QR codes

Most of you will have noticed the increasing number of these funny black and white boxy things with what looks like crazy line patterns inside them. Well, for the uninitiated, they are called QR codes. The QR stands for quick response. The idea is that you use your smartphone app (downloadable for free from all app stores, whatever your operating system/platform) to scan the code, and this then opens up a website or weblink. Its a very quick way to access specific websites when you're out and about and very useful to businesses who want you to look at their on-line spaces.We've started using QR codes here at Scottish Autism. Have a go with this one above from us....:-) Its our text to donate code...so if you can, please, please, please remember its nearly Christmas, be generous, and help us to carry on with the work we do and the vital services we provide which improve the quality of life for so many folk with Autism and their families !

Scottish Autism Announces Fresh Approach to Charity Partnerships

Cargo Nightclub, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh     Edinburgh’s popular venue, Cargo Nightclub, has chosen Scottish Autism to be its charity partner for 2011/12 to mark the start of its new ownership. Cargo are keen to support Scotland’s autism charity to help raise awareness of autism and are planning all kinds of events at the club. First off is a St Andrews Day Pre-Supper and Quiz on Tuesday 22 November and a Student Night on 23 November.  Situated in the heart of the student & corporate district, Cargo Nightclub’s fundraising effort will be supported by a team of students from Napier University as well as its team of staff.  Alex Drinkell,  Fundraiser for Scottish Autism said “We are delighted that Cargo Nightclub has agreed to partner Scottish Autism on various exciting future events starting with a fantastic corporate St Andrews Day Celebration on the 22nd November and a Scottish Student Night on the 23rd November.  Students from Napier University are being very pro-active, helping with logistics and making sure these and other events are a huge success.”

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

Autism poem: The Impossible Blindfold

Hello ! My name is Melinda Smith, and I am mother to two boys, aged seven and four. My seven year old has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am also a poet. Read more here

This is the fifth in a series of seven autism poems I will be sharing with you as a guest poster on the Scottish Autism blog.

This poem is in the voice of an adult with ASD, and explores his / her ambivalent feelings about working with a bunch of neurotypicals.

It was inspired by the writings of Edgar Schneider (Discovering my Autism) and Temple Grandin (Thinking in Pictures).

The quote from the Bible used at the beginning is one that Schneider returns to again and again in his book.  If you look carefully, you’ll see I have hidden one word from the quote in each line of the poem.

(I should also acknowledge that this poem was written with the support of artsACT)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways
– Isaiah  55:8

The impossible blindfold 

an autistic adult prepares for a day in the workplace

 

Today again I’ll strap on my mask for you;

zip up my ludicrous human suit;

force most of my thoughts into small closed boxes

so that when I speak, you are not made uncomfortable.

When I am not trapped in a room full of chattering

sometimes I can pass for one of your kind.

You few who reach for me with well-meaning thoughts:

even you have no clue how hard this is, nor can you.

If you are sighted and want to try blindness,

bind your eyes for a day, a week – you might come close.

But there are no easy ways to shut down your radar,

lock yourself in my clumsy robot cage

and be. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways.

(c) Melinda Smith 2011

News and events...

Some bits and pieces of news and information in this week's blog post.


First up is a heads up for our Delicious page. This is where you'll find links to some of the latest research on Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.Whilst we don't necessarily endorse the research linked to, its important to provide a resource which helps those of you with an interest to keep up to date with work being carried out in this area of research. If you're on Delicious yourself...please link to us and our page :-)

Next, there's our Scoop.It page. here you'll find all the latest news stories as well as some of the research summaries. This resource displays the infomation in a pictoral tabloid style so it's easy to read summaries of the stories before opening the full article. Try it out and become a follower...

Our facebook page is where you'll find details of all our community and fundraising activities, as well as our photo albums of past events. We've loads planned in the near future, including a Clyde ZipSlide this weekend, a Forth bridge Abseil, the Big 5K fun run, the Tune in to Autism concert at St Andrews in the square (Glasgow) and many more. If you have'nt already done so, please 'like' us over on Facebook :-)


Don't forget our twitter stream for up to the minute news and chat. Its a great way to engage with us, share resources, or just chat ! Follow us and we'll follow you back...

Our website is full of information and resources to help those affected by Autism, their families, friends and professionals who wish to access our services. Latest additions include the full text of our Chief Executive Alan Somerville's interview in this year's Holyrood review, and up to date details of our training events.


If you've accessed any of these sites, let us know what you think, or of any suggestions for improvement you might have. We'd love to hear from you :-)

Autism poems: Autistic Acrostic and some AutisTweets by Melinda Smith

Hello ! My name is Melinda Smith, and I am mother to two boys, aged seven and four. My seven year old has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am also a poet. Read more here...

This is the fourth in a series of seven autism-poem posts I will be sharing with you as a guest poster on the Scottish Autism blog.

Today's post contains a number of shorter autism poems: one called 'Autistic Acrostic', and five 'AutisTweets' (what is an AutisTweet ? Explained below).

Autistic Acrostic is in the voice of a mother who experiences a small moment of clarity during one of her autistic child's meltdowns. It is also an acrostic, meaning the initial letters of all the lines spell out a word or message.  Can you read what it is? 

Autistic Acrostic

Any day now, it will lift.

Under your mask of howls, I see

Two knowing eyes reproaching me,

Incensed that I should try to shift

Some blame, for this, our hell, to you.

Mummy feels like howling too.

(c) Melinda Smith 2009

               

(First published in Quadrant, Volume LIII, No.4, April 2009)

This was the very first autism poem I ever wrote - more than two years after our son's diagnosis. It took me that long to feel at all able to write about it. Even so, this poem cost me a few tears.

***

AutisTweets: Since getting onto Twitter three months ago (yes, I know, a little late…) I have been exploring the 140-character format, complete with #hashtags, as a way of writing condensed poems.

The following autism 'micro-poems' were all originally 'published' as tweets from my Twitter account, @MelindaLSmith. The slashes between phrases show where the linebreaks would go if Twitter allowed linebreaks.

I should also acknowledge that they were written with the financial support of artsACT.

Here goes:

1.

my boy perches on the pool’s edge/flapping his wet hands/people are staring/he sees only me, and grins:/’I caught an imaginary trout’ #ASD

2.

#micropoetry #ASDparenting #firsteverjointsleepover Both sons away tonight/after 7 years/I don’t recognise this quiet/or this calm

3.

#autism #newdiagnosis #bewilderment with that one word/a glass wall traps me/i thump and plead/the doctor looks away

4.

The arrivals board/says my plane has landed/your brother hugs me/you won’t let us go home/the cascading numbers/are too beautiful #ASD

5.

#micropoetry #ASD #autism #anxiety "I still have a 'drenaline feeling'"/so I walk u down the hall/7 years old & terrified/of Bugs Bunny

(c) Melinda Smith 2011