I would like to say a big Thank you for the iPad my son received
after taking part in the recycling scheme
It has made such a difference to my son Max's life and ours as a family. Max has become much calmer since receiving the iPad as he has had something to focus on. He used to be extremely
focussed on food and put on a lot of weight due to his preoccupation with eating. Having the iPad
has made it easy for us to redirect Max from his overeating by giving him an alternative to focus on.
Before this nothing had ever worked other than leaving the house.
Max has spent three years sleeping downstairs as he hasn't wanted to be alone in his bedroom.
Having the iPad has enabled him to relax in going into his own room, and focussing on his iPad has
massively reduced his anxiety about being in his bedroom on his own in a way that a television or
radio never has. He enjoys pausing and rewinding his favourite clips in films/you tube clips over and over again, which he can do so easily now.
It has also enabled us to take Max out into public in a way that was never possible before. Family
functions , public places, eating out is something that we were never able to enjoy and Max would
become overwhelmed with his surroundings and go into meltdown. Being able to take his iPad out
with him has again relaxed him in new or busy environments, and he is much more able to cope in
these situations
School have noticed a great improvement in his behaviour and ability to focus since he has been
using his iPad. For a child like Max who is completely non-verbal and suffers from quite severe
sensory issues, control and rigid structure become massive issues in their lives as they struggle to
understand the world. Being able to control the iPad in anyway he wants has taken away the need to have such massive control over the rest of his life.
It's been invaluable and I can't imagine life without it now. In fact I look back and wonder how
we ever coped without it. Of course it hasn't taken away all the challenges that Max faces, or that we face as a family coping with severe autism, but it has definitely taken off quite a bit of the
pressure for us all. I believe iPads should be supplied to all families of children on the autistic spectrum who are unable to afford to buy one themselves.
It's been brilliant and I cant thank Hearts & Minds enough for helping Max.
More about the charity here: Hearts & Minds Challenge
Social media here:
Twitter: @handmchallenge
Pinterest: Hearts and Minds
YouTube: HeartsAndMindsUK
Google+: Hearts and Minds
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