Lothian Autistic Society

How will the Playscheme help me and my child?

Lothian Autistic Society organise and manage autism specific playschemes in the Easter and Summer school holidays. These playschemes operate and run in accordance with the regulations imposed by the Care Commission and our own policies.

We currently offer up to 50 places in Edinburgh, 15 places in Midlothian and 20 in West Lothian. The Playschemes are open to children and young people with an Autism Spectrum Condition in full time education between the ages of 5 and 18. Children attending will be matched 1:1 with a carer though some may need more or less staff input depending on their ability and the nature of the activity scheduled.

Our playschemes enable children and young people with ASCs to access community activities and venues while progressing their social and emotional learning through play.

"I can't state enough what an invaluable service this is. My child benefitted from fun days out and socialising with other children and adults and his siblings benefitted as I was able to take them on day trips that would not be possible were my son present."

We aim to:

provide a safe and secure play environment in which children on the Autism Spectrum can flourish as individuals and not have to conform to social pressures
promote inclusion through developing group and social skills, and supported integration into mainstream activities and settings
facilitate an environment to provide children attending with the opportunity to develop age appropriate play skills
provide parents, siblings and carers with a break from caring
allow parents/carers to continue employment during the holiday period
actively work with parents/carers to complement existing child profiles to establish a more complete assessment of needs

All our care staff, including volunteers, undergo autism specific training prior to the commencement of playscheme, as well as child protection, managing challenging behaviour sessions and basic first aid for playscheme leaders.

"The Playscheme gave my son an invaluable time to 'be himself' but within a supported environment. He loves to be busy and active so the Playscheme fulfilled that role for him. He dotes on 1:1 adult support so again this worked very well with him. I would say he gained some confidence and felt happy that he was being able to do lots of social stuff, which can be very difficult for us to do as a family."

Please find the Care Commission Reports for our Playschemes below

For further information on this service, please contact us on 0131 661 3834

"We could not have continued to work as normal had he not got a place at the Playscheme. We also managed to have a couple of days off together while our son was with the LAS and this is the most time we've had together since he was born. This has meant so much to us."

Please click the link to view the Children's Charter : http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1181/0009923.pdf

Please click the link to view the National Care Standards in Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16 Standard 3 - Health and Wellbeing : http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/158716/0043073.pdf