Sense - connecting sight, sound and life

Sensory Scares at Sense Centre Southwest! 🎃

Last week, we hosted an un-be-leaf-able Autumn activity day!

With sensory sports, yoga and pumpkin painting, there was fun for everyone! 28 smiling faces (including lots of first-time visitors) made for a day full of laughter and creativity!

We want to give a massive shout out to Caerau Men’s Shed, based in Maesteg. They are a group who wants to support their local community, and have kindly donated £150 towards our Caerphilly hub. Caerau Men’s Shed are making a difference with their support towards Sense. Without this fantastic support for our work, we could not continue to help the many children and adults that we do at our centres in the UK and for that we are truly grateful 💜

We love being able to celebrate the fantastic stories and shortlists with you! Another one of out fantastic nominees for our is Izzy Wilshaw, shortlisted for our Fundraiser of the Year Award. Find out more on our incredible nominees here: https://www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards/sense-awards-shortlist

How are your baking skills? Why not put them to the test and host a Sensational Tea Party! https://www.sense.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise-for-sense/your-own-way/sensational-tea-party/

Shout out to our amazing Influencer of The Year shortlist!

Our shortlist for this year is: Kitty Hinde, India Morse and Ru Jones!

All amazing influencers, but who's your fave follow? Tell us who lights up your social feed in the comments - feel free to put some names in the comments of people we should be thinking about for next year too!

"Even though it’s all virtual, I love feeling that we’re connecting, and that I’m making a difference."

Today is the start of , this week highlights the positive impact befriending can have on tackling isolation. You can read more about Yomna and Chloe's virtual buddying experience here:

Gaming opened up a new world for me and my Virtual Buddy - Sense Find out how Chloe and her Virtual Buddy Yomna have used the game Roblox as a way of getting to know each other.

Happy Halloween! At our Sense TouchBase Pears hub we've been making these spooky creations! Show us your pumpkin designs below!

Congratulations Emersyn for being shortlisted for our amazing Young Person of the Year award!

Emersyn was born prematurely, at just two pounds two ounces, and with multiple health conditions and disabilities. Her family said goodbye to her eight times, but now six-years-old she has defied the odds and is described by her family as “a bubbly, joyful little girl”.

Emersyn – who continues to live with multiple health conditions and disabilities including sight and hearing impairments, Down Syndrome, low muscle tone and global developmental delay – fundraises for local charities and good causes, including the neo natal unit at Royal Victoria Hospital where she was born. Her mum says she’s “a little inspiration”.

Fancy finding out more? Follow our link! https://www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards/sense-awards-shortlist

Jack, a learner at Sense College Knapwell, took on a leadership role in helping to promote the Paralympics at his college. He created an informative board about the event and regularly updated the Team GB medal table for all in his College to see. His enthusiasm shone through as he led the opening ceremony parade for Team GB, ensuring everyone had a fantastic experience.

Let’s give it up for one of our amazing shortlisted nominees, Marianne!

Marianne, 11, has been shortlisted for Young Sibling of the Year. She is a young family carer to her big brother Levi who is autistic, has sensory processing disorder and has recently developed epilepsy.

Levi and Marianne are very close and communicate using a mixture of picture cards, Makaton and sign language!

She is a huge advocate for her brother and has always accepted that Levi’s medical needs take priority for her family. Congrats on being shortlisted Marianne!

Want to find out more on our fabulous shortlisted nominees: https://www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards/sense-awards-shortlist

A huge thank you and a big well done to all of our runners that have recently completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon! Have our runners inspired you to take on the challenge? You can sign up for next year here:

Run the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2024 for Sense! Sign up to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon on 6 October 2024 and raise money for Sense. £25 registration fee!

Drum roll please....

We are incredibly excited to announce our shortlisted nominees for the 2024!

We had so many amazing stories from all over the UK, but the big question is; has your nomination made the shortlist!?
Find out here: https://www.sense.org.uk/sense.../sense-awards-shortlist/

Sense Awards 2024 shortlist - Sense Our shortlisted 2024 nominees are truly amazing people. Here's the shortlist for each award.

Back in August, Deaf Chef and TV presenter Scott, AKA Punk Chef stopped by one of our residential services to cook up something special with Gakleen, a resident Sense Supports.

On the day, Scott taught Gakleen, who is also Deaf, how to cook a meal from scratch in British Sign Language. Gakleen had a blast learning new cooking skills and sampling the delicious meal they whipped up together.

Scott is a trailblazer in the culinary world, passionate about championing Sign Language and making food preparation more accessible. Like Sense, Scott believes in the importance of breaking down communication barriers to ensure that everyone, no matter how complex their disability, has equal opportunities.

Thank you Punk Chef for delivering such an amazing cooking lesson. We hope you enjoyed seeing our work first hand and witnessing how Sense supports thousands of people who are deafblind or who have complex disabilities to communicate, experience the world and fulfil their potential.

Can you imagine being paid £2 less per hour than another worker doing a similar job? That’s around £70 a week if you work full-time!

Our research shows that over half (52%) of people with complex disabilities in work have taken on a less challenging role because their needs as a disabled person were not being met by employers.

This needs to change. You can read more here: https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/disability-pay-gap-work-jobs-employment/

When people hear the term “deafblind” they often think that it means someone who is totally deaf and totally blind. However, we know this isn't the case and some people who are deafblind may have some hearing and/or some sight.

We also know there are so many ways a person may want to communicate. We've put together this blog with a list of different methods of communication and some top tips to support you when you're communicating with someone who is deafblind.

How to communicate with someone who is deafblind - Sense Speaking to someone who is deafblind may seem daunting. But it doesn’t need to be! Follow these tips for communicating with deafblind people.

We've written a little message for you in British Sign Language (BSL) fingerspelling. Do you know what it says? Let us know below!

We can't wait for our Awards! Can you? On being asked to judge this years awards, Lisette said:

“I’m thrilled to be on the judging panel for this year’s Sense Awards, which has recognised so many remarkable adults and children with complex disabilities over the years. I’m sure that picking the winners won’t be easy, but I’m looking forward to giving it a good go!”

Photo credit: Paperboat Photography

We're delighted to announce that as of February next year our new CEO will be James Watson-O'Neill.

James will take the reins from Richard Kramer, who has led Sense since 2018.

James, who is deaf, will be joining us from SignHealth.

James said: "I am honoured to be appointed as the new Chief Executive of Sense and Sense International. For 70 years, Sense has delivered vital support to disabled people and their families, working alongside them to campaign for a fairer society for disabled people."