SWAP Plus comes to a close
All good things must come to an end, and it is time for us to say goodbye to our SWAP Plus programme which began at the beginning of the year.
SWAP Plus replaced the original SWAP (Speak With A Picture) project and enabled parents/carers living in Barking & Dagenham to come along for a five week programme to support their child/children( aged 5-19) who have verbal communication difficulties. The programme focused on supporting these families to increase the lines of communication with their children through the use of pictures and symbols.
The aim of the programme was to focus on using pictures to aid communication including visual timetables, now & next boards, social stories plus lots of hints and tips to support positive communication strategies at home and in the wider community.
Emily Harber and Kerry Benham who ran the programme both said how wonderful it has been to see families progress with how they communicate with the children and really benefiting from meeting other families who are in similar positions. "We are so pleased to have reach over 30 families with this project and received overwhelming positive feedback from our parents saying how much the programme has taught them about communicating with their child."
Some of the feedback included…
- The people running it are very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. The material itself is very helpful, as well as the ability to ask specific questions.
- It has been so helpful to share experiences and try new things, and so grateful to Emily and Kerry for all of their tips and tricks to get our children communicating
- Perfectly run programme with people that have lived through the process themselves. This gives parents hope and reassurance. Thank you
- This programme has changed my life. I realise I need to be consistent, have patience and not give up.
- It is one of the best programme ever attended.
The Sycamore Trust would like to say a really big thank you to the B&D National Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) in Barking & Dagenham who funded this project.
