A circle of people holding hands and facing outwards with the text "Keep 'Er Lit Laurencetown In It Together"The Keep ‘Er Lit youth club for young people with ASD meet regularly at the Community Centre for exercise, wellbeing and skills-building programmes, as well as enjoying cultural and wellbeing trips throughout Northern Ireland. This is led by Shaunney Jardine and a host of invaluable volunteers. Shaunney can be contacted by emailing enquiries@lltca.com

 

KEL has two sessions on a Wednesday evening:

Junior KEL 9-13 years  5.30-6.30pm

Senior KEL 14-21 years  7-9pm

 

Both sessions have a charge of £2 per person per week.

 

Listening to life in (and around) Laurencetown: A soundmap by the Keep ‘Er Lit ASD group

A screenshot of the Keep 'Er Lit "Listening to life in (and around) Laurencetown" soundmap
Click to visit the Soundmap

Many people on the autism spectrum experience difficulty processing sound and other sensory information. Too much (or too little) sensory input can cause stress, anxiety and unpleasant physical sensations. To find out more about the challenges of sensory overload, and how to help someone on the spectrum cope, check out this article from Autism UK.

Of course, it’s not only people on the ASD spectrum who can find too much noise or other sensory stimulation difficult. We can all feel overwhelmed at times, particularly in our noisy, hyper-connected world. All of us can learn to mindfully listen to a particular sound or group of sounds, paying attention to the sounds in a curious, non-judgemental way.

The ASD Keep ‘Er Lit group have been learning mindfulness and mindful listening techniques over the past year. In May and June 2018, our young people selected a number of locations in their local area, and recorded the sounds around them with the help of professional sound researchers working with Queen’s University’s Sonic Arts Research Centre. These recordings have been used to create a ‘soundmap’ – a map which you can explore to hear the recordings and the thoughts of our young people. We are very proud to share that map, and would like to invite you to explore it and enjoy some mindful listening. And maybe you’d like to send us a recording from your area to add to the map?

Click on the image or the button below to find out more!

VISIT SOUNDMAP