Musical opportunities for young people with Down syndrome and Autism

Sunshine & Smiles Leeds Down Syndrome Network runs activities and support services to improve the lives and opportunities of people with Down syndrome. They’ve received a grant from Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund to run Sunshine Music Sessions. 

 

Can you tell us a bit about Sunshine & Smiles?  

Sunshine & Smiles is the only specific support network in Leeds supporting children and young people with Down syndrome, and their families. 

We run a wide range of social and recreational opportunities that help young people to develop new skills and build confidence in a safe and supportive environment. We also offer therapeutic support such as Speech & Language therapy, Early Development Groups and access to counselling and complementary therapies. 

We know every family’s journey is different so we aim to be there to be able to offer support as and when it is needed.  

 

What did your Ann Maguire Arts Education grant enable you to do? 

We ran a session at Music House in Leeds to offer the opportunity for young people with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and Autism to explore playing musical instruments such as piano, guitars, ukuleles and percussion. 

We also worked on a project with Made with Music, Leeds Conservatoire, Manchester Camarata and Orchestras Live where a group of our young people worked with musicians to develop pieces of music which were then played with a live orchestra and shared with a public audience at Leeds Conservatoire. This was a wonderful project and the experience of performing and playing with an orchestra is something we will all remember for a long time!  

 

Can you tell us about the impact of what you do on the people you work with? 

Part of the work we wanted to explore with this grant was to ensure our sessions were accessible for young people with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and Autism. With the Made with Music collaboration over 50% of the young people involved had a dual diagnosis and were able to access the sessions and perform at the final event. 

Some quotes from families:

“What a joy, feeling so proud of our children.” 

“You have fulfilled a dream, to play with an orchestra.” 

“Such a beautiful evening.”

“We’ve spent this morning singing all the songs from last night!” 

 

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as an organisation?  

As Sunshine & Smiles has grown one of our biggest challenges now is to continue to fund the day to day running of the organisation. Grants are an amazing way of running projects and achieving new ideas but we also need to be sustainable. One thing we are very proud of is that for the vast majority of grants we have received we have then been able to keep all of the projects and activities running indefinitely. But we do also need to keep a roof over our heads for our group sessions and also pay the amazing people who work with us and it’s really hard to get funding for general running costs.  

 

How is your organisation preparing for the future, and what kind of funding is needed? 

We have been fortunate to receive a The Leeds Fund Strategic Grant for Resilience from Leeds Community Foundation which is helping us to look at our financial forecasting and planning, review and develop our infrastructure and organisational processes which we hope will mean Sunshine & Smiles continues to thrive for many years to come.