The Derry charity providing a vital 'Circle of Support' for Autistic children and their families

Circle of Support (COS), which became a registered charity in 2013, currently supports 950 families and over 1,100 children across Derry and further afield.

Based at a fantastic purpose-built community hub in Springtown Industrial Estate, which has its own large sensory room, soft play room, art room, youth room, computer suite and more, chairperson David Campbell and Autism Project Coordinator Shannon King sat down with the Journal recently to showcase all that is wonderful about COS.

They told of the numerous events that children, parents and siblings can attend and how COS ensures a child who has, or who is waiting on an autism diagnosis, can receive early intervention supports tailored towards them and their needs.

COS focuses not only on the child themselves, but on the family, individually and as a whole, with activities and workshops also running for siblings and parents.

David outlined COS first began when ‘five mammies,’ whose children all attended the same nursery in Derry and had received a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), came together in 2011 as there was ‘very little’ support in place for them.

Within months, they found that there were many, many families who also needed the support and by the end of that year, 27 of them were involved.

It continued to grow and the parents and carers on the committee, who are all parents of Autistic children, organised numerous events and activities. As word got out and families saw the immense benefits of COS, the activities grew, as did the numbers of children involved. The purpose-built community hub was constructed and there are now four staff members involved in running the day-to-day activities.

There are also lovely volunteers, who are all vital to the success of COS.

In 2022, it received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund for a large-scale five-year programme to offer art, play and music therapy as well as a range of health and wellbeing programmes that includes circus skills, yoga, dance, rugby, jui jitsui and many more. This month, COS is introducing canine therapy.

There is also a wide range of mid term break activities as well as a seven-week long summer scheme and siblings are included in the majority of these activities.

This funding also allowed COS to hire their first two staff members and they also received grants from the community fund to support parents and caregivers. They offer a range of autism-related training, support groups and parent pamper evenings as well as mental health activities, workshops, programmes, daytrips and a parent/carer counselling service.

David said that any family who wants to join COS will be made very welcome. It is free to sign up and David communicates directly with each family to determine each individual child’s needs and how they can be best supported.

He told how the parent support itself can also be invaluable and highlighted the private parents’ Facebook group, where everyone is free to ask questions and have a wee chat. COS run Autism support cafes in various areas, including Omagh, where families can go along for information and guidance. Children do not have to have a formal diagnosis to join COS and with waiting lists as long as five years, this is where COS ‘bridges the gap.’

David, who has volunteered with COS since its inception, said: “One of the reasons we started too is that, in many other organisations, you have to have a diagnosis and we thought it wasn’t fair, due to how long you have to wait. That can really take its toll, when you just don’t know where to turn.

"One of our big things is interaction for parents. They’re able to speak to others who have gone through the process and ask questions. We have seen some amazing friendship grow over the years of people who have met here.

“We have gone from strength to strength and different bodies work with us as they see the benefit the families coming through here.”

COS started in a ‘wee tiny building,’ which limited the activities they could run. However, the new building has allowed them to make even bigger strides and provides a space for families to have fun.

"We’re not like a drop-off centre. The main activities we run provide interaction for the parents and child. My oldest child is 18 and I did everything with him. That gave me a better understanding of him and what he needed. We set up programmes for mammies and daddies to do with their child and also with siblings, for them to get that understanding and just have fun together.”

One of their biggest successes in recent times was the Santa visits in the centre last Christmas. For many children, it was their first visit to see Santa and for some families, it was the first time they received a family photo.

The visits were organised to ensure each child felt comfortable and supported, with families visiting from across Donegal, Ballymena, Omagh and Coleraine.

Shannon told how this highlights how families really need the services that COS offers. The youngest person registered with COS is two years old and the eldest is 37.

Another popular activity is where families can book into the centre for 50 minutes and have it to themselves.

David added: “This is somewhere all families can come. You’re not isolated and because its run by families with Autistic children, there is a great understanding. There is no judgement and we never turn anyone away. We see, all the time, the positive difference in the children who come here, from the first day, up until now. If you haven’t registered before now, please get in touch.”

You can contact COS by emailing [email protected] or checking out the Facebook page.

COS is funded, in part, by the National Lottery Community Fund (Kids Programme); Keadue Fund Community Fund NI (CFNI) (Teens Programme); Community Fund NI (CFNI)and Department of health (DOH) (Carers Programme) and Community Fund through the Department of Health's Mental Health Support Fund.