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ISSUE 5

March 2020

Hello to another issue of the news letter; we were saying in the office how quickly a month

comes round! The nights are becoming lighter and there is a feeling of Spring being just

around the corner.

We have a busy few months ahead; as you may or may not know Autism Awareness Week

is from Monday 30th March—Sunday 5th April and we are all busy preparing for a lot of

events that week. If you would like to know more about this or Silly Sock Day please get in

touch.

Hello from the Team.

Community Events / Fundraising:

Our Flexible Support Worker Lori and her husband Paul Rumens are organising a dinner with Stuart Pearce to

fundraise for Autism East Midlands and their local football club. This will take place on Thursday 7th May 2020,

at The Park Inn, Northampton, at 7pm.

If you are interested in purchasing tickets, a table, or finding out more please contact paulrumens59@gmail.com

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BBO Project

We currently have 17 BBO participants spread all across the

county, and are doing a wide range of things with and for

them such as;

wellbeing chats and organising counselling for those who

are quite a way from being ready for

employment

creating CVs, working on interview techniques and

assisting with applying for jobs for those who are ready to

work

Funding training for those that lack the necessary skills,

confidence or qualifications to work in their desired field

Securing voluntary positions for those that wish to have a

bit more experience of a working environment before

applying for paid employment

This month we have;

Arranged a Maths Foundation course for a participant in

Desborough.

He is working towards having a part time job, but feels that he

lacks in confidence around maths and English. The first stage of

our work with him is to increase his confidence with Maths, so he’s

been enrolled on an online Maths course as he can complete it

at his own pace rather than having to attend an adult education

facility.

When he has settled into doing his Maths, then we hope to enrol him on an English course too.

One of the more unusual things we have organised is 6 half days

of fishing tuition with a coach who is experienced with SEND. The

initial 6 half days are finished now, and we have also paid for the

next block of 6.

This participant from Irthlingborough really struggles with social

interactions and managing his anger and expectations of

others. The fishing is a non-confrontational environment where

he can be encouraged to have conversations and develop his

patience and social skills.

This second block of fishing tuition is being done in tandem with

counselling to deal with his deeper issues, and then we hope to

move onto some training around using buses once he is calmer

and more tolerant and has developed coping strategies.

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Children and Young People’s Service

Tuesday Evening Youth Club was all about pancakes and positive

things about themselves.

The group went to the shops to buy the ingredients needed to

create some fantastic pancakes and then back to AHoF to make

and eat them!

The young people were also asked to write something positive

about themselves or someone else in the group; they all decided to

write about others in the group, some of the words described were:

Smiley, Happy, Kind.

We had our first Youth Club at Towcester during

February and it was a very busy day. By the end of

the session everyone who had attended said they

enjoyed themselves and really liked the venue.

There were some unsure thoughts about the venue

at the start and some of that is because it’s a new

place to get to know and familiarise themselves

with, but after a while they soon settled.

We had 5 families visit during the day and they all

really liked the venue too.

There was lots of toys, games out and pancakes to

be made that looked very good! A group went on a

walk round Towcester and found the park which is

always an enjoyable activity for some.

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Children and Young People’s Service

During February Half Term, we ran 3 Holiday Clubs at Nether Heyford

and The Elgar Centre.

There was some fantastic imaginary play going on, with everyone

coming together to play a game. This resulted in a den being made

which everyone really enjoyed that day, and friendships were made

during the week.

Each day there was a food activity,

fruit and cream and toast. The young

people were a part of the whole

activity, from planning what was

needed . This included a tally of what

toppings were most popular for toast,

to buying then making and preparing

the food. And of course eating it,

which was the best part!

There was a chance for the young people to

use their creative skills with some lovely

writing, and drawing being made. We looked

at a few of our favourite things:

People: Family and staff at Holiday Club

Places: Park, Home, Holidays

Things to do: Swimming, Reading, Chilling

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Children and Young People’s Service

During February Half Term we took a group of children and young

people to West Lodge Farm - the children had great fun despite the

weather!

They cuddled some rabbits, Guinea pigs and chicks, and helped feed

the baby lambs and played in the park. We had planned to groom the

horses and watch the pig races, but the heavens opened, and we were

forced to play in the indoor play area. We did venture outside for the

last half hour to see the pigs, go on the barrel ride and have one last

play in the outdoor play area.

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Family Hubs

The hubs that are run from our Northamptonshire branch are;

Northampton—Kingsthorpe Baptist Church (next to Waitrose). This runs on the first Monday of the month,

from 4-7pm.

Loughborough—Gorse Covert Community Centre. This runs on the second Tuesday of the month, from 4-

7pm

Leicester—Thorpe Astley Community Centre on the third Saturday of the month, from 10am-1pm

These are free to attend, and are drop-ins so you can come along at any point during the session and stay

for as long as you like. If anyone needs any pictures of venues or toys to reassure their children, please just

ask!

As well as the usual toys and games at the hubs in February, there

were a variety of activities for the children such as;

Pancake day crafts –pancake themed colouring and origami. They

could design a pancake with food stickers and there were also

pancake word-searches and a crossword, and a pancake maze.

The children could also decorate their own pancake with a

selection of fruits, cream and Nutella for snack time.

It’s the aim of the hubs to be friendly, relaxed, fun events for the

whole family to access. There’s an opportunity to pick up

information about other SEN/ASD friendly services in the local

area, or have a chat with a staff member if information,

advice or guidance is needed.

The next hubs running are;

Leicester (Thorpe Astley Community Centre, LE3 3RU)

– March 21st and April 18th

Northampton (Kingsthorpe Baptist Church, NN2 6QF)

– April 6th and May 11th

(Please note that the May Northampton date has been

changed from the first Monday of the month because of the

bank holiday)

Loughborough (Gorse Covert Community Centre, LE11 4RZ)

– April 14th and May 12th

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NORTHAMPTONSHIRE OFFICE

www.autismeastmidlands.org.uk

35 Burlington House, 369 Wellingborough Road,

Northampton, NN1 4EU

Telephone: 01604 239404

Email: Northampton@autismeastmidlands.org.uk

Autism East Midlands is a registered charity, number 517954 and a

company limited by guarantee.

Registered in England number 2053860. Registered Office: Unit 31 Crags

Industrial Estate, Morven Street, Creswell. Worksop. S80 4AJ

Our Vision

“A world which recognises, understands and values

people with autism, and where they, and their

families, receive the services and support they need

throughout their lives”

Our Mission

To advocate, provide and develop high-quality

services, information and support, in partnership with

others, for all those whose lives are affected by autism.

To recognise and respond to the needs of the

individual, enabling people with autism to live their

lives with dignity, choice and independence.

EVENTS

DATES FOR THE DIARY:

Family Support Hubs—Leicester March 21st, Northampton April 6th, Loughborough April 14th

Youth Clubs March / April:

Saturday 14th—Towcester (fully booked)

Saturday 28th—Raunds (spaces)

Sunday 29th—Nether Heyford (limited spaces left)

Saturday 4th April—Thorpe Park (fully booked)

Holiday Club—Easter Holidays (limited spaces left)

Extra Youth Club 4pm—6pm in collaboration with Weston Favell Library during Autism Awareness

Week—date to be confirmed.

MEET THE TEAM:

Autism Awareness Week Events:

Barclaycard Autism Awareness Day—27th March

Nursing in Practice Conference— 2nd April

Silly Sock Day—3rd April

Heather

Mathers

Children’s

flexible

support

worker

Charlie

Goodwin

Children’s

flexible

support

worker

Sue

Galloway

Senior

Support

Worker