In 2015, Cassie started at Jigsaw after attending both our school and college. Cassie has Autistic Spectrum Disorder and a Vision Impairment and sometimes finds adapting to change hard. When Cassie first came to Jigsaw there were many big changes to get used to. These changes included new staff, a different peer group, and a more relaxed timetable. Cassie showed signs of anxiety when experiencing these new changes, and would become selectively mute to new people and members of staff. Used to her old college timetable, Cassie chose not to participate in most of the activities offered to her.

Cassie’s Experience at Jigsaw

Staff worked really hard to understand the causes of Cassie’s anxieties, combat them, and build strong relationships with her. Over time, Cassie began to feel more confident and involve herself in activities. In Cassie’s first few months at Jigsaw, she felt comfortable only eating food and drink she had brought from home. After encouragement and hard work, Cassie has now started to prepare and eat her lunch at InFocus. Cassie now makes weekly meal plans and has adapted to using equipment at Jigsaw. As Cassie has become more accustomed to Jigsaw, she now happily joins in with a range of other activities on offer such as rhythm sticks (a musical session), craft sessions and horticulture.