Kyleakin Connections has been awarded £90,815.45 from The Ideas Fund. https://theideasfund.org/#

Total Communication for Mental Wellbeing is a 14 month project that explores actively involving adults with learning disabilities as co-designers and collaborators in peer research with 2 researchers on 2 core activities:

Increase Makaton – Makaton is a language programme which uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. We want to increase the use in the Kyleakin Connections service, including our cafe and have Makaton Status. The researchers involved in this project will also learn and use Makaton in their collaboration with KC.

Redesign our Wellbeing Garden – our service users will become peer researchers and hold a community consultation and work in partnership with Attadale Gardens to build an environment for all to enjoy and connect using makaton together. We will also research how this impacts mental wellbeing.

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