Last week of the Litter Box Program

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As the regular season ends, we look back over the success of the Litter Box program. It has been a wonderful year with many fantastic children getting to come to the London Arena to enjoy a game of hockey. We have also had the opportunity to spotlight some amazing charities and the excellent work they do to assist children across the globe. 

This week is no different. The children who have been able to come join the litter box program this week are all incredibly special children. All of them have been put forward by the National Autism Society. Each child this week experiences a level of neurodivergence. Many would classify them as high functioning Autistic individuals. 

 

The National Autism Society of the UK 

Over the last 60 years the National Autism Society has worked diligently to assist over 700,000 autistic people and their families. They do this by running specialist schools, campaigns for improved rights or by providing training to companies to assist them in being better equipped to work with and serve those with autism. They are expressly dedicated to transforming lives and changing attitudes. When assisting with children with Autism, one specific program is the Cullum Centres. 

 

Thanks to generous financial support from the Cullum Family Trust, the National Autistic Society together with partner Local Educational Authorities are developing purpose-designed and built specialist centres in schools across the UK. The Centres will provide specialist support from trained staff, such as learning in small groups and therapies within a calm setting to retreat to while having the opportunity to regularly engage in typical mainstream school activities as appropriate for each student. The results of this program on the lives of these impacted children are spectacular.  

 

If you would like to get involved with or donate to the National Autism Society of the UK you can contact them through their website National Autistic Society (autism.org.uk). You can also get involved in other autism societies throughout the world by contacting your local Autistic Association. 

 

Astrid Francis 

Astrid was a particularly bright addition to the children that came this week. She always had a wonderfully uplifting smile and took part in various activities. Astrid brought with her Puddles, her Service Dog, who was extremely professional and was always there to do his job. Astrid was diagnosed with Autism at 2, she was slow to develop her verbal abilities, and her parents were concerned. Astrid was quickly brought into several programs offered by the Autism Society and quickly started to expand on her abilities. Today, after numerous years of working with a speech therapist, Astrid communicates freely with everyone. 

 

I had the chance to sit with Astrid, Puddles and Astrid’s parents during the second intermission to ask some questions. Astrid wanted to tell everyone how much fun the Litter box program is, although she was glad, she didn’t have to sit in a litter box with cat poop. She expressed how well everyone was treating her and Puddles, she was extremely happy that Puddles got to join in the experience because Puddles goes with her everywhere. Astrid’s parents wanted to thank Moly the Cat and the London organization for their generosity, their patience, and their dedication to making an experience like this available to someone who wouldn’t be a typical attendee of a hockey game. By having a dedicated box, it allowed them to provide a safe place for Astrid to experience something new like the hockey game.

 

This will be the last article this year about the Litter Box program, it was a pleasure for me to take part in the experience with the children and their caregivers, to enjoy the games, and to meet some fantastic individuals. It was also a wonderful experience to cover some great charities and the wonderful work they do.