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Sponsorship
The Cambridge to Mongolia team have decided to support the local Cambridge based charity The Sunshine Club.
The Sunshine Club for children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) is the only club of its kind in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by West Anglia Crossroads (charity number 1091522), a long-established and well-regarded charity which champions care for carers. Crossroads helped found the club in 2001 through a partnership between Parents and Carers, the National Autistic Society, Umbrella Autism and Social Services.
It is a unique service: the only one of its kind in the county, providing around 2,000 hours of respite every year.
The club is much needed. The Cambridge area appears to have a high incidence of autistic spectrum disorders, so the club provides much-needed respite for parents and carers as well as a chance for children to mix with others and enjoy themselves. However, the club has a long waiting list and more care of this kind is desperately needed.
The club offers specialist expertise to children with ASDs. Crossroads has an excellent pedigree and its team of support workers at Sunshine Club offer safe, knowledgeable and experienced hands. Crossroads is the biggest provider of care to families of disabled children in Cambridgeshire, outside the county council
Club activities are expanding: this autumn the club moved home to one of the city’s new special schools – Castle School – where it will soon be able to offer exciting new activities such as swimming and trampolining to club members.
The club is hugely valued by parents and carers. See our comments and case studies below.
The club needs help with funding to enable it to break even and free up resources that could help more carers. At present, the club receives statutory funding (on an annual basis only) through the county council’s Office of Children and Young People Services, as well as additional grants and donations from local organisations and individuals.
However, it costs Crossroads another £8,000 a year on top to run the club, and with big changes to the grant structure underway, funding from individual and corporate sponsors would enable the club to continue its work and maybe expand to help meet demand for its services.
Case Sudy: Dawn and Robert Winckles
Judith and Adrian Winckles, from Little Abington, have three children. The eldest two Dawn (11) and Robert (10) are both autistic and they have grown up with the Sunshine Club, which has been a regular part of their weekend routine since they were 6 and 5 respectively.
“The club has been a fantastic facility for our family,” explained Judith.
"Because not only has it been a fun thing for the children to do, it’s been a very safe and caring environment, and one where they are simply allowed to be themselves and you don’t have to explain their behaviour to anyone.
“Robert is non-verbal, and very physical. He loves open spaces, so the new facilities at Castle School are fantastic. Dawn, who is more high-functioning, loved all the cooking and singing and arts and crafts. They’ve both really enjoyed their time there.
“It’s given us some respite and also enabled us to have time on our own with our other son, Luke (8) and be able to take him shopping and maybe to a café, which we couldn’t do with his brother and sister.”
Dawn finished at the club at Easter because she’d reached the upper age limit, and Robert has another six months to go.
But as Judith says, “what next?”
“There just isn’t anything else for the children. Although there’s another playscheme in the summer, there are often question marks over funding and whether it will run, and because it’s so popular, it also only offers a few days respite in a six/seven-week holiday. So parents of autistic children desperately need more of this kind of support.”
Judith also wants to raise awareness about autism and the impact it has on family life.
“Often people judge from what they see. But autistic people can be loved and enjoy life as much as anyone else.”
Case study: Toby Harrison
“A place at the Sunshine Club is like gold-dust!” says Heather Lloyd-Jones, mum to Toby Harrison (9) and Rory (5).
“There are lots of other families affected by autism in Cambridge but facilities and services are very limited.
“If you get a place at the Sunshine Club, most children stay on for as long as they can, and that means’s there’s a big waiting list. So we feel very lucky that Toby can go.
“Toby loves it because he feels understood. He can just relax and be himself and it’s totally geared to his enjoyment. He’s also been able to make a close friend there, which has been a great achievement as for many children with autism, social interaction is incredibly difficult.
“For me, I know he’s well cared-for and so I’m relaxed and confident leaving him there. And it allows me a couple of hours every other Saturday, just to spend with Rory or concentrate on myself.”
Toby, who lives in central Cambridge, was diagnosed at three and attends Park Street Primary School, with extra support.
“Normally Toby hates leaving the house. But he loves getting ready for Club and he usually comes out in a good mood, which sets him up for the day,” added Heather.
“I’m dreading the day he gets to 11 and has to leave because at the moment, there’s just nothing else like it.”
Autism
Autism is a complex, life-long developmental disability which affects the way that a person communicates and relates to other people.
The number of people with autism has dramatically increased in recent years. The National Autistic Society estimates that it affects around 535,000 people in the UK. However, the degree to which it affects people varies considerably, which is why there is a so-called “spectrum” of autistic disorders. Autism brings many changes and demands, so for many struggling families, respite care is a lifeline.
Autism in Cambridgeshire
Autism seems to have become much more prevalent in the past few years but is it just down to wider diagnosis of the condition and better awareness? No database exists to record how many people are affected in the county or if numbers are on the rise. However, the region appears to have a high incidence of autism, according to a study published in 2001. The study, by the Autism Research Centre (ARC) at Cambridge University, revealed that as many as one in 175 primary school children may have the disability – 11 times higher than previous estimates. The survey took in more than 34,000 children aged 5-11, at 162 schools. It counted only those with a definite clinical diagnosis. So those who were statemented with ASD but not diagnosed clinically, were not included. Researchers called the figures “conservative” particularly because the study did not include children waiting for confirmation of diagnosis, which can take between 12 months and 3 years.
The Cambridge area’s higher than normal proportion of high-tech workers has previously been seen as a possible factor in the high prevalence of ASD cases in the region. ARC director and autism expert Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, who co-authored the Cambridgeshire schools study, says “extreme male brain” syndrome could also play a part in the development of autism. And that men drawn to jobs in areas like computing, which need analytical skills, may carry more genes that contribute to it.
West Anglia Crossroads
As a founding partner and now managers of the club, West Anglia Crossroads (http://www.westangliacrossroads.org.uk) really understand what hard work it can be caring for a child with autism. Parents and carers often have to give much more help and support than they would for another child of the same age. And unlike typically-developing children, most of those with ASDs can’t go and occupy themselves or play with friends, creating mini-breaks for their carers. West Anglia Crossroads aim to share the load and responsibility. They offer respite care for carers, providing time-off for them to keep appointments, sleep or spend time with other family and just be themselves.
For more information about The Sunshine Club please contact:
Caroline Burnside
West Anglia Crossroads Caring for Carers
8 The Meadow
Meadow Lane
St Ives
Cambridgeshire
PE27 4LG
Tel: 0845 241 0954
Fax: 01480 461133
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