Sensory pack is a real benefit for young Harvey
An East Kilbride mum is leading a charity plea following an increase in applications for support from parents in the area.
Amanda Hutchison’s sevenyear-old son, Harvey, has Autism Spectrum Disorder and has been a recipient of a Get Sensory Pack from Caudwell Children.
Caudwell Children has pledged to provide thousands of families across the UK with essential sensory equipment for children to use at home during the Covid-19 pandemic – with each family receiving a pack of appropriate and safe toys to support physical and mental development for children living with a wide range of disabilities.
The Get Sensory Packs campaign has been met with huge demand from parents seeking help with daily tasks during Covid restrictions.
Trudi Beswick, CEO of Caudwell Children, said: “The demand for our Get Sensory Packs has been enormous in recent weeks.”
Caudwell Children has received hundreds of applications from families across Scotland – including seven families from East Kilbride and 98 from Glasgow.
Amanda applied to the charity for a sensory pack after she noticed Harvey was displaying sensoryseeking behaviour.
After successfully applying, Harvey was among a small number of children from across the UK selected to join extra sessions to help Caudwell Children explore ways to provide additional support for disabled children in the coming months.
Now Amanda is encouraging people to donate to the charity so that it can support more children like Harvey.
Amanda said: “My son has Autism Spectrum Disorder. The materials from the Get Sensory pack we received are really varied and high quality.
“The educational activity sessions around the packs have been fantastic, inclusive and really informative. They have inspired us to use the items in a lot of ways we hadn’t thought of before.
“Harvey is a dual exceptionality child, as he is what they would call gifted as well as autistic. Although he is very far ahead academically, he struggles with gross and fine motor skills, emotional regulation and social skills. The items have
been really helping with his motor skills.
“My son uses the fibre optic lamp every night in bed to wind down and has the weighted cushion in there too. A huge thank you to Caudwell Children and all of those who donated to the campaign.
“I would like those who are thinking of donating a Get Sensory pack to a child like Harvey to know that the items helped Harvey in a variety of ways, especially with motor skill exercises.”
To help more children like Harvey, the charity is asking people to give generously to ensure it can provide the support that families need in the coming months.
Trudi Beswick added: “We want to support every parent who has come to us for help – and we want to do that as quickly as we can.
“To achieve that goal we need extra support. No donation is too small. For just £10 you can help us provide a child with a set of two fibre optic devices that change colour to stimulate the visual and tactile senses.
“They are very popular with disabled children.”