To celebrate World Autism Awareness Day next Saturday (April 2), the Gaelic Players Association is supporting the work of Jump Autism Support for 2016.
Set up by Emma Thorpe and Suzanne O’Connor, two parents of children with autism, Jump Autism Support aims to give the children a chance to do normal childhood activities that naturally bring on their development in a supervised and appropriate setting.
Early intervention is critical for children with autism but is not accessible publicly. Jump Autism Support provides children with a chance to access therapies and activities that were previously unaffordable and impossible to access for many.
To mark the partnership for 2016, Kilkenny’s Richie Hogan along with Dublin footballers Cormac Costello and Jonny Cooper visited Jump’s Easter Camp.
Speaking about the GPA’s support for Jump, Chief Executive Dessie Farrell commented: “We’re delighted to lend a helping hand to this wonderful initiative in advance of World Autism Awareness Day next Saturday. A number of the GPA team visited a Jump Camp last year and were bowled over by their conviction to do something practical and positive through their own volition.
“It is a great opportunity for players to become involved in further activity this year as Jump continues to grow and expand its services for children with autism.”
Jump Autism Support co-founder Emma Thorpe commented: “We’re absolutely delighted to receive support from a national body like the GPA and it was wonderful to have star players visit one of our camps and interact with the children. We do not invest any of our resources into promotion as we believe it is best to put 100 percent of our funding into enriching the lives of the children so it is great to have the GPA on board to help raise awareness for what we do.
“Jump started with a Summer Camp with close to a 1:1 ratio of qualified staff to children. It was an innovative design which focused on fun child friendly activities with every opportunity taken to expose the children to new experiences like sports and music. We have also run numerous social skills groups with the help of experienced Speech and Language and Play therapists. These groups are very important in developing play and social skills while supported in an understanding environment.
“Our services are constantly oversubscribed so the next step for Jump is securing premises of our own – this will allow for more capacity and flexibility in what we provide. Everyone involved in the organisation works in a voluntary capacity supported by a wonderful group of parents who have come together to help and work towards creating better services for their children.”
By Tom Tue 29th Mar
