“I hate noise, I hate busy places, I get overwhelmed.”
Toby, who is autistic, sits at a table doing some colouring. He loves art but he needs to be in his own space.
The Saturday club he attends near Portsmouth is run by a charity called Enable Ability, which receives funding from BBC Children in Need.
“Here they know that loud noises make me upset,” the nine-year-old explains.
“I can’t sit in certain places. They know that, so they let me sit in places that aren’t noisy. They like, get me, they really get me.
“We come here every Saturday, they have loads of stuff out and really nice workers, I love it.”
The club is staffed by play workers who accompany the children on a one-to-one basis so that every child is able to take part in their own way.
Toby explains: “Everything I do, they also do, so I never do anything alone which is nice.”
Club leader Hannah Patten explains: “The majority of our children that attend are autistic or have learning disabilities. Quite a few are non-verbal.”
She says the play workers “go with the flow” to keep the children safe, engaged and happy.
“It’s their Saturday, so if they want to sit and relax for a little while, or if you want to run around we’ll run with you,” she continues.
“Just give them that fun person, that friendly face.”
Play worker Yvanna Kenfack says: “Every day is different. We make sure they just have fun and just like really good, positive involvement, which is really lovely.
“This job… perfect. I couldn’t dream better.”
One parent Canesta, whose son also attends the club, said: “It takes a village to raise a child and I think the more complex your child is, the best village you can have is Enable Ability – 100%.”
