Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I'd be very interested in honest(!) feedback and ideas about the project which I'm running for autistic children. At the moment, it a voluntary weekend activity for me but I'm wondering if it can become a part-time job.
Last September, I set up "Engine Shed - South London" (www.engineshedlondon.com) which is a special interest group for autistic children and young people who like trains. They can design, build and play with our huge collection of Brio, Tomy and Hornby trains in a welcoming, safe and relaxing environment. They remain engaged for up to 2 hours, working alongside other autistic children with very little adult involvement, although their parents/carers are there.
We have up to 20 children at each weekend session, aged 3 to 13, and the adults enjoy the opportunity to talk without worrying about their children's behaviour being judged. The children can just be themselves and do what they want - we have teenagers playing with Brio and "Thomas the Tank Engine". We judge their happiness by the levels of stimming, vocalising and running around the room! The children are having fun, as well as developing social and communication skills as they work together.
We currently run weekend open days and events in school holidays. I'm getting really positive feedback from parents and autism professionals who have attended our events. However, I've got 12 huge boxes of trains which only get used once or twice a month. I know there is huge demand for our activities in other locations, but I've only got so much time I can give as a volunteer. I need to look at ways to generate some income.
To make this a part-time job, I need to develop some *daytime* activities which would bring in income. This could help to subsidise the weekend activities. Donations from parents are currently our only source of income (usually £5 per child), which cover venue hire and wear and tear on the trains.
Any feedback/ideas would be much appreciated.
Richardwww.engineshedlondon.com
Open up to mums and toddlers during the week. Serve tea and cake and the money will come rolling in !
You could also offer a workshop to schools or nurseries.
Thanks "Raindrops".
That's an idea I'm been working on - to run sessions for non-autistic/special needs children during the week., which would subsidise the weekend activities. Maybe I can link in with one of the local amazing cake bakers who advertise on our local Facebook parents group.
Training/workshops for schools is also an idea, but ir's difficult to contact the right people (with money to spend).
Thanks for the ideas. More thinking required ...