Two of the adults supported by Diverse Abilities are now able to enjoy the use of laptops thanks to two companies in Poole.

The HP Chromebooks donated jointly by Sainsbury’s and Argos at Alder Hills were given to Sammy and Ian following a lucky dip of all the adults in the charity’s Supported Living Service.

Ian has been using his laptop for sensory activities such as listening to music and playing games with sounds. He really enjoys using it to play ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ and is looking forward to being able to video call his family and friends.

Elise Sainval, Ian’s team leader, said: “Ian doesn’t have a computer or laptop of his own, so he is really excited about getting this new laptop. Ian says he’s mainly going to use the laptop for watching YouTube, listening to music, and finding different apps he can learn from.”

Sammy has used her laptop to listen to sleep meditation at night and for watching sensory autism videos in the day, both through YouTube. As Sammy can struggle with her sleep, having this option on the laptop as an aid has provided a real benefit so far.

Diverse Abilities’ Supported Living Service supports adults from the age of 19 to live independently at home with care provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The adults supported have the opportunity to get out in the community, take part in a variety of activities, and have help to complete household tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and gardening.

Abi Wills, manager of Supported Living Service, said: “We are so thankful to the teams at Sainsbury’s and Argos for their really kind donation, it means the world to the people we support and helps them to further develop their skills and independence on a day-to-day basis. We know these laptops will be cherished and, most importantly, well used.”