Archives for "Toys"
Time for fun.
Yesterday I went for a walk with the autistic boy I work with.
He is now five and has just discovered that he enjoys walking, we walked into town through the snow all wrapped up in hats and gloves. He took with him a plastic toy tiger. While we walked he bounced the tiger along the walls. This is an enormous achievement he was playing with a toy in an appropriate way. No longer stimming the tiger.
Like any five-year-old the buttons at the traffic lights are a highlight of the town walk. Each light we passed he would press the button and say “red man, wait” the excitement of the red man changing to green was a joy to see. When we got our green man I would say “Green man, cross with care” and we would cross the road.
Once in town we did all the things that I remember my girls enjoying at that age. Running up and down the ramp at the library, causing the automatic doors to open and close and pressing the buttons on the lift. He remained cool when we saw a sign saying lift out of order. He needed to check all the lift doors to make sure and luckily the out of order sign was on every lift.
We then went on to the shopping centre where we rode up and down the escalators we must’ve done this seven or eight times and then he put the tiger on a separate step I have to say at this point my nerves got the better of me and I decided that this was going to be the last ride.
Then he chose to go into Marks & Spencer’s probably because there is an escalator there. At the top of the escalator he announced he needed a wee so he went to the toilet I’m not sure if he really needed the toilet but he managed a wee and then the highlight, the automatic flush button!
From here we went to the cafe where he chose a gingerbread man. He sat beautifully to eat his gingerbread man and then I asked him where his gingerbread man was and he replied,” gingerbread man all gone”. This is a direct quote from the gingerbread man book I must’ve read him 100 times over the last year.
From Marks & Spencer’s we caught the bus home he was so excited on the bus that he got all the other passengers on the bus smiling at him. He was able to reply when asked “where are you?” he replied,” on the bus”.
I know that this trip to town is not really a typical trip that an adult and child would make, normally when you go into town there are jobs to be done and this trip was purely for fun. For nearly 2 years his parents and his ABA tutors had been working to stop him stimming, to play with toys in an appropriate manner to answer questions when asked, to ask when he needs help and to behave in a manner that is appropriate. Yesterday he behaved beautifully and was a pleasure and fun to be.
Happy Birthday kids.org.uk
This week I have been sent the proof of the calendar I have been working on since July. It is always very exciting when you see the end product something you had a small part in. And my part was very small.
The calendar is for the charity Kids. Kids is 40 years old and has produced the calendar as a celebration. Kids is a wonderful charity offering an incredible support to families and children from birth to 25. If you would like more information you can visit them at their website www.kids.org.uk
There were 3 photoshoots in different locations around Wakefield. Each shoot followed a similar format: we arrived, set up the room and the families came to their pre-booked photography slot. The photographer was absolutely amazing, he was able to put the families and their children at ease in what was a rather unusual space. It was my job to make the toys more interesting than the specialist lights and the camera. Some of the children posed like professional models, others needed a little encouragement. We took photos of whole families as well as individuals many were truly beautiful, the families will be delighted with them and it was very difficult picking those that made it into the calendar.
The families were also interviewed as to why Kids was important to them. The responses show what an amazing charity it is.
“You just need to ring them and if they don’t know they find out and ring you back. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
“They have helped us like a friend, any time I can call and ask for help.”
“They cover everything and we couldn’t have done much without them.”
“Kids is important because it provides helpful advice and support and there is always someone to speak to who understands.”
“Kids is very helpful sorting out appointments, helping with benefits and they do great coffee mornings.”
I came away from the photo shoots humbled at how little these families with their very special children are asking for. Kids is providing them with a key worker who can help them through the myriad of appointments, benefits, and facilities available. One of the key workers explained to me that Hull had been a pilot area for key workers. Some Parents had actually moved to the area so that they could benefit from the key worker system. I know that in the green paper there is talk of each child having a key worker I do hope this is something that the government does put into place nationwide.
The calendar will be available from Kids and TFH in November for £5.00.
The most popular toys that I took were the Bouncing Rocks, UV Cubes, Rainbow Streamers, Rainbow Blocks, and the Lollipop Jungle which the photographer said helped so much that I let him keep!
Pokemon Club
Last Friday I went along to a Pokémon club that was being run in a local community Hall. Elaine who I met many years ago through the NCT has recently started this Pokémon club. Her elder son who is on the autistic spectrum enjoys playing Pokémon and she had found a Pokémon club on the outskirts of Leeds. She regularly took her son to this club which he enjoyed both playing Pokémon and meeting other like-minded children who shared his hobby. However because it was such a distance it was difficult for these friendships to last outside the meeting so she decided to set up her own club more locally. Her club has been running since July on Friday evenings.
The evening I went along there were eight boys ranging from about 7 to 15 playing a Pokémon game on their DSes. There was lots of chat both from the children playing and the parents sitting at one end drinking cups of tea and coffee. It was a lovely atmosphere and the children moved happily around the room interacting with each other. The club is running through the school holidays as she feels it is important to have some continuity. Some sessions have had over 20 children attending and she is confident that come September when people are back from their holidays the numbers will rise again. She said it was lovely to see children returning week after week. The first time they came they may not have been confident enough to join in and spent most of the time sitting with their parent but by the second or third time they would walk in confidently and sit down at a table to play with other Pokémon fans. This club is not exclusively for children on the autistic spectrum but for anybody who enjoys Pokémon.
It was not a game that my daughters ever got into. I think it appeals more to boys, but what I felt was so positive was that all the children whether they are on the autistic spectrum or not were enjoying each other’s company and talking and playing Pokémon.
I was amazed to find that one of the boys there had travelled nearly an hour to get to this club, but I’m not surprised that once you have been to the club that you return. The atmosphere was lovely, it was so welcoming, friendly, calm yet fun. Perhaps I can persuade my girls to take up Pokémon.
Here’s the link to the club www.harrogatepokemon.co.uk