Our Christmas Party! 18th December 2010

Last Saturday evening was REALLY fun!

Why's that, I hear you ask?

Because it was our branch Christmas Party, of course!!!

We had our party at Pirate Pete's Adventure Island soft play area ...



And tickets were free to all local children on our database with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, and to their siblings!

Lots of families came along to join in the fun, and everyone had a great time playing on all the soft play equipment. And, all children who wished to, got to see Father Christmas in his Christmas Grotto too!

Waiting with Father Christmas' Elf ...



In his beautiful grotto ...







And every child got a present from Father Christmas too ...



And then, when all the playing was done, and everyone had visited Father Christmas, it was time for the party food!







And after everyone had finished their main course, and their ice-cream, they dashed off to play again.

And while the children were busy playing, our Branch Officer, Jayne, got to meet Father Christmas too ...



And she even got to sit on Father Christmas' knee!



We all had a great time at the Christmas Party!!!

Our Christmas Fayre & Branch Re-launch, 4th December 2010

Our Christmas Fayre and Branch Re-launch was a fantastic day!

The United Reformed Church was a fantastic venue, and they were very accommodating, allowing us to use their main hall for our main event, their kitchen, their unity room for our games room, and their lounge as a quiet room for anyone with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who needed somewhere quiet to retreat to.

We were able to get into the hall two hours early to set everything up ...


Our Father Christmas Grotto, built and painted by the committee secretary's husband, Adrian Saunders. We had pretty lights framing the doorway, a stocking hung on the fireplace, a sack of presents 'neath the tree, and a 'Naughty and Nice' scroll and quill for Father Christmas to use to keep track of all the good boys and girls!

Speaking of arty things, we also had these handsome reindeer gracing our stalls and hiding in various places around the hall, for the Hunt the Reindeer game ...




All reindeers were designed and drawn by Adrian Saunders

We also had lots of stalls to set up before our guests arrived ...


Volunteer Louise and committee member Lynda setting up the cake stall


The bric a brac stall


And Marion and Judith had a fantastic stall selling lots of delicious Christmassy treats


Our Autistic Spectrum Disorders information table, which was also the place to buy official NAS Christmas cards, reindeer food, Santa keys and tickets to see Father Christmas in his grotto


Our raffle table was brimming with prizes donated by generous businesses


Jennie Button had a fantastic assortment of button craft items available for purchase


Our cake stall is all ready for business! We had gluten free cakes and biscuits on sale, as well as standard cakes, to accommodate those with Autism Spectrum Disorders who follow a gluten free diet.


A friend of Amber, the event co-ordinator, donated this beautiful handmade fruit cake, decorated with the NAS logo


And Sarah was all ready to give facials and massages from her well-stocked Body Shop at Home stall


Another committee member, Sue, ran the Map of the UK game

And so we were all set!

The Fayre and Branch Re-launch was officially opened by our new Branch Officer, Jayne Page, and by Roary from Waveney Youth Football Club at 11 am!

Here's Roary posing with Father Christmas ...


I bet Roary's been a good boy this year, and that Father Christmas put him on the 'Nice' section of his scroll!

Our new Branch Officer braved the bracing Winter temperatures for most of the Fayre, meeting and greeting people at the entrance of the church and welcoming them to the event.

Back inside the church, the committee members and volunteers were busy serving customers, selling wares, chatting to guests, making and serving hot drinks, washing up, and capturing the event on camera.


Volunteers Macaulay and Brandon manned the tombola table


While more volunteers manned the 'Guess How Many Sweets in the Stocking', 'Guess How Many Lego in the Stocking', and the Advent Calendar games


And Father Christmas was very ably assisted by his Chief Elf! (aka committee member Juliet!)

Father Christmas' Chief Elf was in charge of checking each child's ticket to see how old the child was, whether they had any Autism Spectrum Disorder, and if they did, whether they required a wrapped or unwrapped present. This all helped those children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who attended the Fayre to enjoy the experience as much as possible.



People came to eat cake, sip hot chocolate, peruse the bric a brac table, buy Christmassy items, decorate Christmas hats, play games, and ...


... to see Father Christmas!


This little boy looks as if he's been very good this year, I'm sure!


The Santa Keys, hand made by our event co-ordinator, Amber, were very popular! As were the parcels of reindeer food!


Committee secretary, Rebecca, manned the Autism Spectrum Disorder table


Adrian Saunders, artist extraordinaire, browsing the Fayre, with the popular 'Decorate a Christmas Hat' table in the background

The time passed like lightning, and all too soon it was 3 pm, time to draw the raffle ...


Committee chairperson Julie, committee member Sue, and event co-ordinator Amber drawing the raffle, with help from members of the public

And then it was time to bid goodbye to all our lovely guests who joined in our fun at our Christmas Fayre, and yep, you guessed it, time for us to clean up. But even that task whizzed by with so many willing hands to make light work of the job.

We had a fantastic time both organising and putting on our Christmas Fayre! It was so great to meet so many members of the public and to be able to raise awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorders in our local area, and to be able to publicise our drop in support group to people who may not have been aware of it's existence.

We would also like to say a huge thank you to everyone at the United Reformed Church for the welcome they showed us and for their help in putting on our event; to all the local businesses who donated to the event; to all our volunteers for making items for the day and for coming along to help out (some even travelled up from Essex in the wintry weather to help out!); and to everyone who paid us a visit on the day and helped to make our event such a success!

And, although our Christmas Fayre may now be past, our branch has still got lots going on to keep us busy this month!

• We have our monthly drop in support group taking place at The Ark Childrens Centre on Tuesday, at 12.30 pm.
• Members of our committee will be taking part in a National Autistic Society focus group on special educational needs.
• And, just before Christmas, we will be putting on an incredibly fun Christmas Party for local children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their siblings!

Upcoming Autism-Related Conferences

Our branch has received details of two upcoming events which we felt might interest those we support ...

Cambridge NAS Branch invites you to a presentation by Ian Jordan entitled: "The very different visual world of your autistic child"

Date: November 23rd 2010

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Impington Village College, New Road, Impington, Cambridge CB24 9LX

Parking: available at the Village College

About the presentation:

Sensory processing difficulties are found in virtually all cases of autism. Ian will use video, demonstration and animation to enable parents to become aware of the range and effect of visual processing problems encountered – know how to recognise them – and what they can do to reduce their impact – and what professionals can and should do.

Facial recognition, expression recognition, problems with objects morphing into other shapes, visual images persisting, hearing in colour, why children cannot hear properly if they cannot process what they see, visio-spatial awareness, strobing, how images may be out of synch with sound, hand eye coordination and much more will be addressed.

It is often very funny, disturbing and thought provoking. Ian restricts his public lectures – and they are always sell outs! He has been described as “the best lecturer in optics” and ‘charismatic’ – and in lecture evaluations he averages over 9 out of 10!

Lecture credits include many world / international conferences – 5 books – 1 DVD in association with UK university – 1CD Rom – many awards for R&D – TV credits include BBC documentary “My family and Autism”, Teachers TV……..

You can sign-up for the talk on Cambridge Branch’s website http://www.cambridge-autism.org.uk or email them at Cambridge@nas.org.uk or phone 07920 150407

Thank you to Autism Suffolk for the details about this talk.

The second of these events is a conference on PDA, run by the NAS, in association with NORSACA and the Elizabeth Newson Centre ...

Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome (PDA) is increasingly recognised as part of the autism spectrum. It is a lifelong disability which affects boys and girls equally. People with PDA need different amounts of support depending on how their condition affects them. The main difficulty for people with PDA is their avoidance of the everyday demands made by other people, due to their high anxiety levels when they feel that they are not in control. However, because they tend to have much better social communication and interaction skills than other people on the spectrum, they can use those skills to disguise their resistance through common avoidance behaviour.

As a result, people with PDA usually experience increased difficulty throughout their lives. They often imitate inappropriate behaviour or come across as overbearing, and may exhibit an obsessive desire to dominate socially. This behaviour can be extremely disruptive within classroom settings and may make for a chaotic and distressing home life.

Date: Wednesday 26 January 2011

Venue: Kensington Conference and Events Centre, London

This conference will give you a greater understanding of PDA and an opportunity to discuss strategies and techniques that will help you support people with the disorder, both at school and at home. You’ll be able to hear the latest research on changing diagnostic understandings, as well as an in-depth discussion of educational strategies for teachers. There will also be presentations on approaches to managing behaviour and issues with communication. The conference is running in association with NORSACA and the Elizabeth Newson Centre. PDA was first identified by Elizabeth Newson over 20 years ago and the Elizabeth Newson Centre is leading the way in diagnosis and support for people with PDA. The centre’s expertise means that you’ll be hearing the most up-to-date information and advice from authorities in the field.

Information on PDA is extremely limited and there are very few forums for learning about the disorder. This conference is an extremely rare opportunity to hear experts in the field discussing the latest strategies and best practice.

For more information, such as the contents of the conference, registration details and cost of attending, please click here to visit the NAS event details page. Please note that there will be a special rate available to NAS members and individuals on a low income.

My Rights, Your Responsibility

A little while ago, our branch received some information from Autism Suffolk about My Rights, Your Responsibility. (click the link to visit the website)

To quote from the website:

"My Rights, Your Responsibility is a set of information written primarily for parents of disabled children. It provides information to parents on their child's rights to access activities, community facilities and other services.

So often disabled children and young people are told they cannot join in for reasons relating to health and safety and their impairment. This information tries to address those issues and details what needs to be done to ensure that children and young people can safely join in and that the organisation providing the activity meets its responsibilities in terms of health and safety.

Health and safety should not be used as an excuse to prevent services becoming more inclusive but should be used to ensure that risks are minimised and that we move towards a situation where all children and young people are given the opportunities to join in activities that they would like to do."

The website gives links to web based information on:

• behaviour management
• epilepsy
• invasive care
• sensory impairments
• personal care
• moving and handling
• communication
• transport

as well as providing printed leaflets (which you can download or order) on:

• The Disability Discrimination Act
• What is risk?
• What can parents expect from services?
• What can services expect from parents?
• Children's rights to communicate their views and be listened to

Our branch feels that this information could be very useful for families caring for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and we hope that you agree! Feel free to access this information for yourselves, or to pass it on to those who may find it useful!

Big News ... Big Fun! Come Along And Join Us!

We have got an incredibly fun event in the pipeline!

We can't wait for 4th December!

Want to know why?

Okay, we'll tell you!

On 4th December, we will be holding a Christmas Fayre at the United Reformed Church in Lowestoft!

In case you were wondering, the United Reformed Church is the one on London Road North, next to The Volunteer pub, opposite Poundstretchers in Lowestoft town centre.

The event will be open from 11 am to 3 pm, and let me tell you, there are going to be so very, very many fun things to do!

We are planning to have:

*Father Christmas Grotto! Bring your child to see Father Christmas! He will be popping in from the North Pole between 12.45 pm and 3 pm (with a short break halfway through for Father Christmas to have a cup of tea and a mince pie!), and all children who visit Father Christmas will get a present!

*A Body Shop at Home stall, run by the lovely Sarah. There will be fun things such as manicures, makeovers or hand massages using Body Shop products; free samples of Body Shop products; information on the fantastic Body Shop items available for Christmas; and a selection of SALE items, which could be great stocking fillers for Christmas!

*A button crafts stall, run by the lovely Jennie Button, who will be selling her beautiful handmade button crafts (an ideal gift idea for Christmas!)

*A cake stall, featuring cakes donated by Bushells Bakery, Heils Bakery, Boo Cupcakes, and lots of other delicious options. We also plan to have some delicious gluten-free options available!

*A raffle, with some really fantastic prizes such as:

• a 20" unisex child's bike
• a child's wooden chair decorated in a pirate theme
• Ted Baker sunglasses
• Rip Curl sunglasses
• a £99 eyewear voucher for Specsavers
• 2 sets of 2 tickets to see Robin Hood at the Marina Theatre
• a voucher for 2 people to play the par 3 course at Rookery Park Golf Club
• a child's scooter
• a voucher for a free sitting and portrait from Picture Studios

and lots more!

*A bric-a-brac stall, another great opportunity to pick up stocking fillers for Christmas!

*A tombola, always fun!

*Refreshments, selling steaming mugs of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, as well as squash.

And that's not all!!!

In addition to all our great stalls, we will also have lots of games for adults and children alike, including:

• Hunt the Reindeer
• Snowball Scavenge
• Lucky Christmas Bucket
• Christmas Teddy Treasure Hunt
• Lollipop Lotto
• Guess How Many Sweets are in the Stocking
• Guess How Many Lego Pieces are in the Stocking
• Bah Humbug!

There will also be opportunities for children to decorate their own Christmas hats, and if they wish, they can enter their hats into the Best Dressed Christmas Hat competition, which will be judged hourly with a prize for the best hat of the hour!

And there will be opportunities for children to write a letter to Father Christmas, which they can then hand deliver to Father Christmas himself in his grotto!

And that's not all!!!

We will also have our Autism Table, packed with tons of useful information for those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders, which will also be selling official National Autistic Society Christmas cards, Santa keys, and reindeer food!

And we will also be taking this opportunity to give a very warm welcome to our new Branch Officer, Jayne Page!

So ... why don't you come along and join us for what is sure to be a fantastic day!

And ... if anyone reading this is interested in helping our big day to be a success, we would love to accept any donation of bric-a-brac for our bric-a-brac stall, or cakes for our cake stall (any donations need to be sealed, for example in cling film or a box/tin!), then please contact us on the branch mobile number, listed on the side of this page, or by emailing either of the branch email addresses.

Thank you for reading, and we hope to see you there, on 4th December at the United Reformed Church!

NAS Lowestoft & North Suffolk at the WYFC Tournament

The members of our branch had a busy weekend! We spent our days at Denes High School, manning our stall at the WYFC Tournament.


Our stall


Our banner

We had all sorts of fun things on our stall, such as ...


This 'win every time' spinning game for 10 pence per go


Our well-stocked tombola


Two delicious-looking cakes baked by committee member Lynda, which we used for 'Guess The Weight of the Cake' at 20 pence per go


Yum yum!

And even Roary the Tiger came over to see us!


Roary and our chairperson, Julie

Not only did we spend our day raising money for our local NAS branch, so that we can help more local families affected by autism, but we had fun spending time with each other too ...


Like when we all danced to Village People's 'YMCA' (L - R: Committee members Lynda, Amber, Emma, Rachel, Julie, Julie's daughter, and Rachel's hubby)

And then did our own actions to 'N ... A ... S'!


Thanks Julie, Amber and Lynda!


Julie showing us how much fun the tombola was


And having a go at the spinning game

We worked hard, had a great time, and raised both money for our branch, and awareness of autistic spectrum disorders.

Many thanks to all who supported our cause over the weekend by taking part!

Date for your diary ...

* We have our first drop in support group of the new school year on 7th September at The Ark Childrens Centre in Water Lane, from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm.

Feel free to come along!

Come back soon to find out what else our branch will be getting up to in future!

Upcoming Event!!!

Heads up! :o)

We'll be having a stall at the Waveney Youth Football Club's Tournament on 21st and 22nd August, at the Denes High School, here in Lowestoft!

We'll have lots of fun things going on over both days, like Guess How Many Sweets are in the Jar, Guess How Many Legos are in the Jar, Guess the Weight of the Cakes, a tombola, and a spin the wheel game.

The Tournament is on from 10 am to 4 pm, and we just know it's going to be great fun, so come along and join us, and support your local branch of the National Autistic Society!

WHERE: Tennis Courts, Denes High School, Yarmouth Road, Lowestoft

WHEN: 10 am to 4 pm, 21st and 22nd August 2010

WHAT: Lowestoft & North Suffolk Branch stall with games and tombola

Come find us and join in the fun!

If anyone would like any more information, please call the branch mobile, as listed on the right hand side of this site, or email the email address listed.

Thank you!

Train Walk - 13th June 2010

On 13th June, we held a Thomas the Tank Engine Train Walk at Barnards Meadow, Lowestoft. Waveney Youth Football Club generously allowed us to have a pitch at their summer fun day, which meant that we were able to reach lots of people and take advantage of the crowds!

We set up our pitch for the day ...


Our pitch at the Waveney Youth Football Fun Day





And lots of children came along to take part in our Train Walks through the day. We even had WYFC's Roary taking part in the first Train Walk of the day!


Train Walkers getting their tickets (photos posted with parental permission)


Jayne, the Branch Officer, explaining what the walkers should do


The walkers go with their father, heading for the first train station!


Getting their tickets stamped at the first train station, the Percy Stop!


Running for the second station


Station #2: The Bertie Stop!


Station #3: The Mavis Stop


And lastly, Station #4: The Thomas Stop!

Once the walkers had completed the circuit, and collected all their stamps, they got their Thomas stickers ...


The passengers getting their stickers on their tickets for completing their Train Walk

And then they got their certificates!


One happy Train Walker


Another Happy Train Walker!


Two happy Train Walkers raising money for the Lowestoft and North Suffolk branch of the NAS!


The Train Walk stamps had a busy day stamping tickets

But we didn't just have the Train Walks to keep customers busy on the day, oh no, we also had ...


Our Peg Game

The Peg Game involved putting one hand behind your back, and seeing just how many pegs you could pick off the washing line without dropping them. The winner was the person who picked up the most pegs! There was an adult winner, who won a voucher for tanning sessions at a local salon, and a child winner, who won a toy.


The Peg Game and Tombola

And, we also ran a tombola, which was very popular!


Children found the tombola irresistible!


Branch Chairperson, Julie, helping a customer check his tombola tickets

Lots of people supported us on the day, and we Committee Members had a great time running the stall, and we managed to raise £81.25 for our branch into the bargain!

We are looking forward to having another NAS Branch stall at the WYFC's Tournament on 21st and 22nd August, details of which will be coming soon!