When Sean was a baby I brought him to all the
groups – mother and toddler sessions, stay and play, rhythm time, baby signing
... More often than not I was marginally
embarrassed that he was more interested in plug sockets and trying to escape
out of windows than in signing anything and would rather eat the maracas than
shake them. But it was all par for the
course. I exchanged pleasantries with
other parents and for the most part both Sean and I enjoyed ourselves.
When I had Hugh, I had to contend with two
children under two. Trying to get both
boys fed and dressed and bundled into the car to attend any mother and toddler
groups was like mission impossible.
Invariably there’d be a last minute emergency nappy change just as I
opened the front door and we’d rock up embarrassingly fashionably late
all flushed and unkempt looking. But we tried and succeeded on many occasion.
As Hugh got older, attending groups became
more and more awkward. In fairness,
no-one intentionally made it difficult, but I found it hard to watch the other
children progressing while Hugh did little more than sleep. Investigations into his delays were only just
beginning so I had no handy answer to explain why he still wasn’t rolling/sitting/reaching
for toys. He still doesn’t have a
diagnosis so that neat little answer continues to elude me. As other parents celebrated their child’s
progress I felt increasingly uncomfortable and as the gap between Hugh and his
peers grew ever wider I began to feel like I didn’t belong.
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| The 'SPLATS Mums' |
I was lucky enough to find KIDS – a charity
that provided short break respite sessions for children with additional
needs. I vividly remember bringing him
in on his first day and knowing that he fitted in there. It took some getting used to of course –
accepting that my child was disabled enough to go to a group for disabled
children was quite upsetting at first – but it was perfect for him and he
fitted in well. I met other parents,
like me, and we bonded over the worries we had for our children; worries I couldn’t
have even contemplated when I first had Sean.
Sadly, due to government cuts, the funding
for KIDS was reduced and the service they provided changed in 2013. We went on one last outing to the farm with some
of the children and parents from KIDS and we all reflected on how we’d become
firm friends. KIDS had given us a
support network at a time when we needed it most. We’d made good friends with people who
understood the difficulties having a child with disabilities can bring. We’d found a place we could belong.
I confess when the discussions about starting
our own group began, I agreed and nodded, never imagining it was more than
wishful thinking. But the discussions
continued way after that visit to the farm and plans started to be made. We were all so grateful for what KIDS had
given us; we were acutely aware how valuable a resource it was. What of the other parents who, like us some
two years previous, felt isolated and alone, where would they turn for
friendship, advice and support? Where
would they bring their children to play and learn, where they felt accepted and
valued and included?
And so S.P.L.A.T.S was born.
S.P.L.A.T.S : A place where special children
can play and learn together and their parents and carers can get advice,
talk and access support.
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| Having fun at SPLATS |
We
held our first fundraiser in November 2013 and were up and running in January
2014. We’ve gone from strength to
strength since then, providing support to almost 20 families so far. Each
session we provide a mixture of play based learning appropriate to the child’s
developmental needs and fun sensory, messy or craft activities. We offer a friendly and supportive ear for
parents/carers and encourage friendships between the families that attend. We’ve recently brought in external agencies
to lead a fun filled singing and music session and we’ve held a group session
at the local donkey sanctuary, where the children could each have a ride on the
specially trained therapy donkeys. Here’s what some of our group members have
to say:
“I
just wanted to say what a wonderful time ... [we] ... had today. This group is just what I needed. Although we do attend other groups, they are
mainly about ...[my son] ... and his needs and developments and it can be quite
daunting/isolating. This group allowed
him to have his needs met whilst allowing me a bit of adult conversation and a
cuppa.” (S.P.L.A.T.S
parent)
“This
group really made me feel supported and accepted” (S.P.L.A.T.S parent)
“Thank
you for inviting us and making us feel so welcome. You are doing an amazing thing. Keep up the good work” (S.P.L.A.T.S parent)
“I
just wanted to say a huge THANKYOU!!!! We loved today, all the boys had so much
fun and as always it was so lovely to speak to some other people going through
the same journey as us” (S.P.L.A.T.S
parent)
Our aim is to reach more families and to
provide more frequent sessions (we currently run once a fortnight). We’d also like to provide family and sibling
sessions and to get professionals in to give talks and offer training in
relevant areas such as makaton and paediatric first aid. Eventually we’d like to be able to offer Saturday
clubs and holiday clubs too.
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| Vote for us! Please :D |
In
order to help us achieve these aims and so that we can beginning purchasing more
specialised equipment to support and include children with a whole range of
disabilities we’ve been trying to access funding from various sources. I’m delighted to say we’ve been shortlisted
for the Lloyds Community Fund and face stiff competition from other worthy
causes in the area.
So
this post is a ‘begging for votes’ kind of post. We’d all really appreciate it if you could
vote for SPLATS and share, share and share this post some more.
Here’s
how you can vote:
By
Texting: VOTE TRN to 61119
By
tweeting: #COMMFUND TRN
Just
please remember to confirm your vote via email.
And
if you need more convincing as to why we deserve your vote, here are some of
our gorgeous kids having fun at our sessions.
Thanks
everyone, I’ll let you know how we get on. :D
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