News and Events

WINTER NEWS:

YOUTH CLUB—ROYALS

In September our Wednesday youth club, moved to new premises at the Royals in Rainham. This move has been very successful with our young members now able to access new opportunities including, pool, table tennis, play stations and computers. The membership of this group has been on the rise and we would like to welcome all the new families who have accessed this club.

LIFE PROJECT

Following many months of planning our LIFE (Local Intervention Fire Education) project took place at Dagenham fire station in September. Eight PACT member’s were given the opportunity to work with hoses, ladders and breathing equipment which led to a full display of all the skills they had learnt from their week together. We hope to be able to repeat this project in 2010 as the participants had the opportunity to improve their communication skills, team work and interaction with others. The project was extremely enjoyable for everyone.

LIVING LIBRARIES

Also in September we took part in the Barking and Dagenham ‘Living Libraries’ event. This event involved members of the public borrowing someone from the local community rather than a book for 10 -15 minutes and then having the opportunity to ask them questions about their lives, occupations and their organisation. As a result we had the opportunity to raise the awareness of autism to the general public and discuss the barriers, people with autism face in their daily lives.

FOOTBALL

Our football sessions have proved to be as popular as ever and we would like to thank Rob, Andrew and Chris for supporting this activity. We played a match against AbPhab youth club on 3rd December in which we won 6 - 5.

MODEL RAILWAY NIGHT

At the junior youth clubs we ran two model railway nights. PACT members had the opportunity to make and paint buildings, design a layout board and play with trains for the evening. This activity helped the young people to work and communicate together as a team and within the space of two hours create their own club layout from scratch. We would like to thank the members of East Ham and District model railway club for their support on these evenings.

DCATCH

Our work with the DCATCH (Disabled Children’s Access to Childcare) project in Barking and Dagenham is on going. If any parent or carer living in that borough has a child aged 5 to 19 with additional needs and is serious about returning to work or needs specific training to find a job, or is finding it hard to find childcare, than this is the project to support you. Please contact Chrissy Phillips at the local authority to find out more about the project and what services can be provided. Chrissy’s number is 0208 227 5398 or email Christine.phillips@lbbd.gov.uk please remember to mention PACT when contacting the DCATCH project.

CONNEXIONS

During the autumn we have run a number of workshops with the local Connexions service, looking at selecting options, further education and training and future employment aspirations. These sessions were held at our senior youth clubs and our members had the opportunity to look at the options available to them as they plan for their futures. This work is on going and should any families want any support around working with Connexions, looking for colleges or further education, please contact the PACT office.

TRAMPOLINING

This autumn on Saturday morning’s we have been running a trampolining club at Castle Green in Dagenham. Over twenty PACT young members accessed the sessions which ran for a ten week period. At the final session in October all participants gave a demonstration of what they had learnt and were presented with a certificate of achievement. We hope to be in a position, subject to receiving funding of running a new Saturday club in the future.

TENNIS

In the October half term PACT members had the chance to experience lawn tennis at the Cranston Park Club in Upminster. These sessions proved very successful and we hope that some members may be encouraged to take up this sport as a result of attending the taster sessions at the club. We hope to be looking at providing opportunities to access other new sports in the future.

CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES

In December we will run two activities, our family Christmas Disco and Jack Petchey awards night on the 5th December at Marks Gate Community Hall and the 12 years of age and under Christmas Party at Timbuk2 on the 13th December. These two activities give parents and families the opportunity to come together, meet new friends and have fun in a safe environment. We hope to see as many PACT families and friends as possible as we celebrate the achievements and successes of our members in a very busy and exciting 2009.

PACT FORUM

PACT has started a Parent Forum. This site is a great way for parents to talk to each other about matters related to Autism as well as having a general chat with each other.

It is also an opportunity to ask questions to the PACT team.

For younger members there is a separate section for them to chat to each other.(Under 18’s will need parental permission to use this site. please contact the office for details on 020 8220 0090.)

This site is for the use of PACT members ONLY

You will need to register to fully use this site. For instructions on how to do this log onto the website pactuk.freeforums.org and click on the Welcome topic.

PARENT SUPPORT GROUP

DECEMBER:-

There will be NO support group in December.

27 JANUARY 2010:-

Phillipa Moss a Research Assistant at The Institute of Psychiatry in London will be giving a presentation on:-

“IMPACT OF AUTISM IN ADULT LIFE”

24 FEBRUARY 2010:-

Piotr Waltos from Barking and Dagenham CAMHS Will be giving a talk on:-

“SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENTS”

To book a place, want more information or if you would like to be kept informed of future topics please contact the office.

This support group is aimed at the needs of our parents and we will try to get speakers regarding topics our members want to discuss.

Come along and share experiences and maybe in the process help another parent.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY

The PACT office will be closed for the Christmas Holiday

from:

4.00pm on Wednesday 23rd December 2009

and will reopen in the New Year at:

9.00am on Monday 4th January 2010

CONFERENCE 2010

We are pleased to announce our forthcoming Conference

To be held on the 3rd MARCH 2010:-

9.30AM UNTIL 2.30PM

VENUE: ROMFORD YMCA,
RUSH GREEN ROAD,
ROMFORD,
ESSEX,
RM7 0PH.

SPEAKERS

ROS BLACKBURN

Was diagnosed at an early age as severely autistic but with average intellectual ability. She is an internationally renowned speaker who will give both helpful information into living with autism and a unique insight into her own experiences of autism

&

ROD MORRIS

An adult with Asperger syndrome co-author of Aspergers for Professionals and Aspergers for Parents

Lunch provided

DELEGATES FEES

Parents: £15.00 Professionals: £40.00

Please contact the office for more information.

Thank You.

THE GREETINGS CARD COMPANY

Charity Cards and more......

We have signed up to The Greetings Card Company website which will allow you to select from a wide range of cards and gifts for all occasions and still be supporting PACT. We will receive 7.5% of the value of your order. The website address is: www.charitycards.co.uk/charities/pact

EASYFUNDING

P.A.C.T. have signed up to the "Easyfunding" on-line scheme

This is a FREE service where you can shop with your favourite online stores and at no extra cost raise funds for our charity. You still shop directly with each retailer as you would normally, simply by logging onto the links below before you shop each retailer will make a cashback donation to PACT. There are a variety of famous retailers who have joined this scheme so please support us by logging onto : easyfundraising.org.uk