PEOPLE with severe learning disabilities are using sound and music to develop communication skills, thanks to Comic Relief cash.

The charity Soundabout, which received £1,800 in March, helps people in Oxfordshire with severe learning difficulties improve their interaction with others.

Sue Simmonds has been a trainer at the charity, based in Thomley Hall near Wheatley, since it started 14 years ago.

She said: “We run sessions designed to engage young people and adults in communicative interaction using music.

“People come along to our centre in Worminghall, or we go out to schools and centres, helping disabled people to develop.”

For the first time, the Oxford Mail and Comic Relief are offering £50,000 of Red Nose Day Community Cash for communities across the county.

Twelve organisations in Oxfordshire have already come forward to apply for grants.

Now others are being urged to compete for their slice of the money.

Comic Relief cash was used by Soundabout to run a series of sensory festivals for Oxfordshire special schools, including Mabel Prichard School in Oxford and Kingfisher School in Abingdon.

Mrs Simmonds said: “Every term, we transform our hall into a sensory festival. We black it out and have sound and light equipment to create a themed environment.”

Mrs Simmonds said she wasn’t sure why music worked, but that it made an emotional connection with people.

She said: “The 80 families that use our centre say they really appreciate what we do.”

Vanessa Grimwade, from Bicester, has been visiting the centre on Saturday mornings with her 12-year-old son Ben for five years.Ben, a pupil at Bardwell School, in Bicester, has severe learning difficulties.

Mrs Grimwade added: “It is spot-on for Ben, because he is quite musical and it’s something that is just for him.

“But it’s not just about the music, the charity focuses on the whole child. They play music to each other and it’s almost like they are acknowledging each other as human beings.”

  • To apply to the Red Nose Day Community Cash fund, click on the link or call 01865 798666. The closing date for applications is Thursday, March 10.