AJ has been coming to Rathbone Youth Club for six years.
When he first joined, AJ had limited verbal communication and struggled to interact with others. His main interests were watching TV and videos online, and because he was sedentary most of the time he had difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. Over the past year, after a hard stretch through the pandemic, we have been supporting him to take part in physical activity and to try new things.
Through our ‘Getting Active’ sports programme, AJ has taken part in non-contact boxing, Zumba and table tennis. His energy levels at the club have risen noticeably, and he engages with far more of his peers.
He was drawn to the cooking and boxing sessions but still wanted his regular time on the laptop, so staff encouraged him to take that time at the end of the session, once he had joined in with everything else.
AJ now arrives at club asking to help the staff, and his interaction is excellent. Boxing has done a great deal for his confidence; cooking has made him think about what he eats.
His dad came into the club recently to ask what his son had been doing in the sessions, because he could see a real change in his behaviour, his attitude to food and his wellbeing.
AJ is more active and genuinely enjoys coming to the youth club. He is a real source of joy, and helps put a smile on everyone’s face.
I am so proud of the progress AJ has made. Witnessing the progress he is making with his communication skills and socialising with his peers has been so rewarding. Even when he finds things difficult he no longer has a tantrum and shuts off; he now listens to the staff who are on hand to support him. It has been great to see his progress with getting more active. He is so excited to get stuck into the sports on offer and is always happy to try new things, even if it’s just once. I look forward to seeing his continued growth.
Charline King, Head of Children and Young People’s Services
