Founded in 2018, The Senses Project was set up with a clear mission to introduce a fresh approach to the mentoring of neurodiverse people, enabling them to achieve independence.
Specialising in Autism, Sensory Processing Needs, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), and Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) supportive mentoring, the service was founded by David Lowe and Joe Phillips, with a strong passion to provide compassionate, tailored support.
Phillips emphasised the importance of tailoring their services for each individuals needs, as he said: “I don’t think standardised support works.
“I think what it comes down to is you want to connect with people, and you want them to connect with you.
“It helps to build a safe-person model where we’re a safe point for them, and that has to be tailored if we want to achieve that.”
This tailored support can act as a catalyst to offer a therapeutic approach, incorporating confidence building to support individuals dealing with a range of unique challenges.
The Independent Support Programme is something which embodies their ethos, as it’s crafted to be people-centred and successfully meet the needs of their customers.
David Lowe passionately addressed how this programme can effectively encourage neurodiverse people, as he said: “We developed this programme to get them out of their shell, figure out what they want, and figure out who they are.
“We have people going into volunteering work and paid work, it’s brilliant.”
Services like this are vital in bettering the understanding and acceptance on the subject matter of neurodiversity, and Lowe went on to explain the most rewarding aspects of the job.
“I like pushing clients outside of their comfort zone and encouraging them to do things that they’ve never done before.
“When you see the progress it does feel good. I love the energy, I love when clients are able to do activities on their own. It’s brilliant.”
The Senses Project’s now looks to build on their vision of seeing an education and social system which is starting to both recognise and utilise tailored options to support young adults to feel listened to, accepted, confident and inspired to achieve.
Buzz News podcast – Week 2 roundup