News and Events
FROM THE FOUNDATION

 
Foundation Premises
Towards the end of 2007, the Cloud 9 Children’s Foundation rented an office in the Tawa Community Centre. This followed several long months, during which the Foundation struggled to find a suitable location after vacating the Cloud 9 film studio premises in Lower Hutt.
The Tawa Community Centre is located in central Tawa at 5 Cambridge Street, just off Main Road and our office is open from 10.00am to 2.00pm, Mondays to Fridays during school terms. Although officially closed during school holidays, telephone messages and emails will be checked and answered on a regular basis. The Community Centre facilities are more than adequate, with lots of space and seating for various types of meetings. We also have a separate boardroom and a fully equipped kitchen - useful for our coffee mornings and evening functions.
If you can’t make it to one of our formal functions, please feel free to pop in any time during office hours if you need advice or just for somebody to chat to. And if you’re a member of Cloud 9 you’re more than welcome to borrow a book or two from our little library located at the office.
 
Wellington Coffee Mornings
A great get-together for parents who can’t make it to the evening meetings and for those who would prefer to attend a social while the kids are at school. Coffee mornings provide an opportunity to chat to people who understand what it means to bring up a child with Asperger’s syndrome. Speaking ‘the same language’ allows parents to swap ideas and anecdotes and assist each other with useful tips and guidance. Coffee mornings also provide an opportunity to take out a book or DVD from the Cloud 9 library and return items previously borrowed. Relaxing with people who understand is a great stress reliever.
So if you’re in the Wellington area and you’re free on the first Thursday of the month, pop along to the Tawa Community Centre for a cuppa and a chat. Sessions last approximately two hours and start around 10.00am. There is no charge.
 
Social Skills Courses For 2008
The good news is that Cloud 9 will be conducting social skills courses for teens again during 2008. Due to the popularity and success of these courses in the past, Leigh-Anne Goodyear has kindly agreed to help us out again.
Social skills courses are run over eight consecutive weeks during school terms, with one session per week, lasting two hours. The course is based on a model provided by Dr. Tony Attwood and covers feelings and emotions, interaction, inappropriate behaviour and much more. The cost to Cloud 9 members will be $100 a head, the balance being subsidised from funding received by the Foundation. Applicants will be interviewed beforehand to ascertain their specific needs and children will be grouped accordingly. An interview does not necessarily guarantee a place on the next course, as some children may be better suited to being placed on a subsequent course.
Depending on interest from members, Cloud 9 may also launch a young adult social skills/transition course, which would be similar to the course conducted for teens, but would include helpful advice in the workplace. Members interested in social skills courses should contact the Foundation with their details. Dates of upcoming courses will be notified in newsletters and email releases. People in the Auckland area interested in social skills courses should contact Rainbow House on (09) 580 4010.
 
Teen Club
As the name implies, our Teen Club is for teenage Aspies who would like to get out but find it difficult socialising. Teen Club get-togethers will be held as frequently as demand exists and meetings will be based on games or activities teen members would like to get involved in. (Unfortunately, the Teen Club obviously only applies to members in the Wellington/Porirua/Hutt/Kapiti region).
If you’re interested, please get in touch with the Foundation and let us have your details so we can include you in the group. The more teens who get involved, the easier it will be to socialise and join in the fun.
 
Parent Education/Discussion Evenings
These evenings proved quite popular in the past and would suit parents who have children on the spectrum and need to interact with those in a similar situation.
With suitable new premises, Cloud 9 will begin a new season of evening get-togethers starting in February 2008. Because we intend inviting speakers to most of our functions, we may need to adjust the timing of these functions to suit the diaries of our guest speakers. Notices will be sent out via email advising the dates, times and topic of discussion of forthcoming meetings.