The evenings may be drawing in and the days getting shorter but there was no lack of joy for our SPACE families as Christmas came early at many of our events, bringing all the fun and festive feels with it. Here are just some of November’s highlights:
Nothing quite captures the spirit of the holiday season like the timeless story of A Christmas Carol, and with The Booster Cushion Theatre Company’s unique spin on it we knew we would be in for a treat! We certainly weren’t disappointed. Thanks to a wonderful collaboration with Hertfordshire Libraries the magic of Christmas came to Stevenage, captivating our young audience. There was lots of interaction and belly laughs a plenty. A huge thank you to Stevenage Library for creating such a warm, supportive and inclusive environment for our families.
“Fantastic performance, very funny and energetic…kids were all smiling throughout. Loved seeing my daughter interacting.”
Laughter wasn’t just reserved for our young SPACErs. Parents and carers also got to let their hair down at a fabulous evening with neurodivergent comedian Joe Wells, who kept a full house laughing at the Corn Exchange in Hertford. Joe has a uniquely warm and clever way of giving you insight into his life as an autistic person – sharing positives, pressures, misconceptions and laugh out loud anecdotes. We will never look at the layout of a supermarket in the same way again!
“I haven’t laughed that much in ages! Joe is hilarious and immediately grabs your attention with his humour. It gives you hope as a parent and carer – to see Joe standing on stage, being his authentic self”.
This is the second time Joe has made the trip to Hertfordshire to put on an exclusive show for SPACE and already we can’t wait to welcome him back again next year. Thank you Joe!
Parents and Carers got another treat this month as well when our patron Dean Beadle popped in for one of his online Q&A sessions. Honest, insightful and always humorous it was no surprise this was another sell-out with people clamouring for him to be back for more immediately.
“Dean Beadle is brilliant; he always is so generous with his insight on autistic individuals which enables me to understand my two autistic children better and ultimately, empowers me as a parent to support them better.”
We were super proud of our Family Support team who were presented with the ‘CHEXS Partnership Award 2023’ at their parenting afternoon. During the session, Lisa and Hayley offered their trademark excellent advice, coping strategies, and helpful tips for parents and carers of neurodivergent children and young. The team at CHEX spoke of how grateful they are to have such a fantastic partnership with Lisa, Hayley and the wider team. You can book an appointment with the team here.
Talking of support, our in-person support groups for parents and carers were very busy again this month with over 50 parents and carers coming along. We currently run three a month in Welwyn, Croxley Green and Hoddesdon and they each had a different vibe this month. It was the last Welwyn group of the year so they enjoyed some Christmas crafting along with their chat. Hoddesdon welcomed Michelle from BeeZee bodies for a supportive discussion with plenty of giggles along the way around some of the challenges our children and sometimes we as parent/carers face around food. Whilst over in Croxley, Liz Stanley led a discussion on Autism and anxiety. We looked at videos at what happens to your brain when you are anxious and there were lots of questions and discussions about the difference between autistics who meltdown and those who internalise and shutdown. We also ran a parent/carer craft workshop where everyone got into the festive spirit over tea, homemade cakes and some gorgeous keepsakes with support and making connections with other parent/carers absolutely part of the package too.
“Absolutely love these sessions and look forward to them so much! The crafts are always brilliant and great for every skill level.”
We spent a lot of time this month out on the road covering a lot of ground across Hertfordshire – these are just some of the places you would have found us!
Our training team ran a bespoke workshop at Lodge Farm Primary School in Stevenage on Supporting Neurodivergent Children in the Classroom. “Feedback from staff has been great and everyone is very much looking forward to the next one!” Thanks for having us Lodge Farm, we are looking forward to the next one too!
We were delighted to be part of Purple Tuesday at the Howard Centre in Welwyn Garden City teaming up with other organisations to add our voice to the global social movement to improve customer experience for those with disabilities all year round. It was a pleasure to showcase everything we offer at SPACE and chat with so many members of the public.
We talked to so many parents and caught up with other providers and partners at Southfield School in Hatfield for their SEND Information morning, and we attended a lovely coffee morning at Long Marston Primary School in Tring where we shared everything we have going on and enjoyed a lovely warm welcome and some great discussions. Sleep (or lack of it) was high on the agenda, along with SBLO.
We had a stand at the Autism in Schools conference in Stevenage, joining both professionals and parent/carers. And were back in Stevenage again for the DSPL5 Conference, participating in discussions and learning about therapeutic classrooms and how these revolutionary new look classrooms can create a safe haven for all. It was wonderful to share everything we are doing at SPACE and add our voice to these important conversations.
And we visited the Watford Family Centre SEND stay and play session – taking lots of resources with us from Lending SPACE so everyone could have a play – the sensory tiles in particular were a big hit! Again, it was great to chat to parents and let them know what we do and how we can help.
Over 100 families dropped into Lending SPACE during November to explore our resources, borrow equipment, and chat with others going through similar experiences. We love nothing more than a busy morning chatting to familiar faces and new families alike – please do pop along a warm welcome always awaits.
We also delivered over 50 hours of practical tips, strategies and understanding to parents and carers through our free online workshops and courses. And we concluded the final sessions of our 6 week in-person First Steps courses, where parents and carers of under 5s came together to develop a good understanding of their child’s needs coupled with strategies and interventions specifically designed to support the wellbeing and social development of their children. The feedback was brilliant and we are excited to be running this course again in the Spring Term! You can see our full Spring Term programme of over 50 workshops and courses and sign up for free over at SPACE Hertfordshire on Eventbrite.
Back to our young people and November saw the return of Independent Shopping – an initiative we are running in collaboration with ASDA in Ware. Our young people took on the challenge of completing their own shop with such determination and enthusiasm. Along the way there were opportunities to talk about budgeting and money, deciding what to purchase, finding substitutes for items that weren’t available, and decisions around what might need to go back on the shelf. The group left with full shopping bags and a sense of achievement – plus, they made plans to meet up again soon and continue their newly-formed friendships.
All of this plus a further 18 exclusive events including a popular stop at Potstop to make Christmas gifts, a teens Christmas craft session, and our regular monthly events including rollerskating, graffiti, cooking, girls group, lego, outdoor play, therapeutic farming, driving experiences and art…. and that’s just scratching the surface…!
Shall we do it all again next month?! You bet we will! Be the first to know what monthly events and activities are coming up for our neurodivergent children and young people by visiting the SPACE Hertfordshire Facebook page and follow us on Eventbrite.
