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Asthma UK Cymru announces new Kick Asthma holiday in Wales
This highlights more than ever the need to encourage children to learn more about their condition and to take control of it. Asthma UK’s Kick Asthma holidays – residential adventure breaks for children with asthma and related conditions - are a key part of the work that Asthma UK does in this area. Wales will have its first Kick Asthma holiday at Cefn Lea Park in the Mid Wales countryside from 9-14 August.
Kick Asthma holidays are important because they help participants build confidence: while learning how to take control of their asthma through informal advice sessions run by healthcare professionals, they meet other children and young people with asthma and related conditions, and have fun taking part in lots of physical and social activities.
Children are closely supervised by specially trained volunteers and health professionals, so they can participate safely in a variety of activities that they may previously have had to miss out on. For 12-17 year-olds, the age group for the holiday in Wales, these activities include archery, raft-building, T-shirt design and swimming as well as asthma quizzes and role play games.
Tom Clarke, aged 15, had this to say about the Asthma UK holiday he attended in 2005: ‘I think Asthma UK holidays are brilliant; I really enjoyed myself. I learnt a lot about asthma and how to control it, but in a fun and friendly way. I can't wait to go on the first Kick Asthma holiday in Wales.’ Kick Asthma holidays can also provide a break for parents too - for some parents of children with asthma, this may be the first time that they have felt confident enough to leave their child with someone else. Tom's mother Carol Clarke adds: ‘It reminds Tom that he is not the only one with asthma - this is very important as he doesn’t come across other children like this at all otherwise. It also means that he can relax and enjoy himself as the other children know what his illness is all about. It also gives mum and dad a break without worrying about what, after all, can be a life-threatening illness at worst.’
Nia Jeffreys, National Manager of Asthma UK Cymru comments: ‘The holidays help the children become more confident in managing their asthma as well as more outgoing generally. Some children may have been teased at school because of their condition and may not previously have met other children with asthma. After a few days they realise that everyone is in the same position so it’s easy for them to make friends, become more confident, and even to take part in activities that they may previously have felt excluded from because of their asthma.’
Kick Asthma holidays usually last a week and, as they are run by Asthma UK, the cost is subsidised. In order not to exclude anyone from taking part in a Kick Asthma holiday, parents are asked to pay as much as they can afford. The price ranges from £20 to £350 depending on ability to pay.
For more information, please contact holidays@asthma.org.uk, telephone 020 7786 5000,
The full details for Kick Asthma holidays 2006 are as follows:
Asthma UK Cymru announces new Kick Asthma holiday in Wales
15 February 2006
Asthma is the most common long-term condition among children in Wales, and Wales also has the highest proportion of children under the age of 14 being admitted to hospital for asthma in the UK. Yet the results of a survey of children with asthma recently carried out by Asthma UK and Blue Peter showed that:
- Approximately half of the children from Wales who filled in the survey did not have well-controlled asthma
- One in five children from Wales who filled in the survey say that their asthma ‘often’ causes them frustration
- More than a third of the children from Wales surveyed said they did not know or were unsure what triggers their asthma
This highlights more than ever the need to encourage children to learn more about their condition and to take control of it. Asthma UK’s Kick Asthma holidays – residential adventure breaks for children with asthma and related conditions - are a key part of the work that Asthma UK does in this area. Wales will have its first Kick Asthma holiday at Cefn Lea Park in the Mid Wales countryside from 9-14 August.
Kick Asthma holidays are important because they help participants build confidence: while learning how to take control of their asthma through informal advice sessions run by healthcare professionals, they meet other children and young people with asthma and related conditions, and have fun taking part in lots of physical and social activities.
We know that the beneficial effects of Asthma UK’s holidays last, and that they help children and young people to manage their asthma better. Three months after the 2004 holidays, parents reported:
- A 9% reduction in the number of visits to their child’s GP for their asthma
- A 15% reduction in visits to hospital for their child’s asthma
- A 10% reduction in the number of days their child missed at school
- An 11% increase in the number of nights that their child’s sleep was undisturbed by their asthma
Children are closely supervised by specially trained volunteers and health professionals, so they can participate safely in a variety of activities that they may previously have had to miss out on. For 12-17 year-olds, the age group for the holiday in Wales, these activities include archery, raft-building, T-shirt design and swimming as well as asthma quizzes and role play games.
Tom Clarke, aged 15, had this to say about the Asthma UK holiday he attended in 2005: ‘I think Asthma UK holidays are brilliant; I really enjoyed myself. I learnt a lot about asthma and how to control it, but in a fun and friendly way. I can't wait to go on the first Kick Asthma holiday in Wales.’ Kick Asthma holidays can also provide a break for parents too - for some parents of children with asthma, this may be the first time that they have felt confident enough to leave their child with someone else. Tom's mother Carol Clarke adds: ‘It reminds Tom that he is not the only one with asthma - this is very important as he doesn’t come across other children like this at all otherwise. It also means that he can relax and enjoy himself as the other children know what his illness is all about. It also gives mum and dad a break without worrying about what, after all, can be a life-threatening illness at worst.’
Nia Jeffreys, National Manager of Asthma UK Cymru comments: ‘The holidays help the children become more confident in managing their asthma as well as more outgoing generally. Some children may have been teased at school because of their condition and may not previously have met other children with asthma. After a few days they realise that everyone is in the same position so it’s easy for them to make friends, become more confident, and even to take part in activities that they may previously have felt excluded from because of their asthma.’
Kick Asthma holidays usually last a week and, as they are run by Asthma UK, the cost is subsidised. In order not to exclude anyone from taking part in a Kick Asthma holiday, parents are asked to pay as much as they can afford. The price ranges from £20 to £350 depending on ability to pay.
For more information, please contact holidays@asthma.org.uk, telephone 020 7786 5000,
The full details for Kick Asthma holidays 2006 are as follows:
- 15-21 July Corrymeela Centre, Ballycastle, Northern Ireland
- 16-22 July Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh
- 6-11 August Frontier Centre, Northampton
- 9-14 August (12-17 year-olds only )Cefnlea Park, Wales
- 13-19 August Ashville College, Harrogate
- 20-26 August West Hill Park School, Southampton
-Ends-
Notes to editors
1. There are 205,000 adults and 55,000 children with asthma in Wales. This equates to one in ten children and one in 12 adults.
2. Kick Asthma holidays were formerly known as PEAK holidays. The new name has been introduced as part of Asthma UK’s development of new and improved services for children and young people with asthma. Other Kick Asthma initiatives include the brand new Kick-A website based around the fictional Kick-A City and its residents the Kick-A Crew who show what it’s like to live with asthma day-to-day. For more information visit kickasthma.org.uk
3. The Blue Peter/Asthma UK Survey 2005 was completed by 754 children in Wales; 405 with asthma and 349 who do not have asthma but know someone with asthma. It was carried out in September 2005.
4. Results of the questionnaire from the 2004 holidays were compiled through analysis of evaluation questionnaires sent out to participants and their parents before the holiday, at the end of the holiday and three months after the holiday finished.
5. Parents of previous holiday participants are available for interview on request. Please contact the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949.
6. Photos of previous holidays are also available from the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949.
7. For further information on Kick Asthma holidays visit the Asthma UK website asthma.org.uk
8. To arrange a journalist visit to a Kick Asthma holiday this summer contact the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949
9. For independent and confidential advice on asthma, call the Asthma UK Adviceline on 08457 01 02 03, or email an asthma nurse specialist at asthma.org.uk/adviceline.
2. Kick Asthma holidays were formerly known as PEAK holidays. The new name has been introduced as part of Asthma UK’s development of new and improved services for children and young people with asthma. Other Kick Asthma initiatives include the brand new Kick-A website based around the fictional Kick-A City and its residents the Kick-A Crew who show what it’s like to live with asthma day-to-day. For more information visit kickasthma.org.uk
3. The Blue Peter/Asthma UK Survey 2005 was completed by 754 children in Wales; 405 with asthma and 349 who do not have asthma but know someone with asthma. It was carried out in September 2005.
4. Results of the questionnaire from the 2004 holidays were compiled through analysis of evaluation questionnaires sent out to participants and their parents before the holiday, at the end of the holiday and three months after the holiday finished.
5. Parents of previous holiday participants are available for interview on request. Please contact the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949.
6. Photos of previous holidays are also available from the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949.
7. For further information on Kick Asthma holidays visit the Asthma UK website asthma.org.uk
8. To arrange a journalist visit to a Kick Asthma holiday this summer contact the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949
9. For independent and confidential advice on asthma, call the Asthma UK Adviceline on 08457 01 02 03, or email an asthma nurse specialist at asthma.org.uk/adviceline.
