“Asiya enjoys watching things moving around her and doesn’t like the quiet. She enjoys watching other people especially children making lots of noise and running around and playing around her. As she has limited movement in her lower limbs she likes being entertained and can get bored of the same things quite easily.
Asiya has spina bifida which affects her movement and also has hydrocephalus which means we have to be careful how she moves and interacts with toys. Her older brother likes to play with her but sometimes doesn’t fully understand that we have to be careful around Asiya.
I was looking into different ideas of how to play and interact with Asiya as she has limited movement and we have to be cautious of her shunt. I came across Cerebra through the SHINE and found the information provided about sleep really interesting. That’s when I saw the book and toy library.
We received a sensory suitcase packed full of amazing toys and equipment to borrow for one month. We also regularly borrow books from the children’s book library.
The sensory suitcase had lots of different toys and equipment so we could find out what Asiya liked to play with and what sounds and images she liked, that would also aid with her development. With limited movement, we were not sure what she would enjoy but she really enjoyed the light projectors and was mesmerized.
She was also able to get hands on with the fiber optic lights and it was great to watch her not get frustrated like usual that she couldn’t work the toys. It was refreshing for her to be able to use the toys how she wanted. Her older brother enjoyed using the toys to play with her too and they made up lots of games with the various noisy balls and shakers.
We also enjoy reading the books together that we receive regularly. Some of the books are more specialist to her conditions that we can’t find in our local library.
A lot of the books and equipment that Cerebra loans out is available to purchase online but are out of our budget so we are really pleased that Cerebra is free and Asiya is able to enjoy and use them in this way.
Library staff Janet and Ffion are always super helpful too, so a special thank you personally for them”
thank you 🙂