Author: Rebecca Barker

AWARE is happy to be holding three of our popular Stay & Play sessions this February half term, one in Addingham and two in Bradford! Full details will be in our next e-updates and newsletter, so please look out for them. To become an AWARE member and receive all of our mailings plus the many other benefits membership brings, please go here: https://aware-uk.org/aware-membership/

Festive Deep Breaths, Mamma(**and Daddy/Carer/Sibling/Family Members). I wanted to write this one as, I’ll be honest, I still find this time of year difficult. I figured it’d be cathartic if nothing else but I hope it might be helpful too… Firstly, I LOVE Christmas…like REALLY love Christmas, ‘give Mrs Claus a run for her money’ type of love Christmas! Because of this I think perhaps I put too much pressure on myself to make Christmas amazing for our family and, well it doesn’t always come off that way. I think I try to recreate the magic of my childhood and my Christmases. I want the children to experience that magic. When I think of my Christmases I think of my Gran taking us all to the pantomime on Christmas Eve,…

Festive days out can be challenging for families affected by autism. The great news is, there are lots of special needs Santa sessions being run for children who need a more relaxed/flexible approach. AWARE has compiled a list of local sessions and also a list of festive days out that some AWARE members have found have worked well for their children. Please be aware places do get booked fast - all places listed had availability at the time of writing the article. Also we are aware that what works for one child with autism may not for another so we have included a selection of places we know have worked for some autistic children but please do your own research and use your judgement when booking! View the article in…

AWARE runs a wide range of groups and events for children, young people, parents/carers and whole families, too! Regular sessions we hold include Youth Club, Saturday Club, Autism Support Group, holiday Stay & Play sessions, and much more! We also run events such as our Parents Information Event, which is a great one-stop shop for parents and carers new to the world of autism. Please see our full lists of events, which you can find in each month's newsletter, for more details. You can view past newsletters here: https://aware-uk.org/aware-newsletters/

Last week at our Zoom Support Group, we had Jeanette Butterworth talking to us about 'a day in the life' of one of the council-led Resourced Provisions. Resourced Provisions, which include 'DSPs - Designated Special Provisions', are mainstream schools that offer extra support for children with SEN, which can include autism or speech and language needs. Jeanette also presented a session to us earlier on this year which gave an overview of how the provisions work. You can watch both sessions on our Videos page here: https://aware-uk.org/videos/

Transitions within or from education can be difficult for any child or young person, but particularly those who are autistic. Here are some helpful resources we have come across recently that should give you some tips on how to handle transitions. Autism Awareness Centre's Transition Tips: https://autismawarenesscentre.com/new-school-easing-transition/ NAS Transitions Helpline: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/transition-support-service Yvonne Newbold's webinar on Change: https://yvonnenewbold.com/product/16-9-21-reducing-the-impact-of-change-on-a-send-childs-extreme-behaviour-copy/ YoungMinds transition resources: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/professional/resources/supporting-school-transitions Bradford Council's help for transitions: https://localoffer.bradford.gov.uk/public/images/cke/Transition%20Planning%20Guidance%20-%20Bradford.pdf Witherslack has a whole Back to School campaign you can register to get access to: https://tinyurl.com/ncj948fe

You can watch our support group session focusing on ARFID - Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder - via the link below. https://aware-uk.org/food-issues/ Note: only a fraction of autistic children will meet the diagnosis criteria for ARFID. However, lots of the strategies to help children with ARFID could be equally as useful for other children who struggle with the sensory side of eating, or struggle with food in another way.

We at AWARE have been SO excited to be able to welcome back more children and young people to our different groups! Currently, we are able to run the following groups and sessions: Moving-On Club Holiday Stay & Play Sessions Saturday Club Youth Club Cycling Sessions For details of each session - including what age range each event is suitable for - please check the List of Events included in every monthly newsletter article.

AWARE has been running Zoom support sessions since we first had to stay at home due to COVID and these have proven massively popular! All AWARE members are welcome to join in - your child does NOT need to have a diagnosis and it doesn't matter if you have never attended an AWARE event before. We have a different topic every week and have lots of external visitors, who talk to us about issues such as education, behavioural help, finance, sleep, parent/carer wellbeing and much, much, more! There is always time at the end of the presentation for questions, answers and general chatting. The sessions are relaxed and friendly - do not worry if you can't make the whole session or if you get disrupted - simply mute yourself and/or…

AWARE is continuing to offer lots of support for its members despite the current restrictions! We are holding weekly Zoom support sessions that cover a wide range of topics such as challenging behaviour, mental health issues, sensory issues and speech and language. We are also running some in-person activity sessions for children and young people as well as our Moving-on Club for young adults on Zoom. Not only this, our monthly newsletter and e-update, plus our closed Facebook group and member-only website section, are packed full of useful information and advice for parents and carers of autistic children and young people. Our members continue to offer lots of support to each other and our staff are always on hand too, if you need extra help. Becoming an AWARE member offers…