Friday 24 April 2015

The World of Harry Potter

Our daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan and has watched all the films over and over again and as a result she can act out lots of the lines.  She’s in the process of reading the sixth book, has done projects for herself on the characters as well as bought lots of Harry Potter memorabilia.  We’ve been to the Harry Potter Studios a couple of years ago and I’ve just booked to go back for another trip in June as a joint birthday treat for our daughter and our youngest son, who is now turning into a big fan as well.  Although it's going to need a lot of preparation work for him, as he doesn't like busy places, crowds, queuing up, which is something you will experience when you go there.  However, with a social story and a sensory rucksack in place, he should be able to cope with the visit.  If not, we are hoping that the Harry Potter shop at the end of the tour will be enough to keep him going to get round the studios.  He has a huge wish list of what he wants to buy!!

This week our daughter has amazed me with her knowledge of the films and made a canvas for her wall, which is filled with quotes from the characters from the films.  She knows which scene and film, the quotes are all from. 



If you have a child who does not enjoy the academic side of life, having an interest or some may say an obsession like this is a healthy way to motivate your child to work.  It can also help them to socially interact, as they will have a topic that they are comfortable to talk about.  Harry Potter gives our daughter a lot of pleasure, whether it’s from watching the films, reading the books or being able to talk about them.  The only downside in her eyes is that she wasn’t born when they cast the first film, as she sees herself as Hermione.

Saturday 11 April 2015

Easter Holidays


The Easter Holidays have almost finished and it hasn’t been the easiest of holidays for our youngest son.  Having five members of staff teach him in the final two weeks of term, as his teacher had gone on maternity leave and then suffering with anxiety all holiday of what to expect from his new teacher next week has caused him to go into meltdown on and off during the last two weeks.  ASD children like routine and so when it changes, life becomes chaotic and their normal coping mechanisms go out of the window.

We have tried to normalise things by doing activities we know our youngest son will enjoy.  With the weather being so nice, he has been out in the garden using his inline skates, bouncing on the trampoline, perfecting his bat and ball skills and we have been out for walks.  Our big day out was to London to visit the Natural History Museum.  It’s something our son has wanted to do for a long time. Unfortunately he only lasted an hour in the museum as after queuing for half an hour to get inside and finding it very hot and crowded when we entered the museum, it was overwhelming for him.  We saw the big blue whale, which he described as being small!!  He was expecting something a lot larger.  We didn’t get to see the dinosaurs exhibit, apart from the initial skeleton which you see when you walk inside the museum, as an hour long queue was too long for him to contemplate waiting for.  He is a huge dinosaur fan with lots of plastic/glow in the dark models, soft toy dinosaurs and dinosaur puppets and lots of books at home.  However, as soon as he saw the outside of the museum his fascination for the movie, Paddington took over and he was working out what scenes had been shot where.  It’s a film he has watched every day in the holidays and knows most of the lines already and loves to act out the scene where Paddington cleans his ears with a toothbrush. Fortunately he pretends with his fingers, rather than using a real toothbrush!!  

Going back to school on Tuesday is not going to be easy, but hopefully once our son gets back into the routine of a school day and adjusts to a new teacher, life will become calmer again for him.  As hard as it is to watch our son suffer with such high levels of anxiety, change is an important part of life and something he will come up against over and over again.  Learning to deal with change won’t happen overnight, but he will get there in time with lots of support and coping strategies.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

World Autism Awareness Day

It's World Autism Awareness Day and I've come across a startling fact on the United Nations website.  They estimate 80% of adults with ASD are unemployed across the world. The National Autistic Society (NAS) website states that only 15% of ASD adults are employed in the UK.  This does not make a bright future for our ASD children if things continue this way.

Employers are missing out on an excellent workforce who will pay attention to detail, have logical reasoning, be punctual amongst many other superb qualities. Unfortunately, the social communication barrier and difficulties with adapting to change between ‘neurotypical’ and ASD adults means there is often a lack of support in the workplace for ASD employees.  They may also falter at the recruitment stage, as often an ASD person sees things in black and white, so will literally interpret a job advert.  If they can’t read between the lines, they may not realise that they are capable of doing the job and so will not apply for the position.  During an interview, an ASD candidate may struggle to answer questions if they are open ended, as they won’t understand what is expected of them.  They may avoid eye contact, which some people may construe as an applicant being rude and they may not be able to interpret body language.  The NAS website has an excellent handout for employers on how to adapt the recruitment process and to manage ASD employees on a daily basis and is something that all employers would benefit from reading, as well as schools/places for higher education, so that they can help to prepare our children for the path of employment.

Education is the key to the development of our future workforce. Maybe it's time our children were taught about autism at school. From personal experience of our three children, I am not aware that the subject of autism is touched on in the classroom.  It is unfortunate that World Autism Awareness Day generally falls in the Easter Holidays and so schools don’t often highlight the day by fundraising or awareness.

Our daughter has been in a class with another boy who has autism for the past 3 years.  Neither of them were aware that the other one had ASD.  They are both at differing ends of the spectrum and accept one another for who they are, rather than questioning what others may describe as quirky, eccentric or rude to name a few descriptors, which our daughter has been called in class.  If all children were made aware of invisible disabilities they would learn to embrace everyone for whom they are rather than stereotyping them, which then continues into how people perceive others in adulthood.

Our ASD children are intelligent individuals who deserve to do as well as everyone else in their generation.  They have the determination to succeed, but need the world to accept them for who they are.  Adapting the workplace to suit their requirements is no different from schools adjusting the classroom and how they work in it, to meet their needs. 

As a family we do not see autism as a disability.  Instead it is a gift – our two ASD children may see the world in a different way from our ‘neurotypical’ son, but it doesn’t make it the wrong way.  By maximizing their strengths, they will all succeed in life and reach their true potential.  We can’t ask for anymore as parents.