Life Changing!
It's been over a year since the first national lockdown and like so many other similar organisations, the restrictions have given us a great many challenges in the last twelve months.
Developing social and communication skills can be extremely challenging for individuals who experience difficulties in communicating their own wants and needs in a face to face environment and we understood that providing our services via video technology would bring up new challenges.
The Speak With A Picture programme has adapted its delivery to ensure that families were not left unsupported. We continued to offer the session to families using Zoom, and it has proven to be a great success. One of the parents who was undeterred by the new circumstances was Gemma Parker from Dagenham, who enrolled her daughter on to the SWAP programme last September.
The project is aimed at pre-school children who are predominantly non-verbal and/or have social communication difficulties and Gemma knew how useful it had been for one of her other children, so she had no hesitation in bringing daughter Oakleigh along last year. Gemma was full of praise for the support she received from Sycamore, explaining what a difference it has made to her daughter and her family in general.
“I can’t praise Sycamore Trust enough", she said. "The charity has helped our family on two occasions with SWAP and you have helped my children to communicate and to find a voice when they didn’t have one. My daughter Oakleigh has just finished the programme – she is completely non-verbal. Using the SWAP programme has given her the opportunity to tell us her immediate needs and wants. It’s just simple things really, like giving me the symbol when she wants her bottle and it’s enabled her to have fewer meltdowns. It’s the only way that she’s been able to communicate other than taking my hand.”
SWAP has been redesigned to ensure that our families were provided with the support needed at a vital stage in their child's development and where many other services were restricted or put on hold. The project has continued to support families throughout the lockdown period, and Gemma certainly didn’t feel as if the support she received was impacted in any way.
“Using Zoom didn’t feel like a hinderance to doing the programme", she said. "I felt involved and supported throughout the process and whenever I needed new symbols, they have welcomed the feedback and the symbols have dropped through my letterbox very quickly. Doing the programme remotely felt as though people were in my living room with me. I felt comfortable and involved every step of the way. I didn’t feel that we were missing out and I knew that they were only ever a phone call or an email away if I needed help.”
Gemma’s daughter has just finished the programme, which receives funding from BBC Children In Need. Since it began in 2018, it has helped over 100 families in Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge and received twice as many referrals. Gemma is in no doubt as to the importance of the project. “it may seem like a small thing but to us it’s massive. It is life-changing– it has enabled her to be a little more independent than she has been before. It’s amazing that you are here in the B&D community, helping autistic families and children of all ages and a lot of people aren’t aware of the work that you do so I always tell people about the amazing work that Sycamore Trust does."
