Sponsored by
Love that conquers all
INSPIRATIONAL bunch, the parents of Wyre's wizkids. Or rather WISK ...
Wyre's Special Kidz. Got problems? This lot will put it into perspective. Need help? It's your's. Desperate for a shoulder to cry on? Here's a hanky and make yourself right at home.
So, armed with a cuppa, this newcomer feels right among friends. WISK has got that kind of vibe about it. Welcoming.
The parents here, or grandparents, or other carers, have learned in the school of hard knocks. Sometimes literally. Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, sundry syndromes ... they're all represented here.
"My oldest punched the youngest today so now there will be hell to pay at school because they don't think, for a moment, that my kids have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)," says one mum of four, who still looks 10 years younger than her 30 plus years. "Stress must keep me young."
Then there's the partners, hubbies, or well meaning relatives, back home, or within the extended family, who may not understand that turning a blind eye to a tiny transgression now may offset a major kicking screaming tantrum later on.
"There are people out there, in shops, other places, who just think our kids are being naughty. It's not about naughtiness. It's ADHD," adds another.
"It's not a matter of just disciplining them. Whatever you say goes in one ear and out the other. Really. It's all about left and right brain lobes and receptors not receiving and processing information properly."
We've dropped by at this support group to find out precisely why it's got Wyre Council sending herograms to organisers and committee members – and the kids themselves.
Wyre has just secured two grants under the National Lottery's Awards for All scheme for disabled sport and support projects.
One is for the Fleetwood Autistic Bouncing (FAB) Club for trampolines, coaching, hall hire and the like, and the other is to fund two adventure days away for WISK – Wyre Special Kidz.
In reality, you find there's a big crossover between the two ... some of the parents from the 'bouncing' club are at the latest WISK meeting.
All are delighted at news of the big grant, some 8,500, going to fund a family fun day at Wyre Estuary Countryside Park this summer, with climbing wall, high and low ropes, problem solving, and other activities ... and one super duper multi activity day at Borwick Hall in Carnforth, with activities around survival skills (and, boy, do these parents boast those!), orienteering for under-eights, climbing and other goodies.
It's a huge boost to morale, for a group now determined to register as a charity, when funds are generally tight for most involved , and treats thin on the ground.
The latest triumph, in a year which has seen 4,000 come in, for books, and T-shirts, and an eight week "get fit with WISK" sports campaign, is down to the commitment of all involved.
It's not one of those groups which lets the committee, and committee alone, get on with all the organising but it mucks in, no matter how stressed the parents are, or how busy their own diaries.
It helps that Wyre Council's own leisure inclusion officer Helen Jenkins, a former civil servant who wanted to make more of a difference to the quality of life of the community, helps out with WISK.
She's at the meeting, taking a low profile, but there to support parents to run the group themselves. She set up and coaches at the new multi sport sessions, mainly for autistic kids or others with learning difficulties who might miss out (or be excluded from) mainstream sessions.
And she's helped establish the WISK committee from among the parents themselves so they can become eligible for grants. It's really gained momentum this year.
Chat to the mums (and there are mostly mums present) and they can't sing WISK's praises highly enough. "There's someone to ring when I'm low," says one. "You know you're not alone," adds another. "You're among friends." "You can feel like topping yourself one minute and then come here and leave feeling back on top of things."
The fact that it's come to this, these twice monthly meetings, for such a large group of parents, all welcome,with no need to book unless you need childcare, inspiring, and uplifting, is down to one woman ... Julie Belsey.
Julie has a son with ADHD – pretty well grown up now – but she realised that very little help was out there to help her, or her son. "He's now at Bispham College, and I can't thank them enough for how much they've helped him , and stuck with him, and not let him down," she adds.
So eight years ago she decided to found her own support group – then Fleetwood Attention Deficit Disorder Support.
Julie started to volunteer at Surestart and back in 2007 the group decided there were many more it could help so it changed the name to the more inclusive WISK.
That's the ethos which has embraced so many worried parents and scooped up kids in danger of falling through society's safety net.
There's the raft of practical help – Barbara Worrall, the regional representative of an ADHD group, is guest speaker the day I drop by. She asks the group what words spring to mind when she mentions ADHD.
It's an eye opener – from all the parents, not just those with attention deficit charges. Short, succinct, replies which hammer home, right to your head, heart and guts: "society's attitude," "lack of other people's understanding," "no sleep", "hard work," "Jekyll and Hyde," "no sense of danger," "obsessive, disruptive, destructive," "being scared of calls from the school."
All negatives, you'll note. Barbara jots them all down. It's a long list.
Any positives, she calls? There's a heartwarming chorus of affirmatives – "polite, focused, intelligent" and many more. But one word rises above the lot, makes the tough love, the tears, the fears, recriminations, stares from parents and grandparents of kids who aren't autistic, or haven't got sight problems, Downs syndrome, Aspergers, Soto's, ADHD and the rest, worthwhile: "Loving. Our kids are loving."
l WISK meets the 1st and 3rd Thursday (except school hols) at Surestart Children's Centre, Eden Avenue, Fleetwood, from 10am to noon. Call (01253) 877540/07925 766484, email wisk07@live.co.uk or hit: http://www.freewebs.com/wisk07/
jacqui.morley@blackpoolgazette.co.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Blackpool
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 28 mph
Wind direction: North west
