We started this business to provide opportunities for SEND families to get involved and more importantly, feel included in community events. We are aware SEND families are made up of diversity- some family members may be neurodiverse whereas others may be neurotypical. We know that this can be especially challenging when you are trying to accommodate for all members of your clan and enjoy a family outing.

By bringing you SENstation, we hope that we are able to make other SEND families feel more confident that their SEND individuals will be able to cope, if they are feeling dysregulated. But, also will be able to participate in something they enjoy whilst building important social skills and learning about the world around them. Other family members can still enjoy other activities on offer at events which improves family time spent as a whole. 

Thinking about what experiences are on offer for SEND families specifically, we realised that the truth is... there aren't many! We would like to change the dynamic of this! Whilst we are starting to see businesses accommodate our families, we are living in a world where more and more individuals are diagnosed with special educational needs and disabilities, so we need to be offering more opportunities and services for these individuals to thrive, on a regular basis. These also need to happen amongst the neurotypical community to combat the social stigmas and lack of empathy, we often encounter. 

SENstation aims to appeal to all the senses- sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. While we are aware some people will actively seek out certain sensory experiences, we also know that these may run alongside sensory avoidances. We have measures in place to try and accommodate this, such as providing noise cancelling headphones in our portable sensory room to those who need to filter out background noise of a large crowd but seek the stimulation and mood regulation from sensory lighting equipment such as our bubble tube unit.

At our events, workshops and private hire parties, we know that some individuals will naturally put things in their mouth. To reduce hazards, our sensory science and messy play activities like sensory slime and playdough are generally safe to consume. This gives parents/carers peace of mind whilst allowing the individual to really engage with the activity.

We are a couple with two young boys. Our eldest child is autistic, has general development delay and sensory processing disorder. As a SEN family, we have personal experience of the daily routines and difficulties you face as a SEN family starting from early signs of differences, through diagnostic pathways and life after diagnosis. We aim to provide support to as many families as we can.

Kayleigh has a BSc degree in Biomedical Science and has experience in delivering STEM activities to the public. She also has certificates in Understanding Autism, Counselling skills, Level 3 in Special Educational Needs and is a casual teaching assistant at a Worcestershire Specialist School.

Prior to studying her degree, she worked as a veterinary nurse. Other than Science, she has interests in psychology, art, music and history. 

Damien is an ex-member of the British Army, who has a keen interest in gaming, building PC's, Japanese comics and culture. Damien plays guitar and has an interest in different styles of music. He enjoys engaging in play with children and is often seen as the figure of fun when he is around kids because he enjoys being a bit silly! 

We both hold valid DBS certificates and both engage in local charity work.