When my daughter started at Arts4Life, we had reached a point where she was unable to socialise, attend school, go on outings, and was really at risk of losing out on any of the good parts of her teen years.
She was so anxious that even going for a walk involved serious planning and debriefing afterwards, which sucked all the joy out of things for her. On our first day it took a lot of work to get her to even walk through the door.
In the space of less than a year, not only was M able to attend Arts4Life sessions, but she was beginning to offer her time on a voluntary basis to help others within the project. She can now envision a future for herself, has chosen to return to education, is making and keeping appropriate friends, and is beginning to see that she has value as a person.
I credit Arts4Life with all of these steps forward. They have literally changed our lives.
My son has autism and high anxiety he is currently home schooled as he doesn’t like mixing in groups.
I heard about Arts for Life and we gave it a go and my son absolutely loves it he still has the anxiety but we are getting there with Arts for Life’s help, the staff are really great friendly and understanding of each individual child and their needs. We have tried other groups it didn’t work for my son, Arts for Life is the only group my son has felt comfortable to attend.
Without Arts for Life he would not be able to have that opportunity for his confidence to grow.
We were lucky to discover AFLP at a time when our 9 year old daughter was really struggling.
Despite her anxiety when she initially met Beth she found the environment so welcoming she felt she could leave me and stay there.
Since then, she’s gone from strength to strength. She’s made some lovely creative pieces of work and even some new friends.
As parents, we will be eternally grateful for the support. X
Arts for Life’s wonderful staff make my child forget about her anxieties and feel like a valued individual.
During the art sessions she gets so much kind support, attentive care and genuine interest in her abilities that it fills her with happiness and confidence. It is her home outside of home and she wishes she could attend every evening of the week, not just on Tuesdays.
I think we all could do with such supportive groups outside of family. Every activity is creative and well prepared for, my child gets excited and tells me all about her experience, the sessions she was looking forward to and new things she tried. She proudly keeps everything she has made. We are glad she has her Arts for Life!
My daughter has autism, anxiety, and a number of other challenges.
Words cannot describe how much Arts for Life has helped her, and our entire family. For the first time, she is making friends, her confidence is growing, and she’s opening up about how she’s feeling. She no longer locks herself in her room every day after school, and looks forward to every session.
The whole team have been so amazing. I can’t put words down to adequately describe how grateful we are that she has found a safe and creative space to go every week. I honestly don’t know where we would be today without it. Thank you.
Thank you Beth. This doesn’t even do it justice I find it hard to put into written words!! I could write an essay on how amazing you all are.
Attending Art for therapy classes has been a life changing experience for my child. It is his safe space where he can explore various forms of art form and socialise with children who are neurodiverse like him.
The staff are extremely caring and have the necessary training required to support his needs and others. The organisation also provides a space for parents to attend to their wellbeing in the form of a cafe which has alot of therapeutic activities . It’s also a friendly space for parents to get together and support each other .
My autistic daughter has been at Arts for Life for a year now and the impact is way beyond my expectation. There is no activity outside her home life that has engaged her more. This has turned out not to be just a class but a significant contribution as a community resource.
Support to special needs is expensive, but this offers great value for money delivering well above its weight to the autistic community.
My children have been part of Arts for Life for a while and it has changed their lives. My daughter suffers from social anxiety and my son has a life limiting genetic condition, cognitive delay and is on the Autism spectrum.
I can’t thank the staff enough for taking on these challenges with so much dedication and consistently finding ways to help them grow through art therapy, other interactive sessions and trips.
Their patience, attention, love and kindness has created a safe space for them to express themselves, be confident and really be who they are. They are excited for the sessions and look forward to it every week.