Grace Williams and Hannah Roe sisters who were inspired by their younger brothers complex disability and autism to set up a day provision in Harrogate for those like their younger brother.
Grace Williams set up a charity called The Sibling Group, in Feb 2024 for siblings of children with additional needs. Grace(who studied SEND Teaching at the university of London, currently in the final stages of her masters degree in autism and inclusion and experienced SEND teacher and key worker for disabled young people)was inspired by hers and her sister's (Hannah) own experience of growing up with a sibling with additional needs, the challenges they faced and her own research.
The group allows children to come together and create friendships and support networks to last a life time. The fondly nick-named 'Siblings' come to The Sibling Group as a form of respite away from the day to day struggles they face at home having a brother or sister with additional needs, they are taken on trips to age appropriate attractions and provided with activities which otherwise they may miss out on due to their challenges at home.
Part of The Sibling Group charity is a day provision called 'Oscar's Pathway' ran by Grace and her elder sister Hannah. Oscar's pathway again, inspired by their younger brother, is a day provision for disabled adults (16+) who have complex communication and sensory needs.
As their brother has gotten older the sisters realised there is a lack of services throughout the country that cater to the needs of those with the most complex of needs, these people are often left with very little to do during the day that stimulates their brain, resulting in them having no choice but to sit at home all day doing very little.
' Often, adults with complex disabilities/needs are left in isolation with very little to do that is appropriate for them as they cannot work and have very little skill set to benefit from certain tasks (using tools, paintbrushes, pencils etc).
It is usually assumed that these adults 'don't know any better' so it doesn't really matter if they have nothing to do. However, we believe the opposite to be true, we feel that everyone deserves to feel they have a purpose, we have learnt from experience and research that even those with the most complex of needs suffer with mental health conditions and deteriorate if they do not have daily mental stimulation.
Our provision allows these adults to work on engagement, independence and communication- skills which will allow them to lead a better quality of life. We have seen significant improvement in those that attend our service regularly and they continue to inspire and surprise us.'- Grace Williams and Hannah Roe
Find & follow our social media pages @Oscarspathway @Thesiblinggroup