Each year the Hills Shire Council Mayor hosts a children’s Christmas party at Bella Vista Farm. This year they had a sensory sensitive session for the first time dedicated (and exclusive!) for families who have a children with neurodivergent needs, a disability or sensory needs.
During the sensory session the Stronger Together Foundation staff were present to assist the children if required, the lights on the rides were turned off and the music turned down to a lower volume.
We also had a sensory breakout space available throughout the whole day for those to access if needed.
The Mayor received some incredible feedback from the event: “I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the Mayor’s Children’s Christmas Party – Sensory Sensitive Session. Thank you for providing this hour to kids with special needs. My 4 yr old son has ADHD and Autism. For that hour we were able to access rides quickly and there was only a small crowd. It was the first time he was able to get his face painted as normally there is huge waiting times at other events and he simply cant wait that long still. Everything was perfect and we had an absolute ball.”
It is with many thanks to Mayor Dr Peter Gangemi and the the Hills Shire Council for their ongoing support to host inclusive events in our community.
We look forward to further partnering with the Hills Shire Council to make more events in our community inclusive.
