Sensory toys calm Daniel down
Ten year old Daniel lives in Northern Ireland with his mum Tatiana, dad Selmison, and younger brother Diogo.
Daniel was diagnosed as autistic at the age of five. “Daniel is verbal and has very specific interests. He has certain topics that he loves to speak about and it can frustrate him when someone doesn’t want to listen to him.
“Daniel goes to an integrated mainstream school with a classroom assistant. He enjoys the company of other children but he will become agitated if there’s a lot of noise. Daniel also has a learning disability so he tends to play more with kids younger than him as he’s not as mature as other kids his age.
“When Daniel was younger, he had poor danger awareness. Thankfully, it has improved now that he’s older but he can still cross the road without looking properly. We have to prompt Daniel often so that he understands easily. We have found that creating social stories helps.”
Tatiana says, “On a good day, Daniel is a very happy, caring and an active boy who’s full of energy. However, on days where something upsets him, he can become very nervous and a little bit aggressive.”
How has the cost of living crisis impacted you?
“The cost of living crisis is making our lives harder. I used to be a full time carer for my children, but due to the rising cost of living I’ve had to get a new job which has had a negative effect on Daniel’s behaviour.
“We have a car but since fuel prices have increased, we’ve had to stop going on as many day trips as we used too and we can no longer afford to take Daniel to his horse riding lessons.”
“Our family is also seeing the prices of our bills going up. We try our best not to use as much energy. We encourage everyone to put on another layer of clothing instead of putting the heating on.”
How have Family Fund helped?
“Family Fund are very helpful. Money is tight and we can’t afford to buy the important things that Daniel needs.”
“Family Fund helped us with a new tumble dryer when our old one broke down and we also received a grant for some sensory toys and equipment. We used it to buy some kinetic sand, drums, aromatherapy oils and a weighted blanket. It helped us to understand what would help Daniel to calm down.
“We also received a grant for a trampoline, which gives Daniel an outlet to burn off excess energy and manage his anxiety. Daniel needs physical exercise to be happier and calmer.
“We received a family break grant which we used to visit our family in Portugal. It was really nice to have a break from the stress. I believe that the stress is affecting our health so to have a break was lovely to relax and recharge. Without Family Fund there was no chance that we would have been able to do that.”