The newsletter of the Leicestershire Autistic Society, Charity no. 507300 Issue No. 117 of the Leicestershire Autistic Society - April 2012 Link~U p Contents page LAS Membership 3 Jigsaw (includes family fun swim & Soft Play 4-6 100 Club 7/8 Translate Communication & Asperger Syndrome 9 Choice Unlimited (Tigers Stadium) 10 Guidance on playschemes and Direct Payments 11-13 Rutland Fun Day 13 Miracles to Believe In Space Centre and bowling 14-15 Rainbow Horses 16 Leicester Parent Carers Workshops & coffee mornings 18/20 ASPIRE Summer Fun 17 Autism Month 23 NAS Youth Club 24 Youth Groups 24 onwards Leicestershire Autism Outreach Service 30 Groups News and Activities 31 Adult information 32 onwards Helpline and other useful numbers 38-40 LAS Website at www.leicestershireautism.org.uk Email: [email protected] Aspergers Group website at http://aspergerleics.org First Link-Up I mentioned on my facebook page back in January that I had just spent the afternoon stuffing 1300 envelopes to send out to families and profes- sionals. Charles Huddleston from CLASP who was one of the founders of the Leicestershire Autistic Society was able to provide me with a little fact - that the first Link Up went out to 68 people in 1988. Carole Heubeck, Editor Welcome to the latest Link-Up magazine - the magazine for the Leices- tershire Autistic Society and for anyone who has a connection with ASD in Leicestershire and Rutland, either through family, profession or with / without a diagnosis of ASD. We are here to share information help and advice. We will publicise cof- fee mornings, youth clubs, trips and anything you wish to share. We have a family support worker Leisa Smith who can assist if you have any problems and we also have a help line run by Lindy Hardcastle. Leisa and Lindy have many years of experience of working and dealing with problems families and individuals may experience. If they can’t help - they will hopefully be able to send you to someone who can! Membership of the LAS costs only £5 per year which helps to cover some of the expenses that arise with running our organisation. From this we provide LinkUp, postage, Youth Clubs, Support Groups, Family Sup- port Worker, Adult and Children’s Directories, Insurance, Telephone, Printing and general expenses. Please note we are all volunteers so your £5 towards costs is really appreciated and goes a long way! Jenny does a sterling job at fundraising to help cover the costs along with other members who also fundraise to support us. If you fancy assisting please contact Jenny on 07775 777524. another way to assist with fundraising is to join the 100 Club - more details on page 7. Wish to put something into the LinkUp? Email Carole on [email protected] and [email protected] Remember that this Magazine belongs to you and that the articles and information in it need to be provided by you. Link-Up is published approx every three months - the next issue being at the end of June 2012. If you are not yet on our mailing list - please con- tact either myself, Jenny Cornwell, or Lindy Hardcastle Please note that we NEVER give this information out to anyone else Carole Editor. Email is preferable as I work during the day or 01530 244790 2 Las Membership April 2012-March 2013 I would like to become a member of the LAS and en- close a £5 cheque or postal order made payable to the Leicestershire Autistic Society. Name................................................................... Address: ............................................................... ............................................................................... .............................................................................. Post Code:..................Email ..................................... Telephone(s):................................................................ Parent/Professional (please delete what is not applicable ). Name of Child.................................... Age............... Gift Aid Please tick if a tax payer so we can reclaim the tax you have already paid tax on Please send the application form along with your £5 cheque or postal order to the LAS Treasurer Peter Holdridge 25 Linden Avenue Countesthorpe Leicester LE8 5PG Please note if you sent in your £5 membership form from the last LinkUp. you have already paid for the 2012-13 subscription 3 Jigsaw provides support for parents and car- ers and their families and activities for chil- dren with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Thanks to the generous donation from Mira- cles To Believe In, our Sunday Softplay Sessions held at the Bell Foun- tain in Wigston are guaranteed to continue until July 2012. Jigsaw will be announcing the dates up to the end of 2012 shortly. See our sepa- rate flyer for current details. As well as providing supervised play for ASD children and siblings up to age 12, parents and carers are welcome to drop into Softplay for a chat and catch up with the latest issues surrounding ASD and for any infor- mation on Jigsaw’s activities and other support that’s available. Alternately you are welcome to join us over a coffee in the lounge at the Salvation Army Centre, Ladysmith Road, South Wigston, LE18 4UZ from 7.00 to 9.00pm at the A.S.D. County Youth Club held on the 2 nd and 4 th Tuesdays of the month. In December Jigsaw families were entertained by magicians, caricatur- ists, an ASD friendly disco and not least by Chris Lee who found the fortitude not only to completely remove all of his shoulder length curls in public to sport a stylish new ‘short back and shine’ look, but at the same time managed to raise around £600 for Jigsaw at our joint LAS/ Jigsaw Christmas Party. My personal thanks go to all of the Jigsaw Committee and once again to Jackie and Jenny who seem to be at the sharp end of everything for taking over the arrangements and putting together what everyone tells me was a perfectly put together and received party that was enjoyed by all concerned. Unfortunately there is again no confirmation from the City over funding to support places at Jigsaws Playscheme for profoundly ASD children and the future for activity is, as last year, very uncertain. Guidance information from Menphys for County parents to apply for places on any playschemes is in this Link~Up but as yet, Menphys is still uncertain that the County will guarantee to commit funds as they did last year ... All applications to Menphys for places must be for children who need 1:1 support and must go through the office relevant to your area, NOT through Jigsaw. Although you can express a preference for the play- scheme you wish to access, Jigsaw has no say in who is allocated places. Once you have secured a place however our team will be 4 happy to discuss any individual requirements for the best ways to support your child during their stay with us. For further information on the County Youth Group contact Diane; Tel: 07722914124 Dave Nutting, Tel: 07954172913 E-mail: [email protected] Jigsaw Family Fun Swim When: Sat 19 h May 6.00 – 8.00 Where: Aylestone Leisure Centre, 2 Knighton Lane East, Leic, LE2 6LU Cost: Free For families with a young person on the Autistic spectrum with sole use of the pool & fun floats Pool changing room just for us, opportunity for opposite sex changing in family room and disabled rooms Vending machines for hot & cold drinks and snacks e.g. crisps & flapjack No charge but £5.00 booking fee for each family refundable at the swim ses- sion, otherwise will go into jigsaw funds to cover hire of pool You will need a £1 coin for each locker which is refundable. Parents need to supervise their own children. 61 places so first come first served Please send cheque Payable to Jigsaw to; Diane Madelin 28, Waterloo Crescent, Wigston Leicestershire LE18 3QH Family Name Number in party Address Tel No 5 AT THE FUN HOUSE a.k.a ‘The Wacky Warehouse’ The Bell Fountain, 51 Bell Street, Wigston, LE18 1AD. (Entrance to car park via Paddock Street from the junction at Bull Head Street) Funded by Miracles to Believe In and booked exclusively by Jigsaw for ASD children and their siblings* 2012 sessions are: 15 th April; 13 th May; 10 th June, and 15 th July. Dates for September - Dec will be confirmed shortly! All sessions are from 5.00pm to 7.00pm All Jigsaw Softplay sessions are free and include the children’s refreshments. Childcare will be available to supervise the children at each session to give parents and carers the opportunity of a short break! Children can also get membership to the Bell Fountain’s ‘Loyalty Club’ reward scheme which can provide things like free meals etc to those who attend regularly! Any enquiries, please call Dave on 07582197173 *Please note this facility has height and age restrictions of approximately 4ft 9 inches /12 years old. 6 Leicestershire Autistic Society 100 Club 2012-13 Please register me as a member of the 100 Club for April 2012- March 2013 and enter me in the monthly cash prize draw. Name: ……………………………………………………………………. Address: ………………………………………………………………… Telephone: ………………….E-mail: …………………………………. I enclose a cheque for £12 payable to the Leicestershire Autistic Society Signed: …………………………………. Date: ……………………… Return to Lindy Hardcastle 31 Flaxfield Close Groby LE6 0EZ Leicestershire Autistic Society 100 Club 2012-13 Please register me as a member of the 100 Club for April 2012- March 2013 and enter me in the monthly cash prize draw. Name: ……………………………………………………………………. Address: ………………………………………………………………… Telephone: ………………….E-mail: …………………………………. I enclose a cheque for £12 payable to the Leicestershire Autistic Society Signed: …………………………………. Date: ……………………… Return to Lindy Hardcastle 31 Flaxfield Close Groby LE6 0EZ 7 Join the 100 Club! The 100 Club, launched six years ago, has been a great success, pro- viding a steady income for the Leicestershire Autistic Society.