Accessible play area like 'weight has been lifted'

The mum of a boy with autism said taking her son to a charity's accessible play facilities feels like "a weight's been lifted".

Gympanzees, a Bristol charity offering play spaces to children and young adults with disabilities, is building a new fully accessible exercise, play and social centre next to Severn View Services, in South Gloucestershire.

Michelle, 37, said the facility will give her and son Conor, who was diagnosed with autism a few years ago and is non-verbal, a place to properly relax.

The charity has so far raised £4.5m of the £8m it needs to finish building the specialist centre, with the hope of opening it in June 2026.

Once built it is believed it will be the first of its kind in the UK.

"When you become a parent to a child with a disability, you realise how the world is not set up for our children. It's heartbreaking.

"But Gympanzees is different because it gives us the opportunities we don't get anywhere else, from the equipment to the staff, everything is just not available anywhere else," Michelle said.

"For me personally, it's a relief. When you walk through that door, you know you can relax, we know that Conor is safe," she added.

Jen, 45, who works for Gympanzees, said she wants to help raise awareness of the charity on World Autism Day, to support the new specialist facility.

Her son Flynn, 10 was diagnosed with autism in 2022 and has a severe expressive and receptive language disorder, which means he struggles with social interactions.

Although Flynn can often mask his challenges in public he expresses his true feelings at home, with the world a "really challenging place for him," Jen said.

"It's tricky with autism and other neurodivergent conditions, their actions get mistaken as bad behaviour and tantrums but it's not the case"

So, she said, even if just one person can look at our family and feel compassionate, that is a win.

Jen said Gympanzee's is the one place Flynn can come and be "truly relaxed, and he's exercising and having fun without even realising it".

The new centre will feature 11 fully inclusive rooms, a horizontal climbing wall accessible for all children and two storey soft play with a wheelchair lift.

"I think it's a shining example of acceptance and individuality and nobody falls out of place [here], which is hugely important."

"Gympanzees is the most incredible place ever," Flynn added.

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