What our Learners think

" They want me to do what I feel comfortable with and no more. That might not sound like a lot, but as an autistic person my entire world is often discomfort and ignoring my feelings, doing my best to fit in with my allistic peers. Being at Darcy’s, the most important thing isn’t how much work I get done or how well I hide my autism. It’s my comfort. At Darcy’s my worries melt away, because there’s no expectations, no demands to perform, just the revolutionary value of comfort."

" I left school because of my anxiety and I didn’t get the chance to get any qualifications. I started going to Darcy's because we had heard of other people that had been helped. I was so anxious and had no confidence at all. I spent a lot of time in my room on my own. I was diagnosed with ASD in March of this year. The team at Darcy's have really helped me understand my anxiety and all the other feelings I’ve had. The staff are amazing and all such caring, kind people who genuinely want to help others. I learned to communicate better with people and travel independently. The atmosphere at Darcy's is so relaxing and I feel safe there. I love going there as I feel like my anxiety goes away. Darcy’s has helped me build my confidence and allow me to go on and do the things I want to do. I have been for a few interviews and I have finally found a job. "

"This newfound confidence isn’t just apparent at Darcy’s. I cook more often now, less afraid I’ll burn myself or give myself food poisoning. I insult myself less – I find it easier to be kinder to myself, where before I was scathing."

"Working with the bigger animals has made me more confident, I have learned to use my own voice instead of relying on my mum."

"Meeting new people is really stressful but because the experience was fun my anxiety didn’t take a hold."

"Thanks to the 1:1 sessions, I was able to join a group with three other people. If I hadn’t had solo sessions, that absolutely wouldn’t have happened. Strangers scare me and I can only handle so many at once, but because of the solo sessions, the Darcy’s staff weren’t strangers. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to handle meeting my group and expanding my comfort zone."

"I feel my confidence has changed when around other people. I’ve noticed my attitude with certain people has calmed down, especially teachers at school. It feels good."

"I’ve learned I like myself more, I’ve learned to love who I am. At Darcy's I feel like I can be myself and not have to pretend to be somebody else."

"I learned that if I helped a horse be happy and overcome it's fears, it made me happy because I knew I helped it."

"I’ve learned that I’m very good at socialising with people who have the same issues as me."

"Getting to know people that I didn’t know, I’ve learned that I have more confidence than I thought."

"Observing the herd of horses, looking after the fields and collecting and cooking hen’s eggs, these things make me feel good and I can cope at school and home better."

"When I’m at Darcy's I’m more relaxed, especially when the horses are relaxed – because they're happy and safe, we're happy and safe too."

"I loved every session being here whether it was raining or scorching hot. I loved it and I've made friends with people I never even knew."

"Since I’ve come back to Darcy's after the Christmas holidays I’ve also been going into school every day. I've not been into school every day since 2018. At Darcy’s I’ve talked about some of the things that have worried me. Now things feel a lot easier."

"I usually don’t talk to people that I don’t really know but since I’ve been here at Darcy's I have the confidence to talk to them. I gave a presentation in my class two weeks ago and instead of standing shaking like I usually do, I did the talk, it went well and I felt really proud of myself."

"Being here has helped me feel more confident to talk about personal stuff. It helped hearing about other peoples experience being the same as mine. It’s helped me achieve more things. I feel more confident in school and my attendance is better. I’m feeling more sociable now."