"I cannot resist, I must draw"

The quote from Beatrix Potter sums up E's love of drawing.  She's always looking to find ways to create pictures and is now making line drawings using her communication device.   She still loves to draw on paper though and it's our solutions to this that I thought would be worth sharing.

Dycem

The biggest issue we have is keeping the paper in place while drawing.  Pressure comes both from the drawing hand and the spare hand pulling and crumpling the paper.  We tried a Dycem mat, but it was too soft to draw on,  we tried blue tack but it didn't bond to the table and we tried selotape but then you have selotape all over your drawing.





Our solution, the post-it note.  

We have used successfully for a number of years 3Ms post-it sketch and stick pad for kids.  This is white A4 paper with post-it sticky along the top shorter edge.  It keeps the paper in place a treat and can be used either way up so making the majority of the paper available for drawing.  Unfortunately 3M no longer sell it in the UK (but do in the US) but it can sometime be found on ebay and Amazon for a reasonable price.

Post-it

 
We have also tried an alternative giant sticky note.  This is a square of yellow paper with sticky along one edge.  It works well even if it is a little big and can also be used either way up.  This is a bit more expensive and can be found at both Amazon and the Present Finder. 

Giant Sticky

3M also have an A4 super sticky (whole sheet) in a collection of bright colours but this is currently only available in the US so we haven't yet had the opportunity to test it out.

Please do share what solutions you have come up with. 

Guest Post - Syngenta Juvenile CP Squad - Guest Post

This month marks the one year anniversary of our first cerebral palsy football event.  Within that year we have gone from strength to strength gaining the support from the SFA and Scottish disability Sport.  Both of these are very exciting, but not as exciting as the players becoming the first ambulant cerebral palsy grass roots football team in Scotland. To celebrate our 1 year anniversary the players were presented with their Syngenta Juvenile kits representing full integration to the Syngenta Juvenile family. 

Our team is unique, every person involved understands the daily struggles involved with having cerebral palsy and during training sessions these difficulties disappear.  The focus here at little Kerse, where we train, is on ability, team work and recognising individuals strengths. Training involves working hard developing and learning new skills, learning about the clubs history, game practice and most importantly having fun.   There is fantastic skill and commitment demonstrated every month but most importantly there is always laughter. We may well have some future stars here and finally they have the platform to shine.


Anyone interested in finding out more about playing football with a "disability" should follow the appropriate link:

Scottish Football Association
Welsh Football Trust

For an overview of the various team structures together with details of teams throughout the UK, try disability football.  And if all you want to do is go watch football then the try Level Playing Field in England and Wales of the club direct in Scotland.

Out and About – At the Theatre

So for those of you living close to Edinburgh you will know that the Festival and Fringe is upon us so I’m taking the opportunity to look at theatre provision.

Ticket Costs

The policy for tickets in the major theatres appears usually to be wheelchair and companion get tickets at cheapest available price.  During the Fringe and Festival, the ticket policy is left to each venue and many will give either a free carer ticket or tickets for everyone at the lowest ticket price.    

Wheelchair Accessibility

These are based on our personal experience, if you can add to this please comment either in the post or on the facebook page.

MacRobert, Stirling. 

The wheelchair seating in the main auditorium is at the front of the rear seating this gives a clear unobstructed view from a standard child height wheelchair.   There is companion seating and other seating in the same row, or the one behind for a larger group.  Their space has removable seats at the front so restricted access.

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. 

The wheelchair seating is at the back of the front stalls and is spread across the row, meaning that companion seats are available.  We’ve been as a group and had others sitting both beside us and in the row in front which worked well.  There is a slightly raised platform which helps with the view but for children in a standard height wheelchair  you will still need a boost in seat height.  The theatre do not have booster cushion but were able to supply some cushions.

Churchill Theatre, Edinburgh

The wheelchair seating (space for 3) is at the front of the back stalls, in the middle with companion seating at the sides.  If you are in a group you may end up slightly separated.  The seating is slightly back from the front stalls and right in the middle which really helps to avoid obstructed views.  However, one wheelchair space is a bit low for a standard height child wheelchair.  Again they do not have a booster cushion but were able to supply blankets.

The Playhouse, Edinburgh

Wheelchair seating is at the back of the grand circle.  It is set back from the main seats and this gives a clear unobstructed view from a standard child height wheelchair.  A companion seat is available and there is seating in the row behind for larger groups.

New London Theatre, London

The wheelchair seating is at the back of the seating.  Access is via the stage door and uses at least one odd shaped lift so is not suitable for all wheelchair sizes.  The seating is slightly raised but for children in a standard height wheelchair  you will still need a boost in seat height.  The theatre have booster cushions available.

Autism Friendly Performances

Thank you to The National Autistic Society Scotland for the details on autism friendly  performances available.

Cinema

Cineworld, Picturehouse and Odeon cinema groups have autism-friendly screenings throughout the UK, as do independents like Eden Court in Inverness, MacRobert Stirling,  the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) and Glasgow Grosvenor.

 

Theatre

Disney’s The Lion King Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh  on 24 November 2013.

The changes being made at this particular performance include modifications to booking process, performance and the theatre environment. The theatre’s foyer will have designated quiet and activity areas, staffed by autism experts throughout the performance should anyone need to leave their seats. There is also an autism-friendly website and booking system has been set up specifically for this performance

Glasgow Giffnock's Eastwood Theatre are currently planning an autism-friendly performance  of Children's Edibles by Grinagog Theatre for December 18th. NAS Scotland is currently awaiting further details, but it's expected to be a non-verbal performance for a young audience of up to 25.

Her Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen are planning a 'relaxed' performance of Cinderella on January 3rd 2014. NAS Scotland has not worked directly with the theatre on this production. For further details please contact the theatre directly.

Out and About - At the swings

There is nothing more fun in this hot weather than a visit to some swings according to E (having to push for over an hour I’m not so sure).

Many play parks have a basket swing which they deem as inclusive for all.  E agrees that she enjoys these swings and can share them with some others.  I don’t like them so much.  They feel a bit unsafe, are difficult to lift her in and out of and don’t really give the same experience and benefits of an upright swing.

The alternative that I have seen in a few places in an upright seated swing made by SMP .  This is similar to a special needs swing that you may get for your own garden.  In this type of swing, E can use her standing transfer skills to get in and out, gets a full swinging experience, is able to feel her body in space and has to work on her head and trunk control.

 I’ve spoken to a few park departments who acknowledge that these swings are inclusive for all but there are a number of factors that are stopping their widespread use.  Firstly they are more prone to vandalism as they have a bigger area to damage and also in some cases they cannot share a swing frame with another swing.  They also require a harness for safe use.

 All that said there are a number of them out there.  I’m still waiting to hear back from a number of councils but so far the list is:

• North Queensferry, Fife.  Top play park.  There is no harness available but you can buy your own from SMP

•  Edinburgh.  Magnet Play area at the Meadows.  There are two here but I am not aware of any harness.

• Monifieth, Angus.  Blueseaway Play Area.  There are two harnesses available from the sports centre.

• Forfar, Angus.  Lochside play park.  There is a harness available from the toilets.
• Cumbernauld. Palacerigg Country Park.
• North Berwick.  

I am putting together a more comprehensive list of accessible play park equipment, but in the meantime please add any you know about  either on the blog or the facebook page.

Low Tech Communication Approaches – Part 2

As I’m sure with all communication devices, there are occasions when it is not always possible or appropriate for E to use it.  For these situations, a low tech alternative that matches her communication style and skills is required.

As I have mentioned before, E is going into P6 after the holidays and so is able to read and write with confidence.  When using her communication device, she now chooses to use the keyboard and predictive text option rather than pre-programmed words.   So without her device, we needed something that would also let her do this and so E and I developed a way of spelling out words using a combination of her signs and my predictive text.  This works well for us but is quite inaccessible if you do not know her well.  To get round this we are currently trialling a low tech replacement created for us by the local communication team FACCT. 

 

Letters and colours

In use

This is a two sided grid with the same information on both sides.  E uses eye gaze to first select a colour box and then letter box.  The letter she wants is the colour just picked.  It is a fantastic quick replacement which makes communication possible when the device is not around.

When E was younger this spelling based option was not appropriate.  To ensure she could communication without her device ,she had a communication passport   This gave some key information about her, explained how she communicated and contained both pictures of her signs with their meaning together with some paper copies of key grids from her communication device.  Again this was developed in conjunction with  FACCT.  To use this, I would mimic the scanning process by pointing first to rows and then the columns within the selected row.