Snowflakes:
Snowflakes is a charity for children on the autism spectrum and was started in January 2012 by a group of parents who realised the HSE did not have enough to offer their children both in terms of services and support.
These parents worked together to create a safe community where parents helped their own children and each other’s children with autism – whilst successfully creating an environment of support for the whole family.
1 in 65 children are currently diagnosed with autism.
Autism is often described as the ‘invisible disability’. Our children are indistinguishable at first glance from any others. Yet they often have difficulty communicating and coping with social situations, which can be overwhelming to the point of inducing extreme anxiety and sensory overload. Society at large often mistakes what ensues as ‘bad behaviour’ or ‘bad parenting’, leading to further isolation of our children and their families.
Such challenges often hit the siblings of ASD children the hardest. In addition to the activities we organise for autistic children, we therefore also run a number of fun activities that aim to give siblings the attention they sorely need and a break from what can sometimes be a chaotic home life.
We support families through the diagnosis and beyond, providing coping strategies, tips and tools and access to subsidised therapies. Through our talks and workshops, we also hope to educate communities to overcome some of these challenges by fostering diversity and inclusion.
