. Everyone helps out and nothing is too much trouble which is great!
