RESIDENTS in Clackmannan and further afield are being invited to a fayre next month, helping to raise funds for a sensory room.

The event is being organised by Scottish Autism’s Chrysalis service with a range of fun activities on Saturday, July 7.

It will be the second year the day service on Kirk Wynd is organising a fayre with hopes that the indoor sensory unit could be fully completed afterwards.

with Laura Willocks, senior autism practitioner, said the room and the equipment would benefit service users in a variety of ways.

She added: “People with autism can struggle with sensory overload quite a lot of the time – like from involuntary noises such as birds, cars, children, dogs – things like that.

“But when they are in a sensory room they can control their own senses, they can choose whether they want to touch or listen or taste.

“It’s about giving them that element of control where they don’t feel stressed or upset because they can control their own environment.

“Sensory is a massive part of autism, I think people underestimate how big it is.”

The event will be held between 11am and 3pm on the day at the premises under 23 Kirk Wynd.

There will be exotic animals with Bonnie Beasties and handling opportunities for £1.

Other attractions will include ponies, a kids’ disco, mascots, a bouncy castle, trampolines, giant garden games with Jenga and Connect 4, a variety of stalls, a tombola, a raffle as well as food and drink with teas, coffees, hot dogs and a Mr Whippy Ice Cream van.

Entry will be £1.50 per child, including a goodie bag, and adults go for free.

Parking is not available at the venue and people are being advised to find spaces on the street.

To make sure they hit their fundraising target, staff at Chrysalis are also planning to take on the MacTuff Girls Big Dirty Day Out obstacle course race in August and are collecting cash through sponsorship.

In the meantime, Laura is hoping for a big turnout on Saturday and is also hoping to build bridges across the community.

She added: “Come along and help support us because our big aim is to integrate people with autism into the community as much as possible and get them involved.”

The team have been trying to build for the sensory room for more than a year, taking on a handful of fundraising activities such as the Colour Me Rad event in Glasgow last year.

They also held a stall at the Mercat Fayre in Clackmannan last June to try and garner public support for the project.