Read about Zayne’s journey with autism and his family’s life by his Mum.
“At the beginning, life was really stressful and confusing, mixed with long waiting lists and no answers. We just wanted to be able to help Zayne the best we possibly could, but with very little knowledge and understanding of what he needed, it proved almost impossible to know what to do for the best.
I found myself up at night searching for answers and joining online support groups. However, without knowing what difficulties Zayne was having, it was hard to know what support we actually needed help with. I really needed that support, advice and guidance more than ever, and I did start to lose all hope after hearing that waiting lists were starting at about 18 months long.
When Zayne started his journey with bibic, he was struggling with sensory meltdowns and numerous other difficulties that we were trying to understand. He needed lots of sensory input in certain areas and much less sensory input in others. This was something I hadn’t understood before we began working with the charity.
He absolutely LOVED his time there, the therapists really understood him and made us all welcome from the very start. He loved playing games and bouncing on the trampoline, for him I suppose it must have felt like some really fun days out, but it was so much more exciting than that for us as a family – because we were all learning how to help.
Watching his journey, and our journey as a family, was just amazing because we came home with so much knowledge, so much understanding and we felt able to actually help Zayne almost immediately after leaving! The support before, during and after his assessment was absolutely gold standard. I couldn’t have possibly dreamt of anything better, especially since that period of time was one of the hardest of our lives. We had felt so alone before getting this kind of help.
Zayne eventually got diagnosed with autism in August 2020. We had suspected this would be the case, but the support from bibic helped us be able to help him with his individual needs before he even had a diagnosis. We were able to support him, without having to wait for that much needed help, because they worked with us, and with Zayne’s specific needs, when we desperately needed that guidance.
Life for Zayne now is so much better, more fulfilled, he is so much happier now we know how to help and what steps to take if anything is too much for him, or he feels overwhelmed. We found out what he really loves, and what helps his sensory needs at the same time – trampolining, flipping, scootering, bike riding, dog walking, etc. He spends most of his life outdoors come rain or shine, and he is such a happy little boy.
He is doing much better at school socially, but has ear defenders if he needs them and a chair that he can take sensory breaks on (doing push-ups or any other movement break type activity). Without bibic we would’ve definitely struggled on for a very long time not knowing where to go, or who to turn to. I am so grateful for the help we were given so quickly, and for Zayne’s assessment as a whole – it really helped us to understand what he needs and put things in place for him.”
Written by Zayne’s mum.
Author: Zayne's Mum
