The True Magic Of Christmas

This enchanting, charming, beautiful house is located at 25A Hayes Lane Bromley Kent. The family who live here have been showcasing their ever growing collection of Christmas lights for some 25 years now?

Why?

Well, its all done in the name of charity. The festive home owners have helped a number of charities by putting on a spectacular Christmas light display in the hope of raising funds for those less fortunate, national and local charities and even children with special educational needs.

I first saw the house earlier in the week when I was asked to collect my son from school due to illness. Of course it was the middle of the afternoon so the lights were not yet switched on. With that I decided to take the children back tonight for a closer look and let’s just say we wasn’t disappointed!

The house is absolutely smothered in twinkling fairy lights.You will find an assortment of Santa’s displayed on the roof top, as well as a range of giant snow globes and a Santa loaded hot air balloon.

If that’s not exciting enough, the front garden has been totally transformed into something of a magical winter wonderland that leaves children bedazzled.

The first thing that catches your eye as you approach the house is a beautifully lite mini Ferris wheel with a host of festive faces upon it (Santa and a Snowman included)!

Nutcrackers and toy Soldiers line the pond area while further along the grass the scene of a nativity really blows you away with festive cheer.

Everywhere you turn, every inch and every corner, you will find something to amaze you. A beautiful wishing well and a life size moving Santa. Colourful wooden trains, talking elves and more.

As you walk about exploring your surroundings, traditional Christmas tunes can be heard playing through mini speakers. They even have a special red post box just for posting letters to Santa.

Here’s a little video I made to try and capture just how lovely the light display really was.

As I stood looking at the amazing display that has brought families from a far to see it, I realised just what a truly amazing thing the family living inside are doing for others. The surrounding communities get the privilege of visiting with their children while many charities are indeed lucky enough to benefit from such a place.

I noted the television flashing in the window and realised that the family were probably sat indoors doing what you or would be doing… only just outside their window, their home was now something of a tourist attraction. But here they are for their 25th year… Seriously how amazing is that? That means these guys were putting smiles on the faces of children while raising essential funds for charity since I was 5 years old.

I dunno about you guys but I think whoever is living behind door number 25 must be a pretty amazing family.

As a mum to a child who benefits from such kindness (as you know little man has Aspergers and special educational needs) I just wanted to spread the festive cheer and if possible get those who are able to visit the house to do so.

Children will not be disappointed. We drove 3 miles to see the lights and would of driven further if needed.

Sadly, this is in fact the last year that the family will be transforming their home into a beautiful Christmas winter wonderland. So… Wouldn’t it be amazing to finish this lovely tradition on a high? I would love the family to make a lovely large sum of money in donations for this years chosen charities. I plan to go along again before the end of this jolly festive season, so I can give a little more! I haven’t got much but I know every penny counts.

So, are you local to Hayes Lane, Bromley? Have you seen the magical wonderland? If yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts! If you haven’t yet visited and are within traveling distance why not pop along and help make this a beautiful end to a magical tradition.

Glow In The Dark Paintings

As mentioned I’m keen to get our falling down house in order and create little man a sensory room.

I’ve shared my ideas here on the blog before… Just check out this post.

As a result I was contacted by a lovely online company called Switch The Lights Off who create art that glows in the dark.They have a particular interest in autism and a percentage of each sold painting goes to the National Autistic Society.

They so kindly offered to send little man a glow in the dark painting and Alice and the toddler received a glowing door plaque each.

All art is personalised and every piece is hand painted. Little man was sent a canvas painting of a funky punk sporting a fantastic Mohican. This image is aimed at teens and older children but there are a host of other images to chose from and I’m sure there is something to suit all ages and tastes.

We choose for little mans image to be painted in gold so it looks great even when it isn’t glowing. When the lights are switched off the image of the punk and that of little mans name look amazing as it glows a Magnificent green.

Both the paintings and door signs are perfect for any child’s bedroom especially that of a sensory room. Your painting can be super charged with a UV Torch that literally has it glowing in seconds.

I love how each painting is personalised and hand painted. I admit I was sceptical at just how well these would glow but… WOW, I’m really impressed with the results.

What the brand told me (Diane & Steve from ‘Switch off the lights’ )…

“We are very passionate about these products and really want them to work.
The beauty of this artwork was that it was founded from an idea from Steve’s daughter, who wanted a painting that glowed in the dark whilst she was going to sleep.

We want to help mum’s & dad’s with their children in getting them to sleep. Most of us at one time or another have had nights where we are dropping asleep at the ends of the child’s bed, whilst little one is still wide awake.

We know it can be quite a big problem sometimes getting them to settle at night. So we hope these paintings and door plaques will benefit in some small way to help.”

These really are unique and special. Both younger and older children can enjoy a glowing piece of art work given the great selection of designs on offer.

Alice’s door plaque looks ultra trendy with her glowing name displayed on a pink plague, in a really groovy graffiti styled way! Its Sick ( or so she informs me)!

Harley’s is blue and the writing style is really bold and glows fantastically.

These would make a great Christmas presents for children who like that something a little bit different.

A great idea for any child’s sensory pad too… So, a fabulous gift idea for a child on the autism spectrum. Plus don’t forget, when you buy, ‘The National Autistic Society’ are given a contribution off the sales to help them to continue to do the fantastic and much needed work they carry out.

To check out more design visit the online store by clicking Here

Help a child with Autism communicate with the world they live in

So, I was on twitter recently (nothing new there I know) when I came across a very interesting tweet from one of my new followers.

The tweet in question contained a link to a very interesting website and article focused around a campaign that is aiming to help children with autism by providing them with a way to communicate with the world they live in! Here’s how.

With your help a child with autism can be given the tools needed to better communicate their needs, making the world a much easier place for them to live in.

The charity making this happen is “Hearts & Minds Challenge”

They don’t need you to give funds, they don’t want your money, all they need is your old mobile phones, even those that are no longer working!

Here’s what the charity had to say!

Once upon a time, a mobile phone was a status symbol, a way to tell the world that you were so important that people had to be able to reach you all the time. Nowadays a mobile is a necessity, but we still like to have the latest model with features that can improve our daily life.

Now; when you want to trade up your old phone, you could be helping someone with Autism to communicate their basic needs and for the first time, truly express what they want. And the phone doesn’t even have to be working to help….

Autism is a developmental disability which typically affects social interaction, imagination and the ability to communicate. Half of all people diagnosed will have severely delayed speech and as a result, can become frustrated, leading to behavioral challenges and social exclusion.

In the past, these individuals could be taught to use picture exchange communication or “pecs” a system of handing over a picture to request an item. Thus replacing that negative behaviour with a vocabulary of different pictures, all of which have a huge value to the individual. They are prompted to try to say each word and can slowly learn to speak independently with the picture system as support.

However, at least a 1/4 of all people diagnosed with Autism will have to use an alternative communication system for life, which can become very unwieldy as their vocabulary grows.
They must also rely on carers and therapists to update and maintain the system, so they never have independent control of what they want to say.

There are electronic picture devices, but the vocabulary is static, the devices bulky and expensive and the individual cannot express exactly what they want.

However, thanks to the development of a simple App, which recreates the picture system in a digital format, so called ‘non-verbal’ people can communicate exactly what they want on an Apple iPod or iPad. The Grace App, named after the little girl who inspired it is a basic picture vocabulary in a digital format which the user selects then shares to communicate what they want. Most importantly, they can actually add to their pictures themselves using the device camera, or google and save an image if they cannot find and photograph what they need.

Lisa, who created the Grace App says:
“Just because someone is not yet talking, it doesn’t mean they have nothing to say”

Lisa said the App has allowed Grace to express herself clearly and her frustration and tantrums, which could last for hours are now vastly reduced.
“Grace is also interacting with us a lot more, and I’m delighted to hear her using her own voice, as her speech continues to improve”

There are a lot of families that could benefit from trying out Grace or one of the many Apps developed to support the needs of people with autism – but they need the device to use it. This is a big commitment for a family who may have limited means, and a lot of demands on their income due to the pressures of raising a child with Autism.

Hearts and Minds are a charity with a mission to raise the quality of life of individuals with autism have come up with a scheme to turn old mobiles into new technology like the Apple iPad, while raising funds towards opening an Education Centre For Autism in Greater Manchester.

To help: Go through your drawers and cupboards and clear out all those old mobiles that are taking up space, contact the school and donate those devices in the envelopes provided. Not only will you be giving a child with autism the chance to communicate, but you will go into a draw to get your mortgage paid for a year – who wouldn’t like that?

Once I read the above I just had to write this post and share this great campaign with my readers.

I also found a great video on the Hearts and Minds website that really does share a strong message with the world on what a difference we can make by donating our old mobile phones. The video shows a selected number of children with autism using their iPad at home or in school. Attached is a message from the families of these children who state what a remarkable difference the iPad has made to their child’s life.

Warning… The video is a real tear jerker! I sobbed all over my iPhone!

I was actually about to write a sponsored post for a company that specialises in recycling mobile phones, saving the environment and making us a bit of extra cash in the process. Then I read about ‘Hearts and Minds’ who are not only saving the planet but helping a child with autism to communicate. Of course it’s Ok to recycle your mobile for cash, especially if you have little… We all need some extra pennies sometimes. But remember this charity are happy to take any mobile phone, regardless of the state it’s in… Broken, old, “a brick” it really doesn’t matter!

Thankfully my son is verbal and actually speaks very well! However he does have an array of communication difficulties and even for him such technology is a godsend. Little man attends a special school and as part of an OT programme he is now learning to touch type, his fine motor skills are very poor and his handwriting hardly legible. An iPad is on the Birthday list and it’s something I’d purchase with the knowledge of knowing that for little man it’s so much more than a fancy handheld tablet.

I hope that others will read this and next time they open a draw to discover an old dusty mobile they remember this post and therefore remember that for a child with autism that dusty mobile is a door that opens into a world of communication!

Remember families and schools wanting to register for the programme can do so over on the hearts and minds website

For more information on the programme visit Grace App or Hearts and Minds to see if you can help give a child with autism a way to communicate.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored or guest post. I have not been asked to write this and have not received anything for sharing this information. I have done so as a way to help a charity on their mission to help others.

Children In Need brings about some autism awareness

Image by Rupert Brun via Flickr

Goodness me… what a week it’s been, Friday I spent the night crying over Children In Need, Saturday I helped pick the two new faces of the new Argos kidswear range (I will share my experience a tad later in another post) Sunday I spent alday throwing up! Yep, you heard right, I was unfortunately the sufferer of some nasty tummy bug that has actually resulted in me receiving little sleep and explains why I’m blogging at the ghastly hour of 4.16 am in the early hours!

Sunday was actually set to be a great end to an awesome weekend! I was sent tickets to the multimedia screening of Happy Feet 2 in 3D at the empire Leicester Square and was dead disappointed not to be able to go.
I expect that I missed out on an awesome film, and can’t wait till it officially hits the big screen now so I can make it up to the kids, especially Little man who despite his sensory related problems was still prepared to give it a go! He had become taken in by the whole 3d aspect of the film meaning he didn’t want to miss it 😦 Mummy is truly sorry kids!

One thing I didn’t miss was Children In Need which was screened on BBC1 on the night of Friday 18th November. I made myself a warm drink, naughtily sneaked some chocolate from the fridge and jumped in my cosy bed at an early 7.30 pm to settle down and watch the yearly show. Children in need has always had the ability to make me cry, I just become a sobbing mess, with streaming makeup leaving me resembling something other than human. I really didn’t fancy getting emotional in front of my kids hence the reason why I had retreated to my bedroom, only their kids and kids always follow and that’s exactly what happened! My big cosy bed became an overheated space containing one big and three little people who continuously asked “Mum are you crying?”

One thing I was really pleased to see, was that Children in need had not only featured a clip highlighting autism, but also one raising awareness for Aspergers Syndrome. Yes, the world still has a long way to come, but doesn’t this show that we are already much further now than ever before?

The Clip highlighted the daily struggles of a young man with aspergers who needed support to be able to travel independently both two and from college. Children in need highlighted that it cost £55 per day for a child with Aspergers to receive such support through the travel training programme.

I think people often forget that when our children come to that school-leaving age everything begins to change. You see many off you will relate when I say we spend most of the primary years and at times, secondary years of our children’s education, fighting for a statement, school and of course a means to get to that chosen school and back home again.

Those lucky enough to eventually receive all of the above, will likely not have even began to think about the next step, the transition from the secondary years to the education their child will receive once they are 16 plus. Unless your child is staying on at school, where they have been appointed a place in the sixth form it’s likely that your child’s transport arrangement will be no more.

Once your child steps foot in that college it would seem that any legal duty the LEA once had is fast becoming non-existent. Did you know that due to the withdrawal of transport, many children on the autism spectrum and those with additional needs, never go to college, not because they don’t want too, simply because they can’t.

Travel training schemes differ in each area and are often offered by schools and LEAs to children still in school in-order to cut the cost of door to door pick ups and drop offs funded by the LEA. It is normally left to voluntary and charitably organisations to deliver travel schemes to the older child, and even adult. The scheme itself will also differ in what it offers depending on who’s providing it! The aim is to get the child using public transport services, therefore cutting the cost to both LEAs and social services. Of course many will state it has been enforced purely for the benefit to the child that independent travel brings, Yes, though this may be beneficial to many, I can’t help but think it’s mainly the money-saving aspect of things that holds the greatest benefit of all!

It’s great to know that funds raised through such huge campaigns such as Children in need intend on distributing some of its raised funds to help the Independent travel schemes as this enables young people like the young man they featured in the campaign video, to carry on in education, because education is our child’s basic right. Many voluntary organisation use the funds to provide training on an individualised  level as well as providing “buddies” who accompany a young person on their journey allowing them independence to do what it is they want to be doing, whether that’s carrying on in further education or even going to work.

I think the clip really hit the nail on the head, and did well to highlight many of the difficulties our children have with everyday interaction and anxiety this may bring! It even touched on the subject of isolation, bullying and self harm, areas that are all to commonly associated with children who have a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome.

Children in Need also featured a clip of a young 12-year-old girl who has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and a learning disability. She had become extremely isolated due to the fact the friends she once had as a younger child had now outgrown her, despite her being the same age. The clip highlighted one really important feature, which was, quite often the child is aware of their isolated ways and actually wants to be within a social circle that allows them to interact with others. The thing is, autism often makes this extremely difficulty. Once the young girl had started to attend a special centre for children with a range of additional needs, life has become so much more fulfilling for her, she is no longer lonely or isolated which was not only beneficial for her but her whole family, which could be clearly seen from the interview with her mother.

The fact that their just isn’t the funds to supply more staff as to allow more spaces for children who really need them is heartbreaking, and let’s be honest, it just goes to show the devastating impact the Government cuts have had on our children’s lives and continues too. I for one have a great deal of respect for any charitable organisation who set out to provide respite for children with additional needs, these social clubs and groups provide the children and young people with a degree of independence and the opportunity to make friends they may have never had the chance to make, while parents and carers get that little bit of “Me” time enabling them to be right on form once their child has arrived home.

These are just two examples of how important Children in need is and how it really can change lives. Their was many other clips that touched my heart especially that of Little Elliot who sadly passed away due to Cancer at just 9 years old (the very same cancer my sister had aged 2) Elliot spent his last days in the hospice “Claire House” a wonderful place that sadly may one day vanish due to the lack of money it has coming in to keep it going.

Image via Wikipedia

As a mother to a child of Aspergers I can directly relate to some of the issues highlighted within the Children in Need programme, I donated, because I, like many others want the best for my children and every other child like them. Maybe you didn’t watch the programme or haven’t made a donation, maybe after reading this you will? Every single penny helps to deliver services like those described above, seriously it’s only us as a nation who can really make a difference!

The children in need show which was broadcasted on Friday 18th November 2011 made a record-breaking whooping 26 million, how bloody awesome is that!

It’s not to late to donate, just click HERE

If you missed it, Check out Children in Need on iplayer 

To see some of the places that benefit from Children In Need in your area, Click HERE

Want to learn more about the fantastic work that Claire House Children Hospice do, Click HERE

If like me, you saw the incredible work that Claire House provides to terminally ill children and their families and you want to do more, why not make a donation right now by sending a simple Text to CHG010 £1 to 70070 You can donate £1, £2, £3, £5 or £10 via this method.

Related articles

• Non-Profit Founder Suggests Humor, Creativity and Relaxation Techniques Can Benefit Individuals With Asperger’s Syndrome (prweb.com)
• Special Educational Needs-Getting Started With Statements (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)