Well before the end of his first archery lesson three years ago, it was clear Ben Wood [not his real name] possessed excellent hand-eye coordination but, after only a few months’ tuition, he began hitting previously unimaginable bullseyes.
Meeting such targets had nothing to do with bows and arrows. Then aged 14, Wood’s autistic spectrum disorder meant he had previously found taking part in sports and social activities immensely challenging.
“Ben had tried many different activities but the noise, or the failure of other children to follow the rules, always limited his enjoyment,” says his mother, Julie. “As his anxieties grew, he stopped attending.”
But through a charity offering bespoke sporting sessions, Ben has not only improved his physical fitness, but his emotional wellbeing, too. Operating in Newcastle upon Tyne and across the north-east, uS helps 12 to 25-year-olds with mental health and emotional wellbeing issues improve their quality of life through physical activity.
“The charity approved funding for private archery lessons, but the first session was almost too much. His stress levels were sky high and he was beginning to melt down,” says Julie. “However, the trainers were amazing – and by the end of that session, Ben was hitting the target every time he shot.”
Founded by consultant psychiatrist Dr Mary Jane Tacchi and Yvonne Hurlow, an education and training expert, the activities uS offers include yoga, boxercise, circus skills, horse riding, archery, dance and ice-skating. The charity’s founders say Ben is just one success story: so far, the charity has helped just under 250 young people. Independent analysis of its results is planned for next year.
Funded by the Barbour Foundation, local businesses and donations, young people are referred to uS by local services such as GPs, hospitals, children’s services, schools and Barnardo’s. They are then assessed and matched to activities. Sessions are mostly taught one-to-one or in a small group with specially trained tutors. The sessions take place at a range of local centres, gyms and riding schools so that young people can continue attending once financial and emotional support from the charity is over. Length of funding varies, but it often lasts for more than one year.
Tacchi says the charity is meant to complement existing NHS services. “We’re not here to replace treatment but as an adjunct,” she says. Yet she also acknowledges there is a lot of unmet need. One in eight children and young people in England aged between 5 and 19 have a diagnosable mental health disorder; less than one in three of them get access to NHS care and treatment. And 2018 figures from the Education Policy Institute show that Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS foundation trust has the second longest median waiting times for treatment, at 145 days from referral to treatment – and children’s services funding in the north-east has been cut by one-third since 2010.
“Mental ill-health can have devastating consequences and uS is trying to make a difference,” says one of the charity’s patrons, Olympic gold medallist Steve Cram.
For Lauren Head, 19, from Tyneside, yoga has really helped her mental health. “Being a carer is hard; the pressure and stress placed on you in an already tough situation is a lot to handle,” she says. “I never had time to myself until uS introduced me to yoga. Sometimes having that weekly session to look forward to kept me going.”
Emilia Allen, 25, also from Tyneside, who has autism, says she did not enjoy sport at school. “I had no confidence and suffered from anxiety,” she says. “I always felt excluded, made to feel I couldn’t do it.” Now, after a year’s boxercise with a personal trainer, funded by uS, she says she has much more self-esteem. “I have been on the scheme for a year now,” she says. “My confidence has increased – and I enjoy myself.” Back in Newcastle, Ben, now 17, is much happier, says Julie. “The difference in him today – the positive impact on his confidence and coping strategies – is astounding. He has fewer meltdowns. His life’s changed for the better.”
