Young people participate in Zoom Arts & Crafts at Autonomie

Yesterday’s afternoon session (Wednesday 10 June 2020) focused on arts and crafts.

Áine and Nicole led the call and were joined by 8 of our young people.

Áine had created some crafts using pasta and other dried foods that we have at home, and with Nicole’s assistance talked the young people and their parents through the craft step-by-step.

Some of the young people worked entirely independently and did exceptionally well. Everyone concentrated very well and the creativity shown was amazing.

A lot of the parents were seen to be enjoying this activity also. Nicole made everyone laugh with her own drawings and funny self portrait. Each young person completed the task to a very high level and seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

A lot of them used initiative and altered Áine’s ideas slightly, making their own unique artwork. We finished with another fun game of Pictionary similar to yesterday’s morning session but this time animal themed.

Both Áine and Nicole were very impressed by everyones efforts and loved hearing all the suggestions for future A&C sessions.

#AutonomieLive #AutonomieCoronavirusSupportHub

Autonomie recognises and thanks parents and siblings on carers week

This #CarersWeek we want to recognise and raise awareness of all the parents (Autonomie VIPs) and young people who take time out of their childhood to support their siblings with additional needs.

In these exceptional times, you have been exceptional and remember self-care is not selfish.

#MakingCaringVisible

#AutonomieHereForYou

#SelfCareIsNotSelfish

#AutonomieVIPs

#AutonomieSibs

coffee break and games as new live interactive sessions launch today

Today (Tuesday 9th June 2020) was the first day of our Zoom interactive sessions.

We started the day off socialising via Zoom and many young people took part in games this afternoon.

Danni explains what everyone got up to at today’s coffee break and social:

“This morning was the first Zoom coffee morning set up with the young people and parents.

“8 young people joined Naomi and myself for a morning of good company and conversation. Nicole and the other team leaders also joined us for a little while.

“The young people chatted about what they have been up to in the weeks since lockdown began.

Some showed off artwork (such as the making of bracelets and cards) they had made and one young person who started a drawing of a snake showed it to everyone in the afternoon session.

We even showed off our dogs (mine getting spoilt by sitting on my knee). Young people and parents appeared to really enjoy this morning interaction with everyone. It was really cool to catch up with the young people involved and I cant wait to see them all in the next session.”

This afternoon Naomi hosted a games with support from Danni.

Nicole also popped onto the call to observe and due to a slight technical issue hosted a game of higher and lower enabling Naomi to focus on the a solution to the tech issue.

Naomi then hosted a game of guess the object. Young people enjoyed the games with one young person saying "I liked that game".

Taking turns, young people got a chance to lead the game. They also took it in turns to talk to one another which worked really well.

#AutonomieLive #AutonomieCoronavirusSupportHub #DigitalAccessibility

Interactive Animal Show proves a real hit with our members

Thanks to everyone who tuned into Wee Critters today at part of Freedom2Choose.

Special thanks to Allan and all the animals at Wee Critters for an very entertaining, fun and informative session.

We have already received lots of fantastic feedback from today’s session from parents and our young people and we will share that will you all very soon.

Thanks to Emma our host and Allan for effectively navigating a small technical hitch at the start of the session. (No one ever said working with computers and animals was easy)..

Thanks also to Community Fund NI for funding the 10” tablets loaned by many of our members to access today’s interactive activities.

Based on the fantastic feedback we are already planning to host another Wee Critters session again soon!

Until then, check out Wee Critters’ Facebook page and even tune in on Monday for Allan’s latest interactive animal educational session. There are lots more animal videos available to watch on Wee Critters Facebook page.

#Freedom2ChooseProg #AutonomieCoronavirusSupportHub #CommunityFundNI

Young people use tablets to connect, engage and build skills using our services during Covid-19 crisis

Members that have loaned our 10” Lenovo Tablets to help them access our online activities whilst our centre is temporarily closed have already been putting them to good use!

Young people have used the tablets to take part in our catch-up Zoom chats, Zoom bingo, Wee Critters interactive session and lots more!

The tablets which we received thanks to some additional funding from Community Fund NI to provide our young people with tech to enable them to link into our daily/weekly interactive workshops and Zoom chats.

Loaned to young people, the tablets are pre-loaded with all the necessary software & apps.

If your son/daughter is currently a member and would like to be linked to these workshops or chats and could use the tablets please request one. The tablets are Lenovo Smart Tab M10 which also come with a sound/stand which means parents can set the tablet up and the young people can use it without concern about dropping them etc.

Everyone received a Stylus Pen so that those with difficulty using fingers on buttons may use the pen. Please note: The tablets are only available to our current members and will need to be returned to Autonomie at the end of Covid-19 so that they can be used within our other programmes.

A Tablet can still be requested by contacting our Chief Officer Lynne Morrison by email at autonomieorg@gmail.com

#DigitalAccessibility #AutonomieCoronavirusSupportHub #CommunityFundNI

Members access new live Zoom interactive sessions at Autonomie

At Autonomie, we are proud to empower young people aged 16-25 years in Belfast and surrounding areas with additional needs.

We successfully adapted our services to deliver online support to our young people during the Covid-19 pandemic and we continue to deliver new and innovative ways to support and empower our members at this time of huge uncertainty.

Today (9th June 2020) we are delighted to launch our new LIVE weekday schedule!

Members can now access live structured online interactive activities Tuesday to Friday.

It’s important young people have structured opportunities daily to socialise with others, develop and learn new skills and feel part of a community!

Feedback from parents and young people help shape our services and we are delighted to offer our members a full weekly schedule of activities.

So, what’s on!

Tuesday - Friday our members can access: 10.00 am - 11.00 am Coffee break and social time. (Our host this morning is Danni & Naomi)

2.00 pm - 3.00 pm - Live interactive activities session (today it’s games with Naomi).

FULL 4 WEEK SCHEDULE

We would like to thank Community Fund NI for funding tablets which many of our young people have loaned during the Covid-19 outbreak to access our services.

#AutonomieCoronavirusSupportHub #WhatNextProg #AutonomieOnlineCoffeeBreak #CommunityFundNI #DigitalAccessibility

This Volunteers Week Our volunteers tell us what they like best about being part of our team

As we celebrate our amazing volunteers this Volunteers Week (1-7 June 2020) we find out what some of our volunteers like best about volunteering with us.

Autonomie Celebrate World Environment Day 2020

Today is World Environment Day. At Autonomie, our members take part in a range fun and practical activities and that includes nature and environmental themes. Right now during Covid-19 our modified services have enabled young people to access environment themed activities such as:

• growing their own seeds

• making a bird house/feeder from recycled and natural materials

• celebrating the seasons by painting Spring inspired flower pictures

• Nicole’s guess the animal game

• Wee Critters Animal show

• Drawing and mimicking animals and more!

  Practical ways to look after our environment include:
  

💧 turn off the cold water tap when brushing your teeth

♻️ check all household waste and place each waste item in the correct bin once washed (if needed)

🧴 If buying plastic bottles, buy larger family sized bottles of items like water, shampoo and even washing up liquid as you will use less plastic

Any more ideas? Share them with us on our Facebook page!

#WorldEnvironmentDay #ReduceReuseRecycle

Autonomie Chief Officer Lynne Morrison has this message for our amazing volunteers

Our volunteers are absolutely vital to continue the work we do at Autonomie. 

They really do make such a difference. We want them to know how much they are appreciated and we cannot thank them enough for their commitment and support. Each and every one of them is a vital asset to our services

Our strapline is  ‘Ability Not Disability’ - and this is no more true in the case in our volunteering team.

Selfies put volunteers in spotlight this Volunteer Awareness Week

This week for Volunteers Week (1-7 June) we are celebrating the vital contribution of our volunteers.

Volunteers are at the heart of Autonomie. Our programmes volunteers, trustees and supporters help us be a success.

We thank all of our volunteers past and present for their time, valuable contribution and expertise.

As our great team of volunteers are at home due to the Covid-19 outbreak we asked them to take a selfie - a chance to put them in the spotlight which they each so richly deserve.

First up, a big selfie spotlight shout out to Conor, Naomi and Sarah!

Thank you for all that you do!

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek