How to have a ‘SensationALL’ lockdown!

Written by

The Coronavirus outbreak has affected everyone and SensationALL is no exception!

With our face to face services at the Old Schoolhouse suspended, our dedicated team immediately began investigating alternative options to support our families remotely.

Social distancing and restricted movement have meant extensive changes in routine which is hard for everyone but, it is extra challenging for families living with a support need (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Pathological Demand Avoidance, Attention Deficit Disorder, learning disabilities, sensory processing conditions and mental health issues).

That is why, at SensationALL, we are committed to continuing to offer our tailored, practical support to those who need it via digital platforms for as long as lockdown lasts.

SensationALL virtual services

For many of our service users, socialising and processing the world around them can be a constant, daily struggle. For our staff, the prospect of not having direct contact with service users was unthinkable and the team were all motivated to come up with new ways of continuing our much-needed support remotely.

So, with some creative, ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking we devised a range of virtual services which will have a significant positive impact on our families’ lives, resulting in happier, calmer children and adults!

Despite a steep learning curve with video call platforms and IT (we’re clinicians so tech is not our strong point!) we are now in our second month of delivering a range of virtual services, including:

@home sessions

1:1 video calls with a SensationALL team member who provides tailored interaction.

The call can include sensory activities, relaxation, games or just a chat – whatever the individual needs!

virtual SociALLise

Weekly group video calls for our teenagers & young adults so they don’t miss out on keeping in touch with friends and all-important social interaction. The calls are a great way for the youngsters to share experiences and feelings with peers whilst being supported by our team.

So far, sessions have included… show & tell, quizzes on a variety of topics, drawing, zentangle (mindful) doodling, games (Pictionary, Charades etc.) group sing & sign, TikTok routines, origami, photo competitions and there’s more to come… phew!

mood meter
Chill-oot!

We’ve adapted our popular self-regulation programme to an online format!

This invaluable programme is for school-aged children with support needs who struggle with emotional regulation or behavioural management. We teach them how to identify, understand and deal with over-whelming emotions and situations. The 4-week online programme starts in May.

Tea and Tips

Our advisory consultations are needed now more than ever!

Parents/carers can have a confidential talk (phone or video call) with one of our senior practitioners about specific challenges they are facing. We will provide practical strategies and techniques to use at home to make lockdown easier.

We are great listeners!

So far, the response has been amazing with 90% of parents rating the virtual support sessions as ‘highly beneficial’ to the individual. Plus, 100% of them reported a benefit or high benefit to their own wellbeing. One parent commented:

 “My son has been unsettled and had a very difficult day the day before. Chatting with a member of the team helped him to remember he is part of a community, that those people are still there, and it reminded him to use his emotions assessment tool. He enjoyed the activities and the breathing exercise helped him settle his mind. Amazing all in a 30 min session!”

In addition to the structured services, we’ve increased the amount of FREE online content available to our followers on social media and those on our mailing list. We are sharing regular video tutorials on Facebook and You Tube so people can follow along at home (Makaton, yoga, make-your-own sensory tools, relaxation exercises and even baking).

Our newly created Resource web page is your reference point for all the best links, resources and guides out there – we’ll save you the time and effort of filtering all the masses of available information!

Plus, our series of @home e-newsletters are packed full of information of how to cope with lockdown when you’re caring for an individual with a support need or disability.

Lastly, (if all that wasn’t enough!) as part of the 2.6 Challenge fundraising campaign we compiled an electronic activity book – Make, Bake, Feel Great! – with 26 activities to do at home.

Copies of this fantastic resource are available in return for a small donation to support us while fundraising events are on hold.

But, we’re not done yet – we have more plans in development… online training courses (to replace of our previously scheduled workshops) and more possible virtual services for the summer.

Obviously, no one is sure how long lockdown or social distancing will last but, for as long as it does we’ll keep adapting our services to meet demand and support you however required.

Get in touch to tell us what you need and look out for future surveys asking for your feedback!

Stay safe, stay SensationALL!

Easter Cheese Scones

Written by

We’ve decided to be different this Easter weekend and balance out all the sweet treats with our SensationALL savoury cheese scones!

Our esteemed leader, Suz tested out the recipe earlier this week and recorded a video for our social media channels so you can bake along with her.

Below is the full recipe or you can download the PDF to print below…

The end result!

Cheese scone recipeDownload

Want to do more baking then check out our cupcake recipe here

Here for you remotely!

0
Written by

Even though we have taken the difficult decision to suspend our groups and services, our SensationALL team are still here to support you remotely during the ongoing CoronaVirus pandemic.

Tell us what you want to see… we’re open to suggestions and your stories too! We’ll share our tips and resources every week but we’d also love to hear what works for your family so we can share it with the whole SensationALL network.

We’ll get through it by supporting each other!

email info@sensationall.org.uk

Explaining CoronaVirus

0
Written by

At SensationALL, we want to support parents/carers by sharing useful information and resources during this unsettling time of social distancing and self-isolation.

The outbreak of CoronaVirus is confusing and worrying for everyone, but the change in routine will be particularly upsetting for children and individuals with learning disabilities or support needs. So it’s important that we talk to them openly without terrifying them!

As you probably already know, Covid-19, is a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. Symptoms are a fever and/or a dry, persistent (ongoing) cough.

In some people it can lead to shortness of breath and extreme cases may need hospital treatment.

If you show any of these symptoms, government advice is to stay at home for 7 days and for your entire household to self-isolate for 14 days.

Top tips:

Here are our suggestions of how to discuss the virus:

  • keep it simple (avoid too much detail or speculation)
  • stay positive – keep your voice light and upbeat – children will mirror your behaviour
  • give practical solutions – hand washing and tissue use are things they can control – you can even turn it into a game
  • end on a positive note – move onto a topic that is normal or fun for them so they don’t dwell on the virus information

Downloadable resources:

Check out the below guides and social stories that explain CoronaVirus and it’s implications in a simple, calming way:

What is CoronaVirusDownload
School is closed – social storyDownload
SensationALL is closed – social storyDownload
My Mum/Dad is a doctor or nurse – social storyDownload

Share your ideas with us

Whilst our normal SensationALL groups are suspended, we can still support you remotely, so feel free to contact us by phone or email for any advice or support. We also want you to tell us what resources/activities you’d like us to share – comment below or email us.

Plus, you can follow our social media channels and check the website for useful videos and posts about activities to do with your children at home during the school closures.

contact us

How to have a SensationALL summer!

Written by

The school summer holidays are long awaited by parents and children alike, but a few weeks in and they can seem never ending! If you’re running out of ideas of what to do to entertain your kids then we are here to help.

Dealing with routine change

For children with support needs the holidays not only means a huge change to routine but also warmer weather resulting in wearing different clothes, putting on suncream, glare of the sun etc. all of which can be challenging for people with conditions such as Autism.

Here are our SensationALL tips and suggestions to tackle any challenges you may be having…

A sun cream sensory story example
  • Use a social story to explain why summer items like sun cream are required. When applying sun cream start with less sensitive areas such as arms and leave the face until last. Try turning it into a game where they ‘paint’ their skin with the suncream.
  • Put Winter clothes away out of sight if you can and make Summer clothes the only available choice to minimise confrontation about what to wear.
  • Use timetables to provide an awareness of what they will be doing that day. Add pictures of their choices to their timetable.
  • Offer a limited choice of activities maybe printing a picture of two options that you know you are able to do and let them to choose.
  • Find quieter times to go out to activities such as sessions specifically for people with additional support needs or times of the day that are quieter
  • Have ear defenders available at noisier times
  • Introduce a visual countdown of how many sleeps there are left until school; if you feel the person would find this helpful

Activity Ideas

Run out of parks to go to and picnics to have??

It can be hard to keep coming up with things to do with that will entertain the kids and not cost a fortune. Here are fab sensory activities we use at SensationALL that you can do at home:

Cornflour Putty – this has a melting texture which can be relaxing to feel and is great fun to make and play with:
– mix 2 cups of cornflour and 1 cup of conditioner until a dough is formed

Making cornflour putty

Sensory Shaving Foam Bag – once made this bag can be taken out with you and used on-the-go as a calming sensory tool:
– Take a zip lock bag and fill with shaving foam – Add a squeeze of two colours of paint – seal the bag and press to mix.

Making a shaving foam bag

Relaxation Glitter Bottle – a brilliant sensory toy: – Using a clean, clear plastic bottle (with screw top lid) add warm water, clear glue and glitter to create relaxing shaker.

Glitter bottle

We hope you all have a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you for the new term starting from 19th August!

The SensationALL team x

Community Asset Transfer Success!

Written by

We are delighted to announce that Aberdeenshire Council have granted a Community Asset Transfer of the historic Old Schoolhouse to SensationALL, in a deal which marks the culmination of many years of effort.

The terms of the transfer – Aberdeenshire Council’s biggest to date – will provides us with a stable and secure base where we can continue to deliver services which are invaluable to families living with complex conditions such as autism, learning disabilities and neurological conditions.

Our Chair of the Board of Trustees, Bob McCracken said:

“This is a magnificent step forward for the charity, which provides it with a stable foundation on which to build and flourish. I would like to thank Aberdeenshire Council, the local Councillors, the local Community and the Trustees – past and present – for their support and hard work which has resulted in the charity being given this wonderful opportunity.”

Aberdeenshire Council’s transfer means we can now begin work on expanding the services we offer. Suz Strachan, Service Manager and co-founder of SensationALL said:

“This is an exciting and bold move for SensationALL. Taking over the long-term lease of the building presents a fantastic opportunity for us to develop our services and facilities as never before. Our future really is now in our own hands.”

As Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Garioch Area Committee, Cllr Fergus Hood added:

“We are so pleased to see this coming together for the benefit of the local community and to support the incredibly important work SensationALL do with some of our most vulnerable residents. We are committed to empowering communities to create their own success stories through community asset transfer projects and this is absolutely one of them.”

There are exciting plans in store for both SensationALL and the Old Schoolhouse as we work towards realising our charitable vision of creating a flagship service for individuals with support needs & disabilities in a state-of-the-art facility.

Follow our progress on social media

SensationALL support for girls

Written by

This Autism Awareness Week (1st-7th April 2019) we are highlighting the positive impact SensationALL’s groups have on individuals with multiple support needs. In particular, we want to shout about the work we do with young girls who are pre or post diagnosis…

SensationALL Girl’s Group 

It’s well documented that it is much harder to diagnose Autism in girls so, at SensationALL we made it our aim to ensure that no young girls with suspected support needs are left in “limbo land” whilst seeking a diagnosis.

Our Girl’s Group programme was created for the growing number of young girls who need our help to address difficulties with anxiety, social interaction, communication and building relationships.

Our team of practitioners have designed each session to include topical discussions and practical tasks that are fun, whilst teaching invaluable de-stressing and coping strategies. Each week they use expressive materials to practice and reflect on their new skills.

The girls are encouraged to build friendships and work together which improves their confidence and boosts self-esteem. 

 

We are here for you! If you are a parent of a girl with Autism or suspected support needs who is over-

whelmed and struggling with life at school or home. SensationALL is a safe place where your daughter can be herself.

The next block of Girl’s Group starts on 23rd April.  Contact us to express an interest!

And check out this fantastic video from Carrie Grant who is a mum to children with Autism – its brilliant to hear girls’ perspectives…

 

Make your own ‘SensationALL’ sensory story

Written by

To celebrate World Book Day (Thursday 7th March) we thought we’d share with you our top tips for making a DIY sensory story!

The benefits of sensory stories for individuals with multiple support needs are endless – they help capture their imagination, introduce new sensory experiences, develop language and social interaction. That’s why we use them in many of our groups here at SensationALL, for both children and adults.

To make your own sensory story at home follow these simple steps:

  1. Choose a book, story or theme that you like
  2. Keep it brief – shorten the story and simplify if necessary
  3. Keywords – think about who/what/where/doing words
  4. Use props – think about turning the key words into physical objects – things to touch and smell
  5. Noise – use sounds as much as possible such as songs and clapping. Actions and Makaton signs are also really useful
  6. Be imaginative – don’t worry if your prop isn’t literal, be inventive and creative 
  7. Have fun! Most important thing is to enjoy the journey the story takes you on

Here are some of the items we used in recent sensory stories…

[Show thumbnails]

Why SensationALL use Sensory Stories…

Written by

Our innovative SensationALL service team are always thinking of new activities to incorporate into our sessions as it’s really important to us that all users get the most out of attending (no matter how complex their needs).

SensationALL services are for children and adults with multiple support needs and sensory impairments so we use a variety of multi-sensory materials and activities that stimulate and engage and recently sensory stories have become a significant part of what we do.

A Magic Carpet Journey!

Sensory stories are a key feature of our new Midweek Mayhem adult sessions. Each week we will be going on a ‘Magic Carpet journey’ – using our senses to explore the place we ‘visit’.

By using interactive elements during story-telling (sights, sounds, touch and scents) we take the group on a virtual journey. Using their creativity, our staff come up with a variety of materials relating to the chosen story and while reading it, offer everyone the chance to interact by touching, smelling, seeing and hearing. This hugely beneficial for the service users as they are actively involved with the story rather than simply listening as they may have difficulty following or understanding the spoken words.

Last week we visited an Arabian Bazar…

To set the scene we had a background image and music from an Arabian market on the smart board. Our story took us through Egypt, where we encountered snakes, camels and belly dancers! We used materials to look, listen, feel and smell during each part of the story as an interactive experience. The textures of sand and jewelled jelly and the smell of mixed spices encouraged them to explore and try new experiences.

Our Arabian journey was a huge success:

“It’s great to see him engage so well!”  service user’s carer

We can’t wait for our next magic carpet ride to China to celebrate Chinese New Year! If you want to join us, our service diary has more information on whats on at the Old Schoolhouse this term.