Home Activity Sessions and TOFFEE Club play sessions for children with multiple support needs

Outcome

10 children with disabilities/multiple support needs will have more confidence and improved health and wellbeing by taking part in fun activity sessions

Results

We delivered 80 x 5 hour Toffee Club Sessions to 10 children during the Easter and Summer School Breaks.
We delivered 80 x 4 hour sessions of fun activity sessions in the home or in our community flat or outdoors in the park which provided 10 children/YP with stimulating activities keeping them active and engaged.

Case study

L is mum to 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys. Her youngest child, R, has been diagnosed with ADHD and autism for which he is medicated. L doesn’t get much sleep as R is up at all hours of the night, trying to get out the house to play, not having an understanding of time. L often finds it difficult to get R out and about due to R’s needs and having 3 other children to care for. Although the other children attend school full time, R has a reduced time table split between two schools who are also struggling to manage his outbursts as he has previously lashed out and ‘smashed up’ classrooms.
L accessed our respite service for R where 2 carers were identified to best suit his needs and were able to manage any challenging behaviours. This support was intense and 2 respite sessions were provided weekly for R. The respite sitters focused their time with R getting him outdoors as this is what he loved. They would take him to Glasgow Green to learn how to ride a bike and he liked to support and encourage the other children at the park who were learning as the weeks went on. The sitters also took R to the swimming on a few occasions where they observed positive interactions with others his own ages within the pool and can see he was having lots of fun.
During these sessions R told the respite providers that the loved going to the respite as it was so much fun. He felt safe and happy with them. His mum also observed a positive change in his behaviours before and after the respite. Mum mentioned that R spoke a lot about helping other’s learn how to ride a bike too and she could see how his confidence in communicating with his peers had improved significantly.

Outcome

15 Carers will be have the opportunity to access other community resources or peer support groups during their respite sessions

Results

80 x 4 hour home activity sessions and 80 x 5 hour Toffee Club Sessions – each carer received a different number of respite hours however most received approximately 10 periods of respite
15 carers advised that they got peace to clean the house, get shopping done and all carers enjoyed time to
themselves to relax and put their feet up. Some carers also got to spend some time with each other, others undertook wellbeing and counselling sessions

Case study

T is a single dad to his daughter, D, who has a diagnosis of FASD, ADHD and Autism. In addition to this, D, has had a very traumatic past with her mum committing suicide, resulting is D being placed in the care system for 3 years. Followed by this was a year placed in an abusive kinship placement before being reunited and placed in dads care. Dad, T, finds it very difficult to manage his daughters behaviours and describes it as ‘full on’. T also has his own health struggles (Brain injury, severe mental health difficulties, Chronnic COPD, alcoholism, and a heart condition) but due to his ongoing caring responsibilitie for D he doesn’t often focus on his own health and well being and getting time to access support groups for himself.
Due to D’s disabilities she struggles on a daily basis managing in school and so has a reduced part time table which she still finds difficult to maintain attendance. Due to this D spends a lot of time with her dad and is demanding of his time, therefore T is unable to focus on himself. On assessment T discussed our respite service to look after and support his daughter to allow him to attend weekly outings with his own support worker with a focus on supporting his mental health. This was something that was needed te help reduce stress and tensions within the family home.
T accessed the sessions weekly allowing him to meet with his support worker and focus some time on his own health and well being. His support worker helped get him connected with local recovery groups to support him in abstaining from alcohol as well as accessing counselling sessions.

Outcome

15 carers will have improved health and wellbeing and be less stressed with the time to look after their own health and wellbeing and spend time with other family members

Results

80 x 4 hour home activity sessions and 80 x 5 hour Toffee Club Sessions – each carer received a different number of respite hours however most received approximately 10 periods of respite
Carers reported that their stress levels had reduced whilst their child was receiving the Toffee Club and/or Respite Sitting Service and overall they had more time to themselves which overall improved their health and wellbeing. Several carers reported that the respite sessions were a life saver.

Case study

SG is a mum of two boys, aged 7 and 4. SG works full-time at her husband’s business as well as caring for her 2 young sons. Most recently SG had been the sole carer and the sole earner as her husband had an operation on his spine and was bedridden for a number of months meaning she also had to care for her husband. This was an extremely difficult time for SG as her youngest son is severely autistic and suffers from ADHD and is non-verbal. Given this, he can be very difficult to manage and often has violent outbursts at times which she was having to manage on her own as her husband was unable to move from lying flat in his bed.
SG’s time is often spent dealing with her youngest son as his needs are greater, this often means her older child misses out as he is able to manage. During our assessment I could see how much of an impact this was having on SG feeling quite emotional and extremely guilty but she felt she had no choice as she was living day by day to get by. She had no other family support to help in her difficult and demanding situation. The family members that were close by were unwilling to support SG as they felt her youngest son’s behaviour was too extreme for them to manage.
With Geeza Break providing respite sessions weekly for SG’s youngest son, this gave her invaluable time to spend with her older son and growing their bond. SG described this as a miracle and that she prayed for the respite sitters who supported her and couldn’t thank them enough. She felt like a mum instead of a full time carer.

Outcome

15 Carers and 10 children with disabilities/multiple support needs will have visibly improved their overall health and well-being

Results

80 x 4 hour home activity sessions and 80 x 5 hour Toffee Club Sessions – each carer received a different number of respite hours however most received approximately 10 periods of respite
15 Carers reported that their stress levels had reduced whilst their child received the Toffee Club and/or Respite Sitting Sessions and overall they had more time to themselves which overall improved their health and wellbeing.
Also the 10 children/YP have been able to take part in fun and stimulating activities via the Toffee Club and/or Respite Sitting Sessions and overall have good fun which helped improve their health and wellbeing.

Case study

S is gran to 1 year old granddaughter, O, whom she has full time care of due to O’s parents having addiction issues. Due to this O has since been diagnosed with FASD as well as Autism. O due to her ongoing need’s does not sleep, continuously head bangs and hand flapping. This is quite distressing for S to deal with and watch on a daily basis, without taking in to account the difficulties arising from O’s age and stage. S has her own health concerns to worry about having been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia as well as Leukemia most recently.
S contacted our organisation looking for support in the form of respite to give her time to focus on her own health and well being needs. O got access to our respite service for 9 sessions on a weekly basis. During the respite sessions S focussed on taking some time to herself being able to rest due to the fatigue she has been experiencing recently due to her health ailments and the fact that O does not sleep. S receives very little support from other family members so only gets time to rest and recover during the respite sessions.
S said that the respite sessions gave her some time to rest and look after herself and was a ‘life saver’ as she felt better equipped to manage with O when she returned after using that time to have a nap and recharge. She has admitted that she would struggle to continue to sustain this Kinship arrangement without Geeza Breaks support and often worried about wether her grand daughter would end up within the care system.
Whilst out on respite O was able to attend mother and toddler groups and experience local parks which isn’t often possible when in gran’s company, therefore these are new and exciting experiences for O.