A Sensory Success Story

When Sue Ingram’s severely disabled son Jamie attended an adult respite home for the first time, Sue was astonished at the lack of space available.  There was nowhere for Jamie to just relax, to just be a 16 year old boy and enjoy time with friends or enjoy the outside world. The garden at the back of the home was, in Sue’s words “ a concrete jungle”. With mould plastic chairs and overgrown grass, it was not exactly the exciting, attractive space Jamie and the home needed.

After hearing how Solihull Hospital had been successful in their bid for lottery funding Sue decided to apply to the Awards for All programme through her community organisation Club 22. Club 22 is a group of parents with teenagers and adults of similar disabilities who share experiences and seek money and support to provide the facilities so desperately needed. Sue applied to the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme and was overjoyed when she found out Club 22’s application for a sensory garden was successful.

With £10,000 of funding “our own special garden was now a reality” says Sue.

The garden was designed by a specialist landscape architect and has improved the existing environment substantially, turning it into a safe and more stimulating space for beneficiaries to relax in. Organisers say visitors can enjoy observing the moving stars and reflections, watching the fibre optic colour changes, feeling the many textures and playing with the wooden dashboard style controls. Special features include sensory plants and a water feature. “The garden has been a fantastic success which is now used by people outside of the home who also have special needs. It really is a place of our own” says Sue.

To find out more about the Awards for All programme and how you can apply, please visit the Awards for All website