Not so random facts...number 2

Autism diagnoses growing in the USA by 10-17% each year !
Times-Tribune

Surprised ?


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Not so random facts ..

1 in 110 children born each year will be diagnosed with autism. 30% of autistic people are unable to speak ( from @60minutes on Twitter)

Do these figures surprise you?


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Write not wrong...

A quick apology to Billi Love, one of the authors involved with the writers project facilitated by Scottish Autism. Bill was one of the writers whose work was included in the 'Write not Wrong' anthology of creative writing published recently. Billi's name was somehow omitted from the press release and from this blog post which was all about the book launch. Apologies to Billi for this unfortunate oversight :-(


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Brain Weather- A poem from a carers point of view

Hello! My mame is Melinda Smith. I am mother to two boys, aged seven and five (there has been a birthday in the family since the last post !). My seven year old has autism spectrum disorder. I am also a poet...
 
This is the sixth in a series of seven autism poems I'll be sharing as guest posts on the Scottish Autism blog. This poem is in the voice of a parent / carer / friend of an autistic child, looking on helplessly while the child has a total meltdown.
 
In case you're wondering, the extra spaces are intentional.
 
I should also note that this poem was written with the support of ArtsACT.
 
Brain Weather
 
    :autistic meltdown ground zero
 
Think of                hemispheres:    Western, Left;
the wind-flows                 that connect them; the currents                       of sea; of electricity.
 
When was  it that             your frontal        lobe
Cauterized          itself against your       will
leaving  you endless       atomised local                   storms
with no way       to blow them    -selves out?
 
The last words you          said before the clouds came
stutter on            your small           tongue;
settle    in like cat-and    -dog rain, the syllables
hammering down, fixing one      thought with      a dozen stabs of lightning.
 
The miracle is not that it                stops, but how afterwards you can be so              calm and charming
- and puzzled that the rest of us still        drip and shiver from the rain.
 
(c) Melinda Smith 2011

Building up your networks...

This is a post about PLN's...or for the acronym shy, thats a professional (or personal) learning network. We all have them, and most of us don't actually realise it, but think about it for a minute.. there's your friends. And their friends, who you may know slightly less well. Then there's your work colleagues and professional and business contacts and probably access to specialist organisations and people through these connections. Then there's the on-line communities to which you might belong. This might be through social networking on Facebook and Google Plus, Twitter, MSM and Skype. Blogs you read and their comments also form apart of your PLN as well as professional networks such as LinkedIn and KILTR. Clubs, societies, alumnus organisations, even those who prop up the same bar as you! (there's always someone who knows 'how to' anything in a pub). All of these make up your network, either personal, professional or both, and these provide help, support, information, recommendations and contacts for you. You can visualise this by using circles which overlap filled with the names and groups and organisations. Go on, try to draw one for yourself- you'll be surprised at the extend of your own PLN

Now I guess the real point of this blog post is about joining Scottish Autism. Membership potentially forms a great addition to your own PLN. If you're a parent, carer, relative or friend of someone with an Autistic Spectrum condition then membership gives you access to valuable help and advice. Or maybe a teacher or educator, social worker, care assistant or play worker, a GP practice or community nurse, a lawyer or court official, a JP, Sheriff or Judge, a police officer, security worker, ambulance paramedic or technician, if you work in Local government in any public offices or places, a local councillor or MSP/MP/MEP or on the staff of any of these, or a bus driver, a taxi driver. All of these folks are likely to have some contact or involvement with someone with Autism or Aspergers and the likelihood of this is increasing with improving diagnostic regimes picking up more and more adults who have struggled all their lives to make sense of a confusing and sometimes hostile world, and whose sometimes seemingly odd little ways and behaviours might have made them stand out or even worse, lead to them becoming either the butt of some stranger's stare or finger point, or being misunderstood by the police, courts, or other authorities, with perhaps devastating consequences for them and their carers. Wouldn't a little knowledge, information or help and support be useful? and maybe a dedicated helpline to answer questions and make suggestions? A website with links and contacts? Social networking for more instant help and support? Training and networking events in most parts of the country, and access to internationally renowned researchers at our conferences? All for £15 per year for individuals, or £25 for families. There's more information here

So make a positive contribution to the work of Scottish Autism, and a valuable addition to your own PLN...



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