Sensory Session Adventures
From swimming with mysterious underwater creatures, working together to escape the Jumanji jungle, to meeting some of our favourite Paw Patrol characters, it was a big weekend for us! Recently, we had the opportunity to team up with some of our community partners to host some awesome sensory sessions around Perth. On the Friday night we partnered with AQWA to host a sensory friendly underwater adventure for families. We then teamed up on Sunday with both Lakeside Joondalup to host the Paw Patrol show and Karrinyup Shopping Centre to host the Jumanji Activity Zone. In May and July, we also ran our thrill-seeking Latitude sensory sessions, these are always filled with running, jumping, climbing, and bouncing! Check out all of these amazing events below!
AQWA Underwater Adventure
While it was a wet and wild Friday night with a storm flooding Perth, we got just as wet and wild during our underwater adventure at AQWA! With over 100 attendees, we loved getting to experience AQWA with so many families. We even had the opportunity to greet a few regional families at AQWA before they started their week at the July Regional Intensive Therapy Program. The night at AQWA consisted of seeing some unique underwater species (some of the kids even knowing the names of all the fish off by heart). We spent the night spinning around the underwater tunnel, seeing sharks, stingrays, and turtles! We also got to play at the touch pool and see all the amazing exhibits. After all the underwater exploring, the families got to sit down and enjoy some dinner from the café and buy some goodies from the gift store.
Jumanji Activity Zone
At Karrinyup Shopping Centre on the Sunday, we were excited to greet families as they entered the Jumanji activity zone, a relaxed environment for children with sensory needs. The kids were up for the challenge as they found themselves in the Jumanji jungle and the only way to escape was through various activities and obstacle courses! They each had a blast, working together to overcome obstacle such as puzzles, climbing, throwing, and jumping. It was great to see everyone had made it out of the jungle in one piece and still with smiles on their faces!
Paw Patrol Sensory Sessions
Over at Lakeside Joondalup, we had a very special visit from the Paw Patrol team! Lots of families came along to meet some of their favourite characters such as Rubble, Ryder, Skye, Chase, and Marshall. The kids got to dance along during the Paw Patrol show, were able to meet the gang, and participate in a mask-making workshop. There were 3 different sessions to reduce numbers and ensure a more relaxed, sensory friendly show. Check out some of the photos below to see the kids meet their favourite characters.
Latitude
We ran two action-packed sensory sessions at Latitude in May & July. These sessions are always hugely popular, with up to 70 attendees. The highlight of these sessions are always the huge climbing walls, the high ropes course, and trampolines. We even had a few bravely attempt the Grid (Latitude’s unique ninja warrior course) and complete against the Autism Association staff that attended. We can’t wait to organise more sessions at Latitude and love seeing familiar faces come back each time, ready for more action and adventure!
Organising these sessions before the shops open allows the team to create a controlled environment for the families to maximise participation. It was a big weekend, with lots of events on and we loved every minute of it! If you would like to find out how you can attend our upcoming sensory sessions, send us an email at inclusive.communities@autism.org.au or call (08) 9489 8900.
