Lolly Jar Circus transforms the lives of children and young people. Read our families’ stories to find out how.

Our son has been a member of Lolly Jar Circus for 7 years now.  When he began he was a shy, reserved boy who didn't engage in two-way interactions with anyone other than his immediate family.  He had very little core body strength and constantly ran into walls as he wasn't aware of where his body was in space. 

At school, he required support to sit on the floor, so he didn't, just lay on the floor, as he couldn't hold his own body weight, so the school created a make-shift "support" by removing the legs from a chair and having our son sit in the 'seat' part of a chair on the ground. 

Initially, our son wasn't keen on participating at Lolly Jar Circus, as he didn't know anyone, so there was no trusted relationship for him.  He wasn't a particularly physically active child due to his compromised core body strength, so he didn't have a lot of stamina for activities or confidence to take risks.

Over the past 7 years we have seen our son blossom into someone we never could have dreamed of him becoming.  The version of our son described above no longer exists as he has transformed into a strong, sociable, capable risk taker.  He has conquered walking on stilts, independently, which are about 1 metre high off the ground.  He has learnt to brace his core to hold his own body weight to walk around the hall successfully.  His favourite activity is performing "flips" from a trampoline onto a crash mat.  It's like watching a meteor fly through the sky and his confidence is sky high as well. 

Due to the consistency of trainers, he has formed strong connections, enabling him to trust when attempting new skills that require an element of risk.  He has gained the confidence to engage in conversations, and ALWAYS greets his trainers at the beginning of a lesson and farewells and thanks them at the end of a lesson.  

He has formed some friendships with other young people and especially loves talking about his love of Supercars and Formula 1 car racing.

We can't imagine our world without Lolly Jar Circus.  The opportunities for personal growth, as well as the physical benefits, for our son are beyond description.  Unfortunately, the NDIS doesn't agree and not only rejects our continued appeals for funding for Occupational Therapy, but also for Lolly Jar Circus.  If it wasn't for the generosity of the grants that are received by Lolly Jar Circus to pass onto families, such as ours, we couldn't continue for our son to attend, and his progress would be compromised.

Shellee and Ian Craig

Brooke has been attending Lolly jar for a few years now. Lolly Jar has been great for her core strength, confidence and social skills.

She used to be scared of approaching new people, but has always been persistent when learning new things. Lolly Jar has given her opportunities to learn new things in a controlled safe environment.

In 2021 she recently participated in a performance called “Bug off”. 

It was amazing as I watched with tears in my eyes the things she has achieved. When Brooke was born her paediatrician warned us we might not take our baby home from the hospital. Then at 12 weeks old after having treatment for hip displacement, they said she might never walk. She has since spent time in wheel chairs and had surgeries on both knees to keep her ability to walk.

Brooke has learnt different skills along the way. One skill which has taken years to perfect is catching a ball, numerous hours with Lolly Jar, physios and OT’s to get there.

At the, Bug Off performance, family, friends and I got to witness her on stilts catching and throwing a ball whilst she was walking around. It was amazing, she was also so happy to be able to perform and show people what she can do!!

Brooke loves stilt walking and without Lolly Jar she wouldn’t have had to opportunity to even experience it.  She has learnt somersaults, balancing, hula hoops and enjoys every minute of it!

Tanya

It was amazing as I watched with tears in my eyes the things she has achieved.