New sense of space
Ayrshire is to boast a new 3/ 4 of a million pound resource base for disabled people.
And last week Ayrshire Life had the chance to enjoy a preview of the plans for the new TouchBase Ayrshire site in Ardrossan.
The £ 750,000 project, set to be open by next year, will be open to everyone throughout Ayrshire.
And writer Linda Howard who is herself registered blind, went along to find out about the plans for the innovative resource centre.
She also hopped on board the Sensory Bus that is set to roll out across Ayrshire.
The Sensory Bus offers a unique mobile experience designed to be accessible to youngsters who need assistance with reading, writing, talking and listening.
It provides a therapeutic environment for children and teenagers and their families by adapting the colours, sounds and images in the sensory room to suit their needs.
Speaking about the new TouchBase plans, Andy Kerr, Chief Executive of Sense Scotland said: “Sense Scotland have been providing services for people with communication support needs in Ayrshire for over 15 years.
“This new facility in Ardrossan isn’t just going to be state of the art for Ayrshire, but for Scotland.”
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Thirty years on from its formal launch, the charity and social enterprise Sense Scotland shows no sign of slowing when it comes to providing innovative, state of the art services for families and individuals coping with communication support needs in the community. Sense Scotland revealed plans for TouchBase Ayrshire, a new, fully accessible, flexible base for people with communication support needs in Princes Street, Ardrossan last week, writes Linda Howard.
The £ 750,000, project has been made possible by the acquisition of the former Library headquarters from North Ayrshire Council with refurbishment works scheduled to begin later this year and an opening date for summer 2016.
TouchBase Ayrshire will benefit disabled people, their families, voluntary organisations and the local community, following in the footsteps of TouchBase, its innovative facility at Glasgow’s Kinning Park.
Visitors to the open day were treated to a fully guided tour of the proposed refurbishment and services that will be on offer.
An open plan activity space will offer generous space for social and physical activities, cinema nights, clubs, discos and social events while two new large windows will provide natural lighting, views of the sensory garden and the marina.
With a new music room and arts and crafts room filled with natural light there will be plenty of opportunities to get creative, learning new skills and ways to communicate.
Spin Art, a unique concept where a blank canvas spins on a rotating platform secured to the floor at high speed and paint is dripped on to the surface was one of the main attractions of the day.
As the canvas rotates the wet paint is drawn outwards, creating intricate designs. More paint is dripped onto the canvas while it is spinning, layering paints on top of each other, creating different effects. The benefit of this activity is that it allows individuals with varying levels of communication and mobility support needs, the opportunity to participate and unleash their inner creativity.
A quiet room and sensory room will offer space to chill out, for sensory stimulation and relaxing experiences. Cooking and baking activities will take place in a fully accessible service user kitchen allowing young people opportunities to build life, learning and employment skills as they work towards achieving ASDAN qualifications.
Three new personal care suites will offer specialist changing facilities and a sensory garden project will be implemented once the building works have been completed.
Visitors also had the chance to hop on board the Sensory Bus, a unique mobile experience designed to be accessible to youngsters who need assistance with reading, writing, talking and listening. It provides a therapeutic environment for children aged 0- 18 and their families by adapting the colours, sounds and images in the sensory room to suit their individual needs.
Rachael Grant, Early Years Development Officer at Sense Scotland explained the importance of the Sensory Bus: “We are able to reach rural and isolated communities, giving us the opportunity to take the work we currently do in various bases across numerous local authorities and into the heart of the community.”