The Lions Club Ásbjörn gave autistic children an 85-inch television.

A gift that helps at Hraunvallar School

The Lions Club Ásbjörn presented the autism unit at Hraunvallaskóli with a generous gift yesterday afternoon. The unit received an 85-inch interactive television, two indoor trampolines and toys that help them with their schoolwork.

Eleven children are now on the unit, which began its second year of operation this autumn. They are in the first, second, third and fifth years of their schooling. Kristín Lind Albertsdóttir, an occupational therapist and teacher at the unit, gave the Lions a warm welcome and explained the work to them.

Quality workmanship in the department

„Our group is naturally extremely vulnerable and we need to be very careful in everything we do,“ Kristín told the Lionsmen.

„We need to be completely visual, and every single child receives teaching that is tailored to them. We don't just hand them a Year 1 textbook and expect them to walk into Year 1. That's not how we work at all,“ she explained to the Lions.

„We are also so fortunate to receive this splendid equipment from you. The children naturally saw nothing but a cinema when they arrived. They thought we would be going to the cinema every day,“ she said in a light tone. She turned to Brynjólfur, one of the department's students.

• „What were you learning on the screen today?“ she asks Brynjólfur, who is sitting with his parents and watching as the Lionsmen hand over the gift.
• „About the universe,“ he replies.

Kristín tells them that they have both watched videos about the universe and completed online tasks. „The children can use the pen that comes with the screen and tick the correct answer.“ She explains in more detail how they use the large screen.

„We have also let them do projects, including drawing boxes. We can bring up a grid screen and they practise making boxes and triangles inside the boxes. That's how we train their fine motor skills.“

The trampolines are extremely important.

Kristín is extremely pleased with the two trampolines. „Those who know about autism know that there is often a great need for movement. We call it „stimming“. The children need to move, jump or make noises, and then it is often very good to get on the trampoline,“ she says.

„For example, I've taught an individual to read who could only do so on a trampoline. He would only read while moving, and it worked. So that's what we did,“ she says, amusingly. „We basically do whatever works, no matter how it's done.“

Íris Svala Sigurðardóttir and Lúðvík Brynjarsson, parents of Brynjólfur, a pupil in the department, were present when the Lions Club presented the gift. They are extremely pleased with their son's schooling at Hraunvallaskóli.

„We're not struggling, like many parents, to get our child out in the morning,“ says Ludvik. „No, that's right,“ confirms Íris. „But it's sometimes hard to get him home from here.“ They smile. Ludvik continues.

„I just want to say again that the people here are gold. They're just gems. It's a fantastic job and the communication is brilliant. They're exemplary.“

The second year of the department's operations

The special unit at Hraunvallaskóli is now in its second year of operation. „We are just incredibly grateful for the new unit and everything we have received,“ says Kristín, adding that donations like the one from Lion make a huge difference. „Everything we get helps us an enormous amount.“

The inspiration for this good deed by the Lions Club Ásbjörn came from Gissur Guðmundsson's connection with one of the children. „In just one year, from what we saw when we met him at a child's birthday party, he had made great progress,“ Gissur explained.

„I therefore felt it was important to see what was going on in this house, because there's nothing on the outside of it and you don't hear anyone talking about it.“

A bear for over half a century

The Lions Club has been operating since 1953. Gudmundur Guðbjartsson, the chairman, says the group is well-knit.

„We're raising funds and strengthening the local area. It's a great honour for us to be able to be a part of projects like this,“ he says. „Yes, we'll lend a hand where we can and we can see that some excellent work is being done here.“