APRIL IS AUTISM MADNESS

So Autism Awareness month is here. April is said to be the month to best get heard when reaching out to society when trying to raise awareness for Autism. I consider every month to be awareness month! I blog, talk, share, link, tweet and more It seems to happen naturally now and it just comes easy to me. I am proud to say im passionate about autism. I love autism solely because its part of my son.  Aspergers don’t make little man! Little man makes Aspergers. So for this reason I’m going to blog like mad this April! I’m looking to do at least one interview this April. I really enjoyed them last year and I’m considering bringing back the feature permanently. Guest post will also feature on the blog this April and throughout the rest of the year. The first Guest post is in relation to my day in Court on the 30th March 2010. A friend who attended Court with me has written an interesting  post. She makes fantastic points and has strong opinions it’s in my view a wonderful read.

Over these past few months I have discovered some great links and excellently good blogs that I’m keen to share with readers. Some have been added to the links already.  Pass through regularly?  Then maybe you noticed and gave them a preview. You will also see that a few more blog buttons have been added to the sidebar. If  displayed then in my opinion they are worth a look. With it being April I will be highlighting some fantastic campaigns and non-profit charity’s So if you’re looking for an Autism  charity to fundraise for this April then please I urge you to check these out. The last few months it’s been nothing but doom and gloom within these blog walls. That’s not what I want the blog to be focussed on. I don’t want new visitors, parents of  a newly diagnosed child to look and feel that life is set to be a never-ending challenge. I wont lie when I say with every closing door another seems to open and behind it is a new battle. It seems to be that way  for me right now! But ASD or not! We will always as parents try to gain the best in everything we aim for when it’s for our children. No day is the same! As is no child on the spectrum.  We need less negativity and more positive Input. As little man don’t return to school in till 21st April that gives me plenty of time to spread a little sunshine over the blog.  And lets hope that some day soon school will bring more positive days for little man clearly resulting in a few more uplifting post.

Well in my quest to create a totally  jam-packed Awareness month and not being able to take on the challenge single-handed, I’m gonna need readers help. This is what I’m looking for.

• A Father of a child on the autism spectrum. I want to hear from the dads who would be interested in sharing their story in an interview with me. Covering diagnosis its impact and what everyday life is like. Check out some of the interviews from 2009. John Kirton from the documentary Autism x6 on Discovery Health was interviewed on the blog last April. Did it raise awareness? Hell yes and it still continues too giving that it’s still one of our most popular post on this blog to date. John a father to not one but six children all placed along the spectrum of autism made for a truly inspirational interview. I’m not requesting you need six children in order to participate in an interview I’m just requesting you’re a father to a child on the Autism spectrum. Email me or comment if interested.
• Mums tell it how it is. This was a feature due to start last month. However this never happened with the craziness of whats been my life lately. So any spectrum mums who wish to voice important opinions or advise other parents and caregivers on ASD related issues then let me know. I am hoping that the lovely Rachel author of the blog Strange and beautiful would still be happy to share her insights in a talk relating to Sensory sensitivities 🙂
• Kids art to be put up on the Autism and Art page. Please refer to the page for details.
• help in our ever-growing Autism Love list. All it takes is for you to visit the page and state your reason for loving Autism. After all it’s within somebody we love. For this reason I say we embrace it. Thank you for the recent comments on the page. If you were one of them commentors then I’m pleased to inform you that your comments have been transformed into something beautiful and are now ready to view as part of the Autism Love List.
• Now for my big ask!  Are there any autism professionals willing to be interviewed? By professionals I mean specialist teachers, Dr, Educational psychologist, speech and language therapist, behavioural therapist, child psychologist, mental health practitioner or other. There would be no payment for the interview. It would be done by yourself solely for the purpose of helping raise awareness for autism. And for that I would be truly greatful.

Anybody who participates on any part of this blog are very welcome to have a link back to their blog or website.

Autor Clairelouise82 parkinson.claire@yahoo.com

My newest Autism related video’s

Time for a change! 

If you check my vodpod widget in my sidebar, you will find that the old five video’s have now been replaced with five new ones. All videos are autism/aspergers related. I change videos every  month or so depending on if they are being viewed a lot and the feedback I receive on them. Last months videos seemed to catch a lot of attention and there was some really great feedback on all five of the selected films that I chose to share:) Here’s hoping that my new selection does just as well. One of the videos is a British campaign video aiming to raise more awareness for children with autism and aspergers. It shows a group of kids at school with there attempt at bullying a boy in the playground. The video is very clever in showing how this situation could turn out if the attempt of bullying is aimed at a none autistic child and one off a autistic child. Very cleverly done you get to see the film in both situations. This is a film that some may find upsetting as bullying in itself can be a horrible thing to see.

I really do hope you enjoy the videos that have been selected and they bring both information and awareness 

Would be fantastic to her others opinions so please keep them coming:)

MONDAY FINDS ( WEEK 5 )

BAD, BAD GIRL!

OK now this is Bad! I am really losing the plot this week.  As you can see it’s not Monday! Nope it’s that day called Tuesday the one after Monday. I was laying in bed thinking about stuff as i was yet again unable to get some sleep ( As you can see its close to 5.30am and that’s not because I’m just a early riser) I was working out in my head which finds i was going to add to my Monday finds blog feature today. Then i heard it on the early morning radio show. It’s Tuesday morning OMG!

Not being funny but that means that i spent the whole of MONDAY thinking it was SUNDAY. When i think about it it’s kinda crazy as no one said nothing and i remember telling my close friend on the telephone how much more I’m beginning to enjoy Sundays. I even wished her good bye saying i had to check the roast in the oven lol. My my I’m only 26 reaching 27 years old’ anyone would think i was older then 60!  Anyway now that i have finished explaining my early on set into a mad person I will get back to my Monday finds AKA Tuesday. Whats a day late? I’m just glad it wasn’t a week touch wood.

British mummy bloggers

Yet again i have found what seems to be a great ning social network. I must add it’s UK only just in case you missed the word British. The site is not a site based around ASD but it sure has a good deal of parents that discuses the subject due to there children being on the Autistic spectrum.

You can join British Mommy bloggers by visiting http://britishmummybloggers.ning.com   

Contact a family

UK based charity that are spread over most of the UK. There offering free help, advice and support for those that have children that are disabled. Contact a family are also known to to have many events and sibling groups. Find out more by visiting http://www.cafeamily.org.uk    

Autism myths. 

Worth a visit this one. Some people could find a lot of comfort within this blog as half of what people say is some what untrue. This site exposes the many myths of Autism. Visit http://autism-myths.org

Autism Hub

Am i the last to hear about this one as its a very busy list come social network. Get your URL listed in the great big long list of autism sites. You can also subscribe to the RSS as it is listed beside the site name. Handy  really not having to click o sites opening a load of windows. Take a look http://www.autism-hub.co.uk

 

MOTHER TO SHERK AND THE FACES OF AUTISM….

Best to last! but kind of a cheat ( it is two sites i chose but its by the same publisher)  http://motherofshrek.blogspot.com  and http://casdok-facesofautism.blogspot.com  Written by a single mother to a son in which has Autism and is none verbal. His names C and his 20 years old. His mother has written some fab post on Mother of shrek and her idea to create a site that displays some top art work and lovely images of lots of children each suffering from some kind of ASD. These two blogs are wonderful. Im coming back.
IF YOU FIND THESE LINKS NOT TO WORK PLEASE FIND THEM IN MY SIDEBAR LISTED UNDER MONDAY FINDS. THANKS.

UPDATE..THE BIG INTERVIEW

This is a update for my post new features.

The big interview… The date for the first big interview is 28/2/09 This is a feature i have been looking forward to. It’s always great to hear peoples stories. I love reading interviews regarding ASD. It’s gonna be fab as i will get to hear everybody’s views and personal experiences relating to the condition and as a parent to a child on the spectrum i think i could learn some stuff as there’s always something new to learn about ASD.

The first Big Interview is with Cale Irwan a young guy of 20 who is on the spectrum. He has the condition Aspergers! Cale tell’s me what life was like growing up with Aspergers. He talks about school life, sensory problems, motor tic’s and more.

This is a interview i advise you not to miss a must read and a great look into one boys life with Asperger’s.

Cale irwin’s interview 28/2/09

LOOK OUT FOR UP AND COMING INTERVIEWS. WANT TO GET HEARD? GET YOURSELF ON THE INTERVIEW LIST EMAIL ME AT

parkinson.claire@yahoo.com

New Asperger’s videos added

Great news  people!

At last i have found the time to update and add a few more video’s to my vodpod collection. Two great clips added that you really must watch.

Come guys  take a look and let me know what you think.

Vodpod located in my sidebar.

Melatonin in the uk

If your reading this and your from the USA I’m guessing Melatonin is something you may of heard about before. Melatonin is freely avaliable in health food stores across the US.
If like myself you are from the UK Melatonin maybe unknown to you. Reason being is Melatonin is infact a unlicensed medication here in the UK and is only prescribed on a special ‘named patient basis’
Melatonin is a natural substance produced in the pineal gland located
In the brain. Known as the hormone of
darkness Melatonin is effective in
People with visual impairment in
whom Melatonin prodution is disturbed.
Melatonin also helps children with
Autistic spectrum disorder like my son.
We have been advised to give my son
3mg 20min before bed. We started the treatment last night but my son still slept rather badly.
Can anybody please tell me more about the use of Melatonin and if it helped there children or not?

What is Asperger’s syndrome ?

Asperger’s is a communication disorder.  Someone with AS would have poor social skills that family and friends may be able to spot from a young age but in most cases these poor social skills become more and more apparent as the child grows older. My son is now 8yrs old and yes i would say that AS has become more apparent in these last few years .

A child with AS may seem withdrawn wanting to play alone or the child may be loud and annoying to peers. A child with AS may seem a loner. Nearly all children with AS with have a special interest. This special interest will  dominate the child’s conversation meaning he/she wants to speak only about there interest. The person with AS will know a great deal of information on this topic/interest. My son has always loved trains and bus. It sounds silly but it is the working off the doors my son is most interested in. He can speak about how they work for hours and hours. He also could tell you where each bus is heading and all the stops on each train line.

Sensory sensitivity, Motor clumsiness, Routine and Language are just a few more things a child with AS may have problems with. Im sure we will touch on all these somewhere along in this blog.