A 13-year-old boy suffering from autism and cerebral palsy has been gifted a new garden swing from Simon’s Heroes children’s charity, to help manage his anxiety and sensory needs.
John-hefin Bielawski from Lichfield was born with a number of conditions including cerebral palsy, autism and thrombocytopenia (blood clotting disorder), as a result of his premature birth at 28 weeks. He has severe learning and sensory processing difficulties, which makes him under and over sensitive to some everyday situations.
John-hefin’s anxiety is often soothed by taking part in an activity that comforts his senses such as a weighted blanket, tactile activity or a vestibular, such as spinning on a chair or using his garden swing.
He really enjoys playing outside but had outgrown the wooden swing in his garden, which had become unstable and dilapidated.
Simon’s Heroes supplied and installed a new steel framed swing with additional nest seat and safety matting for the base.
“John-hefin is thrilled with his new swing”, his mum Rachael said. “He spends most evenings and weekends on it. It provides a great calming mechanism for his anxiety and has given me peace of mind, without the fear of it collapsing on top of him. Only trouble is I can’t get him off it! Thank you so much, it has made such a difference to our lives”
Simon’s Heroes would like to thank Mark Whitehouse, Steve Adams and the charity members that gave their time to fulfil this project
Author: C Abbott.
