Staying connected
At this time when we are faced with staying indoors, it is more important than ever to stay connected.
ASUK will be offering regular webinars where the AS community can come together to share their experiences and offer a range of useful topics to discuss. We may even explore doing a community quiz!
Also, through your Family Support Worker you can link to them either via a phone call or we can use a webinar facility so you can talk to each other in a virtual get together online.
Gather together your friends and families email and phone numbers to ensure you can call them if you need support and to catch up so you can stay in touch.
Social Media
Social Media is a good way to keep in touch with communities such as Facebook and Twitter.
HouseParty
There is also arelatively new app called ‘HouseParty’. Houseparty is a video-focused social network app, the app can bring together people to create social reactions with up to 8 friends (and friends of friends) at the same time, via live video and texts allowing only users to add people they already know via Facebook or their device’s contacts list.
Creating an account with Houseparty is simple, all is needed is a username and you can also add your phone number to give the app access to your contact list. This automatically allows you access to anyone on your list, but entering your phone number is optional. Users can also manually enter the Houseparty username of anyone they wish to chat with.
Chat requests are sent out to friends via notifications through the app or through text messages. As soon as a friend responds, the video chat is ready to begin. The real-time accessibility of this app allows friends to enjoy each others company as though they were all in the same room.
The app is recommended for children aged 12+ but for all ages if you are using these apps, remember to check the privacy settings and if you use HouseParty that once a ‘party’ is set-up that the virtual room is locked so other people can’t pop in.
Advice for parents
- Make sure they ‘lock’ their chat room.
- Use the Houseparty security features – using those mentioned above can help protect your teen.
- Advise your teen to use a different password to others they are currently using.
- Discuss with your teen the dangers of adding people they don’t know or accepting requests from people they don’t know.
- Always check with your teen about who they are chatting with and what types of conversations are taking place.
- Set up parental controls on their devices to control the level of security.
- Talk to your child about building up their digital resilience and critical thinking – as another way to highlight the need to help them cope with whatever the online world throws at them.
You can find out more about the app HERE
Zoom
You may have heard of ‘Zoom’ this is a way you can keep in touch with your friends and family on a 1-1 video call or in groups of up to 100 people! – you can sign up for free HERE
Get in touch
What do you use to keep in touch with family and friends?
Do you use apps which you have found to be accessible and good to keep in touch with your loved ones?
Let us know so we can circulate to other families who may be feeling isolated as this time.
Stay Well and Stay in Touch!
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