FFunvember
Donation protected
Family Futures is using the month of November to cover 30,000 miles by walking, running, swimming and cycling to raise £30,000 so that we can create a permanent Occupational Therapy Sensory Integration treatment room at Family Futures, to develop further the therapy programme provided at Family Futures to adopted and fostered children who experienced significant harm in their early years.
As a not-for-profit organisation we are unable to fund this project, but with your donation Family Futures can provide a Sensory Integration room, giving adopted and fostered children with sensory integration difficulties the chance to heal and develop.
The room will require:
· Building services to strip room, make safe/reinforce the ceiling and decorate
· A specialist ceiling design for suspended equipment
· Padded floor and walls for safety
· A variety of specialist play equipment such as indoor swings, a ball pool, climbing frame and soft play
· Functional and child friendly storage
Jake’s story
Jake came to Family Futures because although he had been living with his loving adoptive parents for 4 years he was becoming increasingly aggressive towards his adoptive mum Julie, who was frightened of him and afraid that the adoption placement would break down.
Jake’s birth mother was a vulnerable woman who had previously been sexually exploited and had a history of both drug and alcohol abuse. Jake had been deprived of all the natural things a parent gives to their child: he was not rocked to sleep, soothed when he cried, made to giggle with tickles and funny faces. Instead, he was left in his cot, alone on his back for much of his first three years of life. This resulted in significant physical delay meaning that at the age of three he was unable to sit up independently.
When we first met Jake he was unable to dress or care for himself, he was up half the night terrified by night terrors; he had no idea that he was full and ate to excess, and became aggressive and resistant when it was suggested he move off the sofa.
Early on he had an OT assessment at Family Futures which included a comprehensive Sensory Integration assessment. Jake was found to be extremely sensitive to touch, light and sound, causing him to over-respond to these sensory inputs aggressively. The loving touch most parents give to their children was intolerable for him. Jake also had hypermobility in his joints meaning it was painful for him to walk. His muscles had to work much harder to keep his joints stable, which was exhausting. He also had poor muscle strength in his core which meant just sitting upright was an extreme effort for him. In many ways his 8 year old body was like that of a toddler. The assessment identified Jake had difficulty with body awareness and using both hands in coordination, he struggled doing everyday tasks that most 8 year olds are independent, at such as feeding himself and looking after himself when going to the toilet, washing himself and getting dressed.
To begin with Jake was frightened, had difficulty trusting the occupational therapist and lacked confidence and skill in using his body to move. As he gradually built up a rapport with the therapist, he was able to experiment and experience his body swinging, jumping, crawling, spinning, getting upside down, and pushing/pulling. Jake explored different tactile experiences.
Since engaging with the sensory integration therapy Jake has made huge improvements with his motor skills, and is now able to dress himself and sleep through the night. After his sensory integration sessions he is much more tolerant of unexpected noise and bright lights, more able to use his words when he is upset, able to hold his attention and interact in life story work, which is vital for him to make sense of his past.
As a not-for-profit organisation we are unable to fund this project, but with your donation Family Futures can provide a Sensory Integration room, giving adopted and fostered children with sensory integration difficulties the chance to heal and develop.
The room will require:
· Building services to strip room, make safe/reinforce the ceiling and decorate
· A specialist ceiling design for suspended equipment
· Padded floor and walls for safety
· A variety of specialist play equipment such as indoor swings, a ball pool, climbing frame and soft play
· Functional and child friendly storage
Jake’s story
Jake came to Family Futures because although he had been living with his loving adoptive parents for 4 years he was becoming increasingly aggressive towards his adoptive mum Julie, who was frightened of him and afraid that the adoption placement would break down.
Jake’s birth mother was a vulnerable woman who had previously been sexually exploited and had a history of both drug and alcohol abuse. Jake had been deprived of all the natural things a parent gives to their child: he was not rocked to sleep, soothed when he cried, made to giggle with tickles and funny faces. Instead, he was left in his cot, alone on his back for much of his first three years of life. This resulted in significant physical delay meaning that at the age of three he was unable to sit up independently.
When we first met Jake he was unable to dress or care for himself, he was up half the night terrified by night terrors; he had no idea that he was full and ate to excess, and became aggressive and resistant when it was suggested he move off the sofa.
Early on he had an OT assessment at Family Futures which included a comprehensive Sensory Integration assessment. Jake was found to be extremely sensitive to touch, light and sound, causing him to over-respond to these sensory inputs aggressively. The loving touch most parents give to their children was intolerable for him. Jake also had hypermobility in his joints meaning it was painful for him to walk. His muscles had to work much harder to keep his joints stable, which was exhausting. He also had poor muscle strength in his core which meant just sitting upright was an extreme effort for him. In many ways his 8 year old body was like that of a toddler. The assessment identified Jake had difficulty with body awareness and using both hands in coordination, he struggled doing everyday tasks that most 8 year olds are independent, at such as feeding himself and looking after himself when going to the toilet, washing himself and getting dressed.
To begin with Jake was frightened, had difficulty trusting the occupational therapist and lacked confidence and skill in using his body to move. As he gradually built up a rapport with the therapist, he was able to experiment and experience his body swinging, jumping, crawling, spinning, getting upside down, and pushing/pulling. Jake explored different tactile experiences.
Since engaging with the sensory integration therapy Jake has made huge improvements with his motor skills, and is now able to dress himself and sleep through the night. After his sensory integration sessions he is much more tolerant of unexpected noise and bright lights, more able to use his words when he is upset, able to hold his attention and interact in life story work, which is vital for him to make sense of his past.
Organizer and beneficiary
Mocushla O'Shea
Organizer
Family Futures CIC
Beneficiary
