AEL launches new ASD support service

‘CALM’- Creating A Little Moment, was launced by Access Employment Limited (AEL) in Larne today (Friday), offering assistance for people who have been diagnosed with ASD, as well as their loved ones.

The initiative also aims to provide training to businesses, making them aware of the signs to watch out for, what ASD is and how to use CALM bags.

The AEL-created CALM bags contain resources to help young people with ASD manage challenging environments, enabling the child and their relatives to visit places they had believed were ‘off limits.’

The bags are available for children aged 0-6, 7-12 and 13 and over and can be created with a company logo on them. They help to ‘create a little moment’ for the young person.

Each bag contains ear defenders to allow ASD individuals to limit sensory input and the amount of sound they are exposed to in a quick and dignified manner.

Sensory fidget toys and stress balls offer a calming activity that keeps their minds engaged and hands busy, while also helping them to self-regulate, stay focused and relieve anxiety.

A spokesperson for AEL explained: “AEL was established in Larne in 1998 as Northern Ireland’s first social firm to support individuals with disabilities,

health conditions and social disadvantage into meaningful employment, volunteering and or education.

"We achieve this by providing training, advice, information, and support on a range of issues, such as access to education, health, housing, leisure and other services.

"We also provide training and live work experience within our businesses, to young adults and people with additional needs, learning disabilities and physical support needs.

"Our staff are highly experienced in supporting those with neurodiverse conditions, such as ASD.

"Through our work, we recognised that sometimes people just need a little moment of calm, be that the trainees we support across our live business or customers coming into our Lunchbox café with their families.

“This got us thinking about the many different environments families visit and about the challenges those environments can present.

“A change in surroundings, busy places and noise can be extremely difficult for children/young people with ASD. Their senses can become over stimulated by the environment around them, causing them to become distressed and distracted.

"Our bags provide resources to help them manage these environments and enables them and their families to visit venues they may previously have thought of as ‘out of bounds.’

"In addition to the bags, we offer a choice of training for up to 20 employees.”

For more information about CALM and the training available to local firms, contact Jackie Reid, AEL’s Head of Business, by emailing [email protected] or call 028 2827 4992.

In April, the Larne Times reported how AEL was to receive backing from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

The news came as the Pound Street-based organisation’s support from the European Social Fund was ending, as well as discovering around the same time that it would not be receiving funding from the Department of Health’s CORE grant scheme.