Icare

by Uchechukwu Ananwa

Is a voluntary community organisation which provides resources and support for families of children and adults with learning disabilities including those that have Autism.
My name is Uchechukwu Ananwa. I am a special education needs teacher and a positive behaviour support professional with over a decade of experience working with people with autism in a variety of sectors.

Since 2017, I have worked with other professionals to provide advisory and active support for families with additional needs who have benefited from positive behavioural support input and communication skills development. We are thankful to the National lottery Community Fund, who last year recognised the importance of the service we offer, and awarded us funding to run our services.

We have previously had some events such as a bubble show, puppet show and a virtual reality experience in the Borough of Haringey and other boroughs across London. We look forward to more events coming up in the near future.

We understand that living with challenging behaviour can be stressful and exhausting for the whole family, which is why we also run workshops on positive behaviour support and communication skills development, which can equip the family with the necessary tools to positively manage the way they communicate and give support to their loved one with additional needs.

Challenging behaviour is not a learning disability, but people living with a disability are more likely to show challenging behaviour. People with disabilities involving
communication can find expressing frustrations more difficult, which can lead to challenging behavioural expressions that demonstrate how frustrated they are with not being able to be understood. Challenging behaviour can also be a sign of something else, such as pain or discomfort, which might be difficult to express in
another way.
“We don’t believe it’s the person that is ‘challenging’; only that they are in a challenging environment and it’s a challenge to find a solution. We work closely
with individuals and their families to offer more choice and independence and improve their quality of life.” – Sarah Lysaught, Complex Support Specialist
at Open Minds said. If this sounds right for you, please follow us on the social media handle: Facebook @icare resources and Support for Autism,