Friday, November 20, 2009

"Us Together” Parent, Baby and Toddler group for children with Special Needs



US TOGETHER

Would like to welcome you to our new toddler playgroups for children with autism and special needs, in North Dublin
Age: Birth up to 5years of age
Day’s: Tuesday at PJ’s Playcentre and 
Thursday at the Fóroige premises, Mill St,in Balbriggan.
(Beside Dominos Pizza).
Time: 10am to 12am on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Cost: €5 per family per session.
Areas catered for: Balbriggan, Skerries, Lusk, Rush, Naul, Stamullen.
The aim of “Us Together” is
  • To allow the child to have free play time, to make friends and grown and develop in a comfortable, safe space.
  • Occasionally there will be information sessions from specific agencies on issues relating to the children and activities organise.
  • For the parents, there is the opportunity to meet other parents in a similar situation, share information, have a chat and a cuppa.





    For more information please contact Helen or Sarah at 01 8020484 in Fingal LEADER Partnership or Nora on 0860457003 at Remember Us. 



All are welcome and please get in contact with any queries no matter how small. 

Project supported by Fingal Disability Network

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Sometimes you need to lean on your crew.....

There's a few of us feeling a bit raw at the moment. Autism can be wonderful, it can be entertaining, interesting, challenging, rewarding.

But it can also be shit to have to deal with all the social, educational, clinical and bureaucratic crap around it.
And it can be shit to have to bring everyone else in the world along with you, to support and accept it.

Then you might actually have time to work out how you feel yourself.

In our Facebook Group at the moment, someone who obviously has too much time has created a language selection choice of "Pirate English". Choose it and your page reconfigures to mates, scrolls and treasure maps, and

Apart from making me feel closer to Johnny Depp, the language is infectious, seeping into your mail messages, even the serious ones where friends need a hand.

And why not? We are all on a ship. Some of us are old hands, some of us are able seaman, some of us are just passengers, but learning the ropes.
Some of us will be first up the jetty when reach port. Some of us are so used to being at sea, we wouldn't know how to walk on dry land.

Some of us feel like we are drowning sometimes - and need to be pulled back into the boat.

Some of us need to be left to it, people have to be willing to board or they can rock the boat and risk pulling you under.


See? talk about stretching the metaphor. "Watch out for Icebergs (of behaviour)"
"You're off the edge of the map, mate" (and no one knows what you should do next!)
and my favourite: " But why is the Rum Gone?

or Wine, Beer, Jameson, Tesco Champagne etc etc..


So here's a song for me mateys in on the good ship Autism. xx




 There is an excellent Autism Blog called "The Voyage" you should also check out when you have the time. xx

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Mothers of Autistic Children with a new baby needed for research study on early communication & interaction.

Jean Quigley a lecturer and researcher in the School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin is interested in language development in autism and is conducting a research study funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

She is looking for mothers of young babies who are aged approximately 3-6 months and who also have an older child or children on the autistic spectrum to take part.     
 
As a participant in this study, you would be video taped in your home or in Trinity College Dublin interacting with your baby for 20 minutes once every 4 weeks until your baby is 12-15 months old.
If you are interested in taking part or would like more information, please contact:
Dr Jean Quigley
School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin
quigleyj@tcd.ie, 01 896 2697



Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sorry Miss, My son ate my product review!


A couple of months ago I came across this website (via Jenny I think) which produces toothbrushes specifically for people with oral defensiveness and special needs. After an exchange of emails I was sent a small sample which when it arrived on the mat, was mistaken for a DVD by Mr Boo, opened and destroyed. (chewed in half basically)

See, I am in the perhaps unique position of having one orally fixated and one orally defensive child. One has always had magnificently healthy if slightly chipped teeth; thanks to a diet of car wheels, computer keys, bottle caps, classmates, Special needs assistants and the occasional toothbrush.
He has always brushed several times a day, without issue.

And the other had to have 7 baby teeth removed under General Anaesthetic in hospital, thanks to decay. (She could have had fillings but as a public patient they would only do "emergency" extractions or it's a long wait)

A combination of poor diet (a fondness for sticky caramel and honeycomb type treats) and extreme oral defensiveness lead us to that position. And a mistaken belief that Baby Teeth don't matter. 

When I noticed it, I took action and requested a special needs dentist visit to the school.

Then I was made to feel like a combination of Myra Hindley and Maxine Carr as the dentist managed to identify enough decay in Bratty's clenched jaws to make a referral to the dental hospital.
(The dentist's attitude softened when he met Mr Beautiful Teeth shortly after)

It was only the follow up visit of a dental health officer that allowed me to forgive myself. You see she explained how people in extreme circumstances will often let aspects of their health go. And living with 2 very autistic kids, one with undiagnosed ADD does count as an extreme circumstance.
This little girl got everything she wanted, when she wanted and when she did finally fall asleep each night, we wouldn't dare touch her.

Even when I did see the damage, taking control of her diet and oral health; I was up against it.
Extended family saw "no harm" in giving her crunchies and mini-mars and may holy war be declared on the inventor of the creme egg. Even in school it was hard to get them to stop using sweeties as rewards for tasks. The new school uses "Garden, Swing, Ball Pool, Computer and Tickles" to get Bratty to work. The old school was less imaginative.
But I stuck with it. The vision of my tiny little girl waking up in a hospital gown with a bleeding mouth after surgery was enough to push me on.

Getting a tooth brush into her mouth was Torture. I had to sit on her and literally hold her down last thing every night, regardless of whether it meant waking her up from possible sleep - and an ensuing 2 hour tantrum.
Dental check ups involved me in the chair (wearing leggings or stretch jeans) with my legs wrapped around Bratty, one arm holding her arms and one in what can only be described as a headlock.
The new dentist is a real darling; she gets in, checks and flouridates the remaining and emerging new teeth in jig time and thanks be to god; all are doing well.

You see, baby teeth do matter. They hurt when they decay and if you lose them, the next row of teeth will have no idea which direction to come in and you can end up with a whole mess of crookedness as a result. So You Have to Brush. As completely as you can, Every Day.

And that's where the Collis Curve comes in. As you can see it has curved bristles which do both sides of the teeth at the same time. Cover it with toothpaste and get in and over all the teeth every night after the last snack or drink and you are halfway there. As the website says, it solves the problems of:

Anxiety over intrusion into the mouth
Small jaws and difficulty in opening the mouth
Special needs and disability care
Having to brush another person's teeth - QUICKLY!


If only I had heard of them 10 years ago. 


xx


For more advice on oral defensiveness and what we did - stay tuned.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Not such a puzzle

It's not a puzzle with pieces missing or lost.

It's a high school locker with a combination lock - and we have to find the right sequence to open it up.
Inside we will find the specialty subjects that interest us most, and the ones we find challenging.

But if there is someone there to use the ones we like, the ones we could think about all day long - to make the difficult ones easier, we'll soon catch up.

You might have to learn a bit too - quite a lot to be able to help us.


No one says it's going to be easy, it will be very challenging. But very satisfying.

But just because we know the combination to this one - doesn't mean it will open the next.

Everyone of us is different. Some will open easily, some will take a bit longer, a few more tries.

You might even need to go ask someone else how they did it, and see if it works for you.

But we are all worth it. All we need is the right help.
xx

Friday, November 6, 2009

Santa's Stroll is Coming to Town! Sunday 6th December.


This is a great day out for all the family !

You just need to go to the website and download the form to register (or email me on affinityautismireland@gmail.com and I will send it to you) then get your sponsorship forms sent out for every member of the family who can walk, stroll or roll and take part.

It is a lovely opportunity for your extended family and community to support Irish Autism and the other worthy charities that Variety do so much for.
And it will be a great chance for all the Facebook Family to come to town and meet in person as we walk around the Green.

The Variety Club have provided buses for many of our schools and groups over the years, providing mobility and socialisation for our kids and helping them integrate in their community.
This is the chance to get mobile - and show them our appreciation.

Bratt, Boo, Mr H and I Look forward to meeting you on the day. xx

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Irish Guide and Autism Assistance Dogs NEED YOU!


Click on the images to embiggen 



Last week we were delighted to introduce you to Dusty - the newest member of the Owen Family. Dusty is an Autism Assistance Dog trained by Irish Guide Dogs in Cork. 


As we explained, it costs a lot of money to train a guide or assistance dog, but the freedom, independence, mobility, consistency and comfort they provide for a person with a vision impairment or autism is, as the adverts say - Priceless.


However, in this challenging climate (this blogger won't use the R-word) - there is a price to pay for anyone dependent on public funding and the Guide Dogs have been hit pretty hard. 


Which is astounding to me because Irish Guide Dogs have the highest net benefit in relation to expenditure of any charity I know. 87% of dogs trained go on to serve. 


So if you want to help them stay on their (four) feet - here's what you can do.


1. Make a donation, now. Even if it is only a fiver please click on this link and go to their Mycharity Page to donate using their secure payment service.


2. Encourage the government to continue to support the scheme - to do this go to Clive's Blog and click on the email addresses of the gentlemen responsible. 


3. Go here and buy christmas cards, a calendar or even an adorable fluffy toy dog. 


4. Have a coffee morning, pub quiz, raffle, wine tasting or whaddever to raise funds in your community. 


Put it this way, for every 150 houses in your street one of them will have a child or adult with some form of autism. Of those children there may be a family on the waiting list for an Assistance Dog. 


A dog that will create freedom for the child and family members to go out of the house.
It will improve the child's socialisation skills, increase safety levels and independence AND enrich the quality of life - of a whole family.


To me it's a no-brainer. Do what you can do. Now. 
xx