I go home exhausted but satisfied: teacher Liz Hodges on Sense Family Days

Hi, I’m Liz Hodges, a qualified teacher of deafblind children. I have been working in the field for almost 40 years.

In this time I’ve worked with deafblind people from almost birth to young adults, and as a class teacher, an advisory teacher and a teacher trainer. 

I’ve supported families as they understand their child’s needs, as they seek appropriate education, as they consider their adult lives.

Sense Family Days

I love to welcome children and young people to Sense’s Family Days.

We hold a variety of different days to appeal to the wide range of our families; some are active such as climbing or dancing, others are creative such as craft or paint, and some are focused on specific age groups such as storytelling or spa day. 

Leo and his mum, Simona

Leo and his mum Simona have come to a few of our Family Days at our centre in Barnet. Leo feels at home in the centre and likes to scoot around the building finding things to do.

He does have a go at most of our special areas, such as the sensory room and art room. He likes to explore different things. 

Leo loved sharing in a range of sensory activities, especially ‘Sensory Storytime’.

We included things we knew would be attractive and would work for children who are deaf and have vision impairment. This way he extended his attention, and engaged with what was going on, which was great for him.

Liz on Sensory Storytime

Let’s Have a Ball!

It was great at our ball party (‘Let’s Have a Ball’ Family Day) that Leo played alongside some other children. He also sat at our dining table and ate lunch with all of us.

It’s important for children that they see themselves as part of the community, and sometimes disabled children with complex needs can feel on the outside of the activities or picked out.

Leo loved sharing in a range of sensory activities, especially ‘Sensory Storytime’, which was carefully designed to make sure that our children with sensory impairments were fully part of the activity. He used his eyes and listening because we used things we knew would be attractive and would work for children who are deaf and have vision impairment. This way he extended his attention, and engaged with what was going on, which was great for him.

Feeling included

At Sense Family Days, children will always feel included.  And that includes the siblings. We include siblings in the experiences, they get to use arts and crafts, to join in the dancing, to have a go at the spa.

It’s essential that these are family activities, and that families build relationships and have such a positive experience together – something which isn’t always available to them. 

When in-house (some of our activities are outside, such as farm visits, library visits or sailing) we always provide a friendly and comfortable environment.

This includes simple but vital things like making sure we have coffee and tea, and the good biscuits! And when we can, we the staff make the coffee.

Parents are often so busy with their disabled child that they never get time to take for themselves. If we make the coffee, it gives them permission to relax, while their child is engaged in activity, and have time for themselves. 

A place for families to come together

Family Days are also so important for the casual conversations with both parents and professionals.

Parents feel relaxed as their child is not judged or examined by other families and in that atmosphere, they can share things together, perhaps tips for managing sleep, or managing allowances, while enjoying the atmosphere and activities.

They may also talk to the Sense staff about things they are thinking about, such as worries at school, or about how a child is communicating. While we can’t do that in detail on the day – we’re too busy! – we can follow that up at a later date, something they might not have contacted us about initially.

“I go home exhausted but satisfied”

At the end of the day, I’m busy. Once the day is over, I like to send the families an individual letter with photographs of the things they have enjoyed, or a voice note, if the child can’t see, celebrating what they have done.

Leo’s letter had photographs of him, for example in the ball pool, playing with the drum and eating cake. It’s important to send these the same day or the next day at the latest, so the child might be able to remember more about what they did. 

Children can also share the photos with their school to show what they’ve been doing. It helps them to build good memories and understand more about their world. 

But – it is always a great feeling to have seen children and their families having a good time together and I go home exhausted but very satisfied!