Woodside Family Centre

I recently visited a very special family centre in South Gloucestershire which provides services for children and adults who are deafblind or who have a single sensory impairment together with another disability. The Woodside Family Centre is funded by donations and is run by the charity Sense. The centre provides childrens' sessions for children of different ages as well as being a great place for families to support each other and share experiences. From talking to two lovely families who kindly came along to meet me (see picture), it sounds as though the pressures of caring for a child who has multiple disabilities are compounded by the problems of dealing with officialdom of all kinds. You certainly need to be persistent and determined to get things done.

The centre has lots of rooms that are tailored for the special needs of deafblind children and adults. These include a creche with tactile toys and equipment and a very impressive sensory room (see picture). If you or your family could benefit from these services, the centre manager can be contacted on 0117 967 0008. The address of the centre is Woodside Road, Kingswood BS15 8DG. I was very impressed with the caring work that is done there and also with the resilience of the families who are giving their all to their children in very difficult circumstances.