Choosing leisure activities
Resources
Like everyone else, children and young people with special needs want to have a social life and take part in activities they enjoy. But as a parent you want to know that they will be welcome, safe and supported.
- What to look out for?
- Should you stay or should you go?
- Keep looking and listening
- Your other children
- Further information
What to look out for?
When you are considering new activities you may have lots of questions. What will happen if my child is upset or has a tantrum? Is there a safe place to let off steam? What are the rules? Are they simple, fair, and make sense to the children? What happens if things don't go as expected? What's in place to help a child deal with disappointment? Will my child be encouraged to do as much as they can for themselves but not be left to struggle with things they can't manage, or allowed to take unreasonable risks?
If you ask all your questions at the same time, it may feel like your child is too hard to include. So sometimes it's useful to sit and see how a session runs. Written policies are fine, but what happens in practice is more important. Also, ask other children, young people and parents what they think. Their views might offer different perspectives that enrich your impressions.
Should you stay or should you go?
Don't dismiss a club because parents are required to stay. Some of the best activities are organised by other parents and volunteers who cannot take responsibility for supervising children who need the toilet or want to sit out for a bit. Sometimes you have to balance the value of a free or inexpensive opportunity for your child against the chance to have a break yourself. Anyway, these are often the places to meet other parents and exchange advice and support.
Keep looking and listening
When choosing a social or leisure activity, it's great if you can encourage your child to think about what's important to them – often things that might seem insignificant to us make a big difference to them. Once they've joined an activity ask your child how things are going and listen to them on all channels – if not in words, they may tell you through their behaviour or gestures what they do and don't enjoy.
Your other children
If you have other children it's important to ensure that they are enjoying their leisure time too! Obviously there will be times when you want to do things as a family but sometimes your child's brothers and sisters who don't have special needs will want the chance to do things on their own. If you have other children in your family then don't forget that the Young Carers Project, run by the Carers Centre, offers them opportunities for social activities with other young people who share the experience of living with someone who is ill or disabled.
You can get more tips on choosing leisure activities in our 'Leisure' factsheet.
Further information
If your child has significant special needs, they'll be eligible for a Compass Card and around 40 free or discounted leisure offers. See our Compass pages for more information.
You may also find our Fun Things to do for all Ages fact sheet useful: it's packed with information on about 100 different organisations and activities in and around Brighton.
There are also lots of websites that have information on leisure activities in the city. Try Child Friendly Brighton for starters; it includes a special needs section.