We are a family of four, made up of two adults and two children. We all have disabilities, which makes a day out quite challenging. Together we have all have generalised anxiety, while my husband and two children are neurodivergent, and I have a degenerative spine disorder. Seemingly “simple” tasks and events for others can be a lot for us to orchestrate

Musical Bingo at The Station?

Sounds like fun? Sounds like a hoot.

Here’s what I need to do to prepare for this 2 hour adventure:

Prepare the kids and my husband by showing everyone the Visual Story and Sensory Guide! A must! We take a look at everything starting with the entrance and talk about all the sensory points. We look at the photos and talk about the fact it may be loud, there will be people and there will be music. We talk about what to do if anyone feels overwhelmed or uncomfortable. Sometimes having an exit plan devised prior can actually mean we are more likely not to have to execute it. Sometimes all hell breaks lose and we do, but having a plan means we all know what to do and we all feel better about that. Usually.

So we planned the day! Picked the time and off we went! My daughters and I went to The Station (previously called Night quarter) last Wednesday night. They were particularly excited, as they don’t usually get to go out at night. Amelia is 12 and has ASD, ADHD and ARFID (an autism-related eating disorder). Zoe is 8 and is also autistic and hyperactive. I also have arthritis and anxiety, especially regarding where the venue is, where to park and how to access locations within a venue. The visual and sensory stories were also a great help to ease my anxiety in this regard and get us to the event location with ease.

Before embarking on our outing, we were a bit anxious that it might be too loud or too crowded at the event, but fortunately for us, there were only about 50 people there, which we could handle much better than 1000. My eldest brought her iPad and headphones as she uses drawing to regulate her emotions and music to drown out any unwanted noises. As it was held in an outdoor space, my youngest was able to move and a dance if she wanted to and didn’t have to sit still all night. A definite plus!

The host was very entertaining and we won a $20 voucher during bingo!

Fun was had by us all. We really enjoyed it and it gives us another outing and type of outing which is excellent!