Activities Club's Vital Support for Families in Summer - William's story
Read dad Chris' story about his son William, for whom the Rose Road summer holiday activities club is "his only access to the community at the moment".
Chris explains:
For the last year, William has not been able to attend school. At school, William developed a fear of other children crying while being placed in a classroom where another child would make constant sounds that distressed him.
He withdrew completely, and now we find it impossible to access the community with him. If there are any crying children around he is triggered and can easily become violent towards me or his mum.
The activities clubs make a huge difference and have a two-fold effect.
Firstly, he's going somewhere where he's getting so much out of it. At Rose Road he's got his one to one support. He knows he can avoid other children and go to places where he feels safe, they let him do what he needs to feel his happiest.
It seems such a small thing, just those few hours, but if he was home with me, we’d be trapped in the house all day. It's his only access to the community at the moment.
Secondly, it provides unbelievable respite for me and his mum, with whom I co-parent.
You take something for granted until you can't do it anymore. It's very challenging.
I work remotely so it enables me to work from home without distraction. And at the weekends or if I’m on leave, it gives me that really valuable time to go to the supermarket or the gym. Do those little things that are just for me.
It's hard as a parent knowing he's not getting the same opportunities as other children, so to come to this club, it's giving him that chance to get out of the house, feel safe and explore and play without fear".
Welcoming New Families Every Year
Every year the demand for our summer holiday activities club is growing as one of the only provisions in the county that can support children with complex disabiities and neurodivergence.
This year, we supported 66 families, delivering 386 sessions for their children. This included nine brand new families to Rose Road in need of vital childcare during the summer holidays.
Donate today and your gift could help us support more families like William's and welcome more families to Rose Road every summer.