{"id":45760,"date":"2024-03-14T10:57:18","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T10:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=45760"},"modified":"2025-12-12T15:33:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T15:33:13","slug":"sense-holiday-orla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/sense-holiday-orla\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sense Holiday helped social butterfly Orla to stretch her wings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Orla, 11, came on her very first Sense Holiday<\/a> last year, and had an amazing time. Orla has CHARGE syndrome<\/a>, which means she is deafblind<\/a> \u2013 although she does have some vision, so she uses British Sign Language (BSL)<\/a>. She also has some difficulty with her balance, and eats her meals through a feeding tube. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, this means that Orla can\u2019t go anywhere without her parents, but with Sense she was in safe hands. Here, mum Anna tells us all about Orla\u2019s special holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was our first time sending Orla on a Sense Holiday, in summer 2023, so we weren\u2019t sure what to expect. But the break gave her the chance to feel like any other 11-year-old girl. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Orla<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sense Holidays are so important for families like ours. We can\u2019t usually find childcare for Orla, or just send her to her grandparents, for example, because there\u2019s a lot to think about. It\u2019s a relief to know that there\u2019s a service that can support us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most of all, it offers a priceless experience for people like Orla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world isn\u2019t built for her, so it\u2019s difficult for her to have experiences that other children get to have, like going on holiday with her friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On holiday with Sense, she got to spend time with her best friend, doing things she loves like painting her nails and exploring the forest \u2013 and to do it all without her parents around. It brought her into the world a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orla was full of excitement as soon as we booked her holiday<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the build-up to her holiday, Orla was so excited she kept checking the date in the calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was doubly excited because she knew her family wasn\u2019t coming with her \u2013 this was just her thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sense helped us to feel really confident about sending her away with them. They didn\u2019t seem daunted by anything we talked them through, like Orla\u2019s feeding tube. They\u2019ve got so much experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also sent a little video of the accommodation for us to watch, so Orla could see it before the holiday. She loved watching that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site had a little farm, with a trampoline and a playground in the woods. It seemed perfect for her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting to have a regular holiday experience was special for Orla<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Friends<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The holiday itself was very chilled out. They spent time on the site, bouncing on the trampoline and seeing the animals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orla loved doing everybody\u2019s hair and nails, getting her face painted, and spending time in the big sensory room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Orla\u2019s favourite thing was just hanging out. Orla loves <\/em>people. She\u2019s really social, and she wants to chat to everyone she meets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was so special for her to spend time in an environment where lots of other people could sign. Usually, she can\u2019t just go up to anyone and say what she needs or wants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She relies a lot on me and her dad to interpret for her. To have that easy communication without us was amazing for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also had a best friend there on the holiday with her. Orla\u2019s friend Bethany also has CHARGE, and we\u2019ve kept in touch for years, but her family lives quite far away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On holiday together, Orla and Bethany got to share a room. They had a lot of fun, and it really helped their friendship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, they have to rely on adults quite a lot. But they got to have a real sleepover without their mums around, just like any mates hanging out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was really lovely, because Orla doesn\u2019t normally get to do things like that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her holiday experience has opened up Orla\u2019s world<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s kept her photo diary of her holiday next to her bed, and she looks at it all the time. She\u2019s always asking me, ‘Mum, can I go again next year?’\u201d<\/p>Anna, Orla’s mum<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When we went to pick Orla up from her Sense Holiday, she actually didn\u2019t want to come home with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d had such a good time, she looked so relaxed and happy. It was lovely to see her like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since coming back, Orla is definitely more confident. She\u2019s really trying to be a bit more independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019ll do things like getting her own food out of the cupboard ready for mealtimes, and putting herself to bed. She just feels a bit more mature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s kept her photo diary of her holiday next to her bed, and she looks at it all the time. She\u2019s always asking me, \u201cMum, can I go again next year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sense Holiday has given her so many happy memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In BSL, she told me: \u201cI love holidays and I am starting to stretch and grow my wings and I love being independent from my mum and dad! I love spending time in a full signing environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n

Find out more about our impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Read more stories from disabled people with complex needs and their families who access our services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Find out more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orla, 11, came on her very first Sense Holiday last year, and had an amazing time. Her mum Anna tells us all about it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":45797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"display_author":[1300],"class_list":["post-45760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","display_author-anna-3"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45760"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=45760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}