Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Families cash in on £1.3m from winter hardship fund
A seven-year-old Lanarkshire boy has become one of the first kids in the UK to receive a sensory kit from charity Caudwell Children. Oliver Bell, who has autism, recently received specialist equipment and toys from the charity, including a weighted cushio
More than 10,000 families in North Lanarkshire received over £1 million from the Scottish Government’s winter hardship fund last December.
Airdrie MSP Alex Neil highlighted the statistics, which also revealed more than £14 million was paid out to families in Scotland during the same month.
In North Lanarkshire, £1.3 million was paid out to 10,370 families.
The one-off £100 payment winter hardship fund, announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was made available to families who were in receipt of free school meals and was paid from November 30 to the start of the winter school holidays.
Mr Neil said: “With the Scottish Government rolling out the Scottish Child Payment and supporting hundreds of thousands of families across Scotland with the £100 Covid winter hardship payment, we are making a real difference to people’s lives and lifting children out of poverty.
“This has been an incredibly difficult time for families in Airdrie who may have faced lost earnings, increased food bills and cold weather.
“The £100 winter payment will hopefully have eased the financial strain many have been facing during the pandemic.
“In contrast to the Tories at Westminster, the Scottish Government is doing all it can to ensure kids who receive free school meals do not go hungry.
“Alongside introducing the Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grant and Best Food Grants, the Scottish Government is committed to supporting children, whereas the Tories are planning to slash Universal Credit and get rid of the £20 uplift when families need it most.
“The only way Scotland can escape Westminster austerity and build a social security system based on dignity, fairness and respect is by becoming an independent country.”
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell added: “We know that many families are struggling financially due to the pandemic, whether through lost earnings, increased food costs or simply needing to run their heating more.
“This additional payment will hopefully have helped ease the strain they are facing.”
Not many boys growing up in Lanarkshire can claim that their living rooms are kitted out with a trampoline and a swing.
But Oliver Bell’s is.
The autistic seven-year-old, who “lives in a wee world of his own”, has vestibular and proprioceptive hyposensitivity.
He’s under-sensitive to movement and pressure, which means he runs, bounces and jumps – and the indoor play apparatus helps him to expel his boundless energy.
“Some kids with autism are still and motionless, whereas my son is rough and tumble. He’s at the opposite end of the scale,” explained mum Carol Osborne.
“He cannot sit for long. He’s got to be up, doing things. It helps him to concentrate. He is very rigid in his routine. You can’t tell him we are going to do something, and not do it. He uses a visual schedule every day, showing him in pictures what his day looks like.”
Many parents have entered unchartered territories with their kids during lockdown – but none more so than the mums and dads of children who are on the autism spectrum.
In normal times, Oliver knows what his life is like.
He goes to school, comes home, eats dinner, goes to one of his many clubs, comes home, has a bath and goes to bed.
Now, thanks to the sensory kit he has received from charity Caudwell Children, he turns in at night hugging a weighted, heart-shaped pillow, which brings him comfort and stops the fidgeting.
“He cannot do school work because, in his head, school work has to be done in school. If you mention school work, or work sheets, or teachers, he cannot handle it,” explained Carol.
“Routine in the house is difficult. We’ve had to make the little activities the school have suggested play-based, with no mention of school – otherwise he runs a mile and gets upset.
“It’s about keeping him learning, but bears no relation to being in a classroom.
“He has lots of words and loves typing on the computer, and can read and spell perfectly – but communication is very delayed. He has a very significant speech and language delay.
“Most other kids are accepting of it. Some are curious, not knowing quite what to make of it.”
Oliver craves the company of his friends, especially the other children at his school who are