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The Toby Henderson Trust
   Services

Child Development Team Child Development Team
This team provides our flagship service at the centre, where pre school age children (a diagnosis does not necessarily have to been already secured) work intensively with our Play Therapists on a one to one basis to address issues of communication, interaction and joint attention. Sessions last approximately one hour and take place in specially designed distraction free playrooms, where parents observe and learn through adjoining 2 way mirrors. There is also access to toiletting facilities in the playrooms and sessions can often be ended with a fun visit to our Sensory Room.
Family Advice, Liaison and Support Service Family Advice, Liaison and Support Service
This service offers a wide range of support mechanisms to families, including advocacy, dissemination of information, preparation and submission of independent reports to contribute towards statements of special educational needs, help with DLA applications etc. This service continues to strive towards forging networking partnerships with other service providers for the greater good of those we support.

We are keen to visit schools, nuseries and all other agencies involved in our children to share information and experience.  
Family Training Workshops Family Training Workshops
Our next specialist training workshops are planned for April 2010 and will address issues of self awareness, puberty, realtionships and sexuality.

Requests for specific topics to be covered are currently being sought and an information request form can be obtained by contacting Lesley at the centre. Any further information about forthcoming workshops is available by contacting the centre for details.
Specialist Holiday Playscheme Specialist Holiday Playscheme
This service was specially commissioned by the Northumberland division of Social Services, to provide high quality full day care and social opportunities for two groups of children (aged 3 to 10 years) and young adults (aged 11 to 18 years) during all school holidays (with the current exception of Christmas.)

Outings are arranged in the charity mininbus and are a individually risk assessed to ensure they are appropriate to each group's individual needs. Summertime features lots of picnics, outdoor excursions, long walks and lots of physical activities - the colder months feature lots of visits to activity and leisure centres, swimming, soft play and maybe fish and chips for lunch in a cafe!
Specialist Counselling Service Specialist Counselling Service
 This service has really extended and diversified recently - we are now very proud to announce we are additionally working directly with children / young adults within the service who may have problems with their menta health, their aggression levels and general wellbeing.

Specilaist counselling can also address issues of personal trauma, including diagnosis, family anxieties and any other personal issues resulting from the experience of living with ASD in the family unit.
Outreach and Enabling Service Outreach and Enabling Service
We have recently extended our team of outreach workers. Outreach and enabling is a service whereby we come and collect your child from either home or their educational placement and we take them out on an enjoyable and constructive outing / experience. This offers the family some welcome respite and the child a unique opportunity for some experienced and knowledgeably sensitive one to one attention from our outreach team. This service can either be purchased privately or through socail services (including the use of direct payments).
Early Years Group Early Years Group
Early Years Group or "Friday Club" as we sometimes call it - is a small group of young ASD children who are aged around 5 / 6 years and who are in mainstream educational placements. However, they all do struggle with peer relationships and need intense support to develop their social understanding of group situations, sharing and being part of a friendly peer environment. It is agreed between school, parents and THT that their Friday afternoon is more productively spent in Early Years Group with us, where the children are intensively supported in addressing these difficulties and challenges.This group offers the opportunity for young ASD children to be supported and prepared to make a success of their full time educational placements. The groups are also very effective in familiarising and encouraging the children to initiate interaction within an early years group setting.
Intuitive Art Therapy and Point of Reference Therapy Intuitive Art Therapy and Point of Reference Therapy
A totally new service - this is being offered to both children and parents who may be experiencing difficulties in their lives.

Our holistic therapist would be happy to have a "first meeting" with you to discuss whether this may be an appropriate venture for you or for your child/young adult.

For further details please contact Lesley at the centre.

 
Training Courses for parents and professionals Training Courses for parents and professionals
A training day held in July and addessed sensory processing difficulties experienced by ASD children - and was run by our specialist OT, Fiona Simpson. Our training courses can be provided either onsite at the centre or out on location, should clients prefer. Our courses are particularly interactive, practical and have been hugely successful to date. Indeed in feedback from one of our most recent  training days, 80% of delegates indicated that the course content and delivery was “excellent” and the remaining 20% rated it as “very good”.

We have huge confidence in the efficacy and benefits provided through our training for professionals and are happy to discuss requirements specific to circumstances, in order to tailor teaching to meet needs. A detailed list of the forthcoming  training programme for parents and professionals can be obtained by contacting the centre.
Bond at The Barn Bond at The Barn
Hooray - we are deighted to announce that due to the generosity of our parents and a fantastic grant award from St James Place Foundation (nominated by Guthrie Financial Planning Services) this very special social group for young adults with Asperger Syndrome, who are aged between 13 and 19 years ahs now been reinstated at the centre. We meet socially once every month on a Wednesday evening and activities can range from a voted for DVD choice on the big screen at the centre with takewawy pizzas, a visit to a car dealership showroom, a cinema viewing, fish and chips on the beach (when the weather is kind) or a pub meal and quiz. Bond at the Barn was so named because at its inception all participants appeared to be keen on James Bond and The Barn is our centre location - the name has just stuck. Thank you for those who helped - we met for the first time again on Weds 27th Jan and we had a fab time as you can see from the photo and Kevin Guthire came along with his son Joe to present thier SJP cheque.
Fun Club Fun Club
Is a specialist after school facililty for children with ASD who can be within the age range of 6 to 11 years - Fun Club is now so popular that our children are split into 3 age ranges and our older group meet very much on more "social" basis with arranged outings to activity centres and bowling etc. The younger groups are arranged more  like a traditional after school club facility.

This service has had to be suspended (hopefully only temporarily) because of funding issues.
Dissemination of Information / Lending Library Dissemination of Information / Lending Library
We have an extensive free lending library. The library stocks audio, visual and the written word and is open to both families and professionals. (but please please don't forget to return them.....)We also have a number of our own in house publications available - "I am the child who cannot talk", "I wish I was normal" and "Clean towel in the toilet". Each of these publications aim to portray living with autism spectrum disorders in its own very unique and understandable way.
The Toby Henderson Trust Minibus The Toby Henderson Trust Minibus
In early 2005, a minibus was purchased for the centre by the employees of KOMATSU (UK) to allow us to take out our attending children and young adults into the community. The minibus is now extensively used by our Daily Holiday Places Scheme, our Bond at the Barn group and our older Fun Club group.
email support for ASD young adults email support for ASD young adults
Does your young adult with ASD / Asperger Syndrome need someone to talk to but just doesn't do the face to face "talking thing"? If so - they might feel more comfortable "talking" in cyberspace to our specialist counsellor, Paul?

A special email account has been set up to offer this very unique form of support and can be accessed by emailing paul.roughead@ttht.co.uk