The project aims to support and nurture the Caregivers alongside the Child.
We aim to create a unique atmosphere where healthy relationships can grow.
Program 1
We work in Children's Centres with children on the autistic spectrum and other communication and sensory needs together with their parents or primary carers. This is a performative model where together with the child, we all create something which we come to value and appreciate as we come to know one another. The special space we create involves us all. We take care not to overwhelm the child by taking on specific roles one at a time within the sessions. This supports the child in her/his showing with the time and space needed to make that possible. This is a reflective practice for all of us so we come to know how we are feeling and how this affects the child and to give attention to our own well-being alongside the child.
Program 2
We also work in schools with children with PMLD with high medical needs. They are joined in the sessions with a Teaching Assistant (TA) who knows the child well. These school Carers traditionally build up strong connections in very practical, rich and immediate ways with the children and in this sense are natural attachment figures when the child is at school. In these sessions we highlight the modality of Therapeutic Touch as a way to tune in to a child and what they experience and feel. It gives us a rich way of adapting our approach and contact in real-time as the child changes from moment to moment during a session. We do this by the practising listening and observing haptically -through touch. We link this quality of focus towards the child when at rest, into expressive ways of moving and using voice/sound together when at play.
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How to frame and celebrate the place of Parents, Families and School Carers and their role in following the child’s development through different stages of his/her life?
As a starting point
** Notice the child's interest and join them here **
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