What a busy week it’s been for us here at Awesome Archie 🙂
Our week started with a meeting at Bournemouth hospital with The UHD charity’s high flyers Janine Golding (community fundraiser) and Jessica Tyler (fundraising manager).
You may recall that in 2024, Archie and I were invited to become official fundraisers of “The BEACH Appeal”, one of the UHD charity’s MANY fundraising missions. This is something that, as a family using the children’s wards rather regularly, we of course were elated to support!
So, we started spreading awareness in our school assemblies, on our website and in our content. We wrote “Awesome Archie has surgery”, a book that has been donated to the charity, that the LEGEND Harry Redknapp signed and that will also be used to support neurodivergent kids having surgeries to get prepared at pre-op 🙂 We also launched our world book day event as a BEACH appeal fundraiser… everyone welcome!
Janine and Jessica spoke so passionately about the work they do and so I felt that I needed to share. The UHD raise money and this is used in a variety of ways.
As part of The BEACH Appeal, we will be raising funds for the additional items that will further enhance the new purpose-built Children’s Health Department in the new BEACH Building at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
This includes the special extras for the classroom and new indoor and outdoor play areas to help ensure 1,800 young patients do not miss out on their education each year while they need hospital care.
The new classroom will need items that aren’t covered by NHS funds such as:
- Interactive whiteboard
- iPads
- Laptops
- Height adjustable tables
Some patients between 3-17 years old need hospital care during the time of their education. We don’t want to see them miss out.
We need your help to raise £12,000 to install enhanced technology in the children’s department in the new BEACH building at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
The Quay School at Poole Hospital provides full-time education to patients who are unable to access mainstream schools and to ensure education contributes positively to patient recovery.
When the Quay School moves to our brand-new children’s department, there’s an opportunity to fully equip the classroom with technology that is beyond NHS funds to help transform patient care and their education.
The impact we can make:
- Patients will receive personalised learning opportunities in a creative and supportive environment.
- Instead of crowding around a laptop, an interactive whiteboard could be used to share presentations, videos and children’s own work on a large screen.
- With iPads, children could connect with their home school during their hospital stay and engage with interactive activities.
- Bed-bound children could join in with activities on iPads and laptops.
- Each child could have an individual table tailored to their height, including wheelchair users.
You can see why this fundraising mission means so much to us and why we are so honored to be a very small part of it!
If you think that you could help us on our AWESOME mission then please scan the link or simply google “The BEACH appeal UHD Charity” to find out more!
Identical diagnosis= different presentations.
This week has been a tough one for many of our families. I have had so many conversations with parents that simply feel overwhelmed and out of their depth. To reassure you all, I think that this is how most parent carers feel… I know I often do!
The common theme though, is how different their autistic child appears to be in comparison with EVERY other autistic child that they have met.
WELCOME TO THE AWESOME AUTISTIC WORLD!
This is one of the many reasons that autism fascinates me so much. Did you know that the only thing that an autistic brain has in common with another autistic brain is that they have NOTHING in common. AWESOME!
Now to get an official autism diagnosis, you are assessed by highly trained professionals who are using the DSM5 criteria . They look for differences within your child’s behaviours and that of the predominant neurotype and although the criteria of assessment is the same for all , the presentation of each child will be vastly different!
No wonder so many parents get confused!
We have created some visuals, that are free for you to screenshot and print out or save on your phone if you need a reminder that YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! This is a tough gig! Just follow us on our socials for daily updates, hints and tips like this one 🙂 Links to our socials are at the top of our home page 🙂
And lastly …
OUR AWESOME MERCH… donated by my dear friend Bex.
Bex has been a friend of mine for over 35 years… yes she really does deserve a medal 😉 Although she now lives up in Surrey she still pops by now and then and usually with something AWESOME for us to use in our work 🙂 This week she came with personalised Awesome Archie school bags and a super cool T-shirt AND an electronic standing desk!!!! She’s the best!!!!! We also have a phenomenal comic written for Archie by her lovely son.
All of this merch will be donated or used to keep supporting the Autistic children in our community.
Bex, THANKYOU!! We can only continue doing what we do because of the kindness and generosity of people like you!!!
https://www.facebook.com/reel/926059216354328
