World Autism Awareness Week at Mires Beck
According to the National Autistic Society, autism is 'a spectrum condition and affects people in different ways'. Depending on the degree of autism that individuals have, they can have social communication/interaction challenges, repetitive and restrictive behaviour, over/under sensitivity to senses (such as light, taste, touch or sound), extreme anxiety, meltdowns/shutdowns, or a very high focus in hobbies/interests.
At Mires Beck Nursery, we make sure our service users/trainees are as comfortable as possible at our site. For example, in our main Oasis building (by the entrance), the Reckitts Foundation funded us with sound clouds to decrease the sound in the Oasis, especially for the service users who struggle and breakdown when loud noises are around them.
To contribute to World Autism Awareness Week, we have collected a few testimonials from parents of service users living with Autism. You can either come and see these testimonials in our retail area or see them below.
Testimonials from Parents
“Mires Beck is the only thing that Daniel has stuck at, as he started here at 18 years old and is now 33 in July! He absolutely loves the nursery and it gives him a sense of purpose which makes him proud to tell people that he works here. Daniel and I would both be completely lost without Mires Beck.” ~ Ann (Daniel’s Mum)
“When Mark attends Mires I always feel that he is safe. The staff and volunteers are kind people who look after Mark well. It's lovely to hear his news when he arrives home. As well as life skills Mark has learned a lot on how to care for plants and to mix with other trainees.” ~ Debra (Mark’s Mum)
“I am doing well at Mires. I'm doing a great job keeping the plants healthy. I think that the staff, volunteers and trainees are nice people.” ~ Mark himself
“Mires Beck is Callum’s oasis in the desert. It allows him to be an adult, allows him to grow, develop, learn new skills, make friends – but most of all it gives a purpose to live his life. We always say ‘Callum’s going to work’.
When at home during lockdown, he struggled to cope with the isolation and every day he asked ‘when am I going to Mires Beck?’ When he returned in November, the difference in him was obvious to see.
As parents of a vulnerable adult, the most difficult thing for us is finding a place to trust, where he’s safe, where he’s being cared for and when he’s being nurtured. Mires Beck ticks all these boxes in full!” ~ Dawn (Callum’s Mum)
All projects require fundraising and we are always looking for new sponsors and volunteers to help us realise the future aspirations to maintain the charity and help it to thrive. If you would like to help please contact us.