The sessions put on by support group Autism & Me have been running throughout the school holidays.
‘We specifically designed the multi-sport sessions to be free play. This approach can be especially valuable for autistic children because it gives them choice, control and a low-pressure way to explore this new environment at Aztech,’ said group co-founder Lorna Higgins-Bare.
‘The key benefits that I have noticed are that it has reduced any stress and expectations on the child to participate in a specific way.
‘It builds independence by allowing them to choose their preferred activity and supports their natural creativity by allowing them to choose how to play specific games without the usual rules.
‘Autistic children can be very sensory and this allows them to fully explore different textures, equipment, objects and spaces at their pace.
‘Free play isn’t conventional and our goal isn’t to make every moment educational – children deserve to play simply because playing is enjoyable and fun.’
Between 40 and 60 children have attended every week over the course of the summer.
‘This has been an exceptionally long seven weeks of summer holidays and I think most parents have found it hard and struggled to keep their children entertained,’ said Mrs Higgins-Bare.
‘Running these sessions over the summer has allowed us to create consistency and predictability for our families.
‘Consistency can build confidence in autistic children because it makes their environment feel predictable, understandable, and safe.
‘When children know what to expect, they often have more confidence to participate, communicate, and try new things. A predictable scheduled activity reduces uncertainty and anxiety and builds independence and skills through routine.’
Autism & Me co-founder Antonia Rainbow said that the sessions had benefitted parents as well as the children.
‘Aztech have been amazing, and for parents the main thing is they can sit and have a coffee while their children play in a safe place, which is quite unusual for our parents,’ she said.
Aztech have provided sensory toys for the children during the sessions and children have had access to the tech zone too.
‘We didn’t know what kinds of things the kids would like going into it, but it’s been great to see them getting involved with games and it’s been interesting to see how popular the tech zone has been with them,’ said Aztech’s Craig Tyrrell, who has been involved in organising the sessions.
Ethan Mullaly, 8, said he had enjoyed the summer sessions. ‘It’s been good because I love football and there aren’t many places to go and play it inside,’ he said.
The sessions have helped children grow in confidence.
‘My son Jake, he is usually very inactive but I’ve noticed over the last six weeks is he is wanting to go out and play sports,’ said Tom Hodgson.
‘He’s never been interested in football before but since coming to these sessions at Aztech he has been wearing football shirts and actually communicating with other children much more.’
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