Autism travels to Hong Kong and Rockhampton

by Benison O'Reilly on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

We recently arrived back from a family holiday in Hong Kong, and passed a few important hurdles in the process.  A couple of years ago Joe had a bad flight back from Fiji, which he claimed ‘hurt my ears’. He decided then and there he was through with flying. As you can imagine this limited our holiday options somewhat, just at a time the rest of the family was keen to spread its wings.

We consulted our RDI® consultant, who suggested a combination of noise-cancelling headphones (available at electronic/ music stores, unfortunately with a hefty price tag) and a social story. My husband and I took Joe on a weekend trip to Melbourne (total disaster —a story in itself) but the headphones came through with flying colours (pun unintentional).

An eight and a half hour trip to Hong Kong was another matter altogether, of course.  We elected to do an overnighter, which ultimately worked well for Joe, if not the rest of the family. Joe played a few games on the in-flight entertainment system and then fell asleep for most of both flights—there and back— although the rest of us arrived at our destination bedraggled and grumpy.

How did Joe cope with busy, chaotic Hong Kong?  Pretty well in fact, although he was out of sorts the first 24 hours and developed a nasty rash on his face which he couldn’t stop himself rubbing. (Thus the photos aren’t pretty.) He enjoyed Disneyland, especially Space Mountain. He coped with train, tram, ferry, taxi and cable car rides admirably. He found enough foods he liked, despite his notoriously fussy appetite.  He was disappointed that Super Mario Bros toys (his current obsession) weren’t as ubiquitous as he’d supposed, but that was the main downside.

A visit to The Peak on the second last day was a highlight. The magnificent view was obscured by haze but we found a store that sold a huge range of Super Mario toys! I don’t know who was more thrilled, Joe or I.

Overall, despite some fractious moments involving sleep-deprived teenagers, the trip was fun.

Today Joe said,’ I want to go back to Hong Kong.’

‘Why?’ we asked.

‘Because I like it,’ he said.   Duh—obvious really.

In two weeks’ home my husband and I are off on another trip, although Joe is remaining at home this time. We are heading to Rockhampton, Queensland on Saturday May 15^th to present at an Autism Info Day, being sponsored by Autism Awareness and Aussie Helpers Children’s Fund.  Hopefully our regional cousins, so often neglected by ASD services, will get something out of the day.  If you know anyone from the region who might benefit please send them the link below.  It should be a good day and it’s free of charge.

www.autismawareness.com.au/autisminfoday2010

These days are one of the payoffs that have come to Seana and me from writing the Australian Autism Handbook—a chance to meet other ASD parents, especially those just starting out on their autism journey. A lot of these people are still shell-shocked, in the worst stages of grief, so it’s a good feeling to go out and talk to them, and reassure them that the majority of kids will get better if their parents  are prepared to stand up to help them.

Not cured— just better—I stress. Our little trip to Hong Kong may have had its ups and down but ultimately proves that point.

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Specialised Driving Lessons for ASD

by Seana Smith on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

It just so happened that Tom had been saying to me recently:

“I can’t wait until I can learn to drive, Mum.”

And I had been thinking:  ”Whaaat!!??***”  Panic !!

Tom is only 13 years old, but time is speeding by and he is getting bigger and bigger just as fast.   He goes to mainstream high school and he reckons he’s a pretty mainstream kind of guy.  Tom loves watching Top Gear, so why wouldn’t he expect that he’ll be able to learn to drive at 16 or 17?

Only…. his reactions really can be quite slow, he has a major language disorder and studying isn’t his thing, reading the road rules and understanding them will be a challenge.. and… and…. it’s very complicated.

But it’s also simple in a way.  Tom goes to mainstream school but he gets extra help.  Tom will want to learn to drive.  He’ll need extra help.

And again I find myself so, so grateful to the families and professionals who are pushing things forward for our kids.    Just as Tom was asking about learning to drive, I was sent an email mentioning:

www.driverrehab.com.au

And then another email with a link to an ABC report on the service this unit is offering for learner drivers with Aspergers.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2857542.htm

Great… I think I should book him in now.   Actually, that’s not really such a joke…. you know how long waiting lists can be.

As with many things, I will try to delay Tom getting started with driving until he is older than his peers, but it’s marvellous to know that there may be some methods of driving instruction well suited to him.

And if this is happening in Sydney, then hopefully it will be too all over the country.  In time.  Ah we parents need such patience alongside our pushiness, don’t we?

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Autism at Easter – good news week

by Benison O'Reilly on Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

It’s the Easter holidays and in our household that means one thing—well two things, actually, Easter eggs and the Sydney Royal Easter Show.  The first is easy enough to accommodate, but the second…hmm.

If any of you have read the Australian Autism Handbook, you’ll know that Joe, despite having a few sensory issues, loves the Easter Show—the whole, noisy, smelly, crowded deal.  As a result we have to go every year, rain or shine.

In a development of sorts he asked to take a friend from school this year.  I regarded this as a mixed blessing. It’s wonderful that the desire for friendship is there, but he lacks the social skills—the sharing, the reciprocal conversation—to really connect in a friend-like way. In the end I was unable to oblige anyway: all the kids we asked were either away or sick or otherwise engaged that day. Joe took the news badly. He cried in fact, and when my little boy is sad I am doubly so.

I spoke to a few people about this, and the consensus is that his desire for friendship is ultimately a good thing. It is just my job to keep working with him, so eventually he does develop the skills to maintain a real connection with his peers. It will probably be based around IT and computer games, and with other kids on the spectrum, but that’s okay.

When we made it to the show he‘d gotten over his disappointment, and was happy with his two show bags and four rides. It was a joy to witness his excited smile as he flashed by me on the roller coaster. It was less a joy to join him on a ride called the ‘Wild Raft’, which left me feeling nauseous for hours.

The whole family is off to Hong Kong tomorrow for a week. I’ve decided Joe’s dad can take his son to Disneyland whilst I go shopping.

Anyway, as we’re in holiday mode I’m not keen on the idea of dissecting any science, so I’m just going to mention a good news story which appeared in the media this week.  It’s about Specilisterne, a Danish software company, where every worker on the payroll has an ASD.

It was founded by a gentleman called Thorkill Sonne, who is the father of a boy with autism. Sonne was a keynote speaker at the Asia Pacific Autism Conference held in Sydney last August. Unfortunately I was manning the AAH stand and didn’t get a chance to hear him speak then, so I was very interested in this report from (American) ABC News.

According to the report Sonne:

‘…means to change the nature of the way society views disability. Sonne believes that workers with high-functioning autism have different brain wiring that gives them an edge’.

He lists good memory, a strong attention to detail, persistence and ability to follow instructions as skills that are important in software testing. It’s refreshing for a change to see someone looking at autistic traits as strengths, rather than disabilities.

As I’ve mentioned before, Joe is a mini-IT guru in the making and if more companies do decide to follow Specilisterne’s lead his future employment opportunities could be bright. Maybe he’ll even pick up a few friends along the way, too.

Read more at: www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/04/02/2010-04-02_thriving_danish_software_company_specilisterne_only_hires_people_with_autism__an.html

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More on books – hard copies this time

by Seana Smith on Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Hope readers are enjoying a bit of a break over Easter and a few delicious treats.  I’m posting early as I will be away with the family next week.

Here is another avenue for those wishing to avoid the huge postage costs involved in buying books from the USA or UK.  Have you heard of Footprint Books and did you know you can order direct from them and even visit their warehouse if you are in Sydney?

Footprint Books  is a book wholesaler which imports many ASD-related titles including the entire list from Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

www.footprint.com.au

You can browse their website to find their books, although it isn’t very user-friedly.  If you know of a book you’d like to get hold of then doing a search for it on their site is the easiest thing.

I guess this is similar to the situation with Book in Hand, the website isn’t great for browsing but good if you know what you want to buy.   Maybe it’s a best to browse on Amazon and then check with our local Aussie suppliers.

Also, buyers are welcome to visit the Footprint warehouse during business house Monday – Friday, it is in Warriewood on the northern beaches.  So lots of browsing opportunities if you can make that journey.  There’s nothing like picking a book up, flicking through and feeling its weight before you buy it…. love that, for all my love of the speed and price of e-books.

Footprint can also send you a opy of the latest Jessica Kingsley Publishers brochure, there is an amazing range of books and educational materials there, quite bamboozling in fact.  But worth getting to know and a must for the teachers in schools and all early intervention providers.

And just  quickie… here’s a blog written by the prolific writer and ASD mum, Valerie Foley:

http://jumpontherollercoaster.blogspot.com/

There’s a nice story there about Easter and also news that the song Valerie wrote, Through My Eyes,  has reached over 30,000 views on Youube.  Well done Valerie!   Go the Aussies!

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