Media Release

Three Somerset families help to publicise fantastic work done by Yeovil Opportunity Group Pre-School with children who have additional needs

Three families from Somerset are joining a campaign to support and publicise a Yeovil organisation which has been helping South Somerset children with a variety of additional needs for almost 50 years.

Five year old Jack has autism and attended the Yeovil Opportunity Group pre-school at the Balidon Centre before going on to a specialist school in Yeovil. Jack's mother, Alice Dawkins from Crewkerne, said she was initially unaware YOG existed and hadn't realised there was an alternative to mainstream nurseries for pre-schoolers with additional needs.

Alice says, "While Jack was at YOG we didn't actually have a diagnosis of autism, but I had a feeling that something was different about my son and although other professionals tried to persuade us that a mainstream pre-school was the way ahead, it was apparent that Jack's needs just weren't being met at a mainstream nursery. He made no friends there and would be the one flicking the light switches off and on, or refusing to sing with the other children or just standing alone in a corner."

Through a chance meeting with a member of staff at a local swimming pool Alice heard about the Yeovil Opportunity Group and discovered how it could help her son.

At YOG Alice found parents in a similar situation and there was a sense of relief that finally she was in a community that understands and supports both the child and its family.

Alice comments, "YOG seems to be a very well-kept secret. Even the mainstream nursery did not know about them and in fact when Jack was attending both YOG and the mainstream nursery, YOG staff went along and helped to train them about autism and dealing with Jack."

Another parent who totally agrees with Alice is Yeovil-based Lucy Read whose son Ollie was diagnosed with autism and global development delay a year ago. Lucy says, "Finding YOG was the best thing that could have happened to us. Ollie had been in a mainstream nursery but he was always separated from the other children and there was very little engagement.

"We found out about YOG via our health visitor, otherwise I would not have known anything about it. Ollie loved it straight away and loves going every morning from 9pm - 12 noon."

Lucy explains that Ollie was about two and a half years old when he stopped responding to his name. She says, "It wasn't just that, he was also doing so many things behaviourally that were so different from the other children of a similar age.

"At YOG they really understandOllie's needs and he is in an environment where he receives almost one to one attention from staff. Ollie's key worker has been at YOG for a long time and she is very experienced and knows exactly how to get the best from our son. In fact Ollie gets on really well with all the staff."

Another plus point is the outside facilities provided by YOG. Lucy says, ""Ollie loves being outside and at YOG it is really secure. Ollie running off has always been a big worry because he can't tell people who he is - it's really important that he has somewhere safe to play outdoors and YOG is able to provide that."

Since attending YOG, Ollie's speech is slowly improving and he has access to a speech therapist as well as an occupational therapist and a portage worker. He has also started to feed himself with YOG staff having the knowledge and understanding of Ollie's sensory issues helping to make this possible.

Yeovil mum, Vicky Mohammadi is the parent of three year old Theo who also attends the Yeovil Opportunity Group. She picked up on one of the problems which can prove a barrier to other parents who could benefit from the help YOG can offer. "Sometimes mums don't like the idea of their children going to a "special needs play school" but if they came to YOG they would find it actually pays dividends for children like our son Theo because the staff are much better trained to cope and they get to hear about all the other support in the area."

Theo was born with talipes which makes walking very difficult and he is also non-verbal and has global development delay.

Vicky says, "At YOG Theo is provided with a walking frame, and there is a great sensory room plus a lot of outdoor space providing a safe environment for Theo to crawl around. At the mainstream nursery there was just concrete outside which wasn't suitable for him."

As well as speech therapists, occupational and physio therapists, the children also receive stimulatingmusic therapy sessionsonce a week which helps them to engage with their environment and develop their sensory perceptions.

All three families are keen to see Yeovil Opportunity Group thrive and continue with the amazing work it has done for the past 50 years. Manager Kim Duller said, "Yeovil is very fortunate in having this unique pre-school available. We wantto continue to reach out to families as the first choice as soon as they realise their child may have an additional need rather than YOG being perceived as a last resort. Once here, families also appreciate the connections they make with other parents who have had similar experiences to their own."

Yeovil based Dr Michael Fernando*, Consultant Paediatrician and Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, became a Trustee of YOG as he was impressed by the specialist nursery care it offered infants over the past few decades.

Kim Duller commented, "We are really fortunate to have Dr Fernando on the YOG board and he has seen, first-hand, the benefits children with additional needs gain from attending our pre-school. As well as benefitting the development of children, the group also plays a key part in the professional development of student doctors, who attend pre-school regularly."

For more information about YOG, please visit:www.yog.org.ukor contact: Kim Duller, E/:kim@yog.org.ukor T/: 01935 384157

For more press information and a hi res image, contact Jane Adkins, A Head for PR, T/: 01935 813114 or M/: 07960698089 or E/:jane@aheadforpr.co.uk

Editor's Notes

Yeovil Opportunity Group is based at the Balidon Centre on Preston Road, Yeovil and aspires to continue to lead the way in pre-school education for children and families with additional needs after nearly 50 years; Yeovil Opportunity Group was amongst the first of its kind in the country to offer specialist support. It was founded by a paediatrician and a social worker who saw the need for therapy and learning through play and family support for children with special needs, aged 0-5 years.

Yeovil Opportunity Group works with both pre-school children and families, it offers time and space and many years of experience from a specialist and highly trained team.

The Group can consider taking any child, depending on theirs and/or the family's level of need. Although a referral is not necessary in order for a child to attend, referrals can come from GPs,health visitors, paediatricians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and SENCOs as well as other pre-schools and nurseries

Councillor Jane Lock is Chair of Trustees for the Yeovil Opportunity Group.

*Dr Fernando has extensive experience in assessing children for a wide range of issues including Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorders. He has 19 years of experience in Paediatrics and trained in Edinburgh, London, Kent and New Zealand.

JUNE 2017 (YOG 02)