Living with Autism

Irish iPhone app “Grace App”, conceived and created by Lisa Domican, a mother of two children with autism, and developed by Steve Troughton-Smith ; with the support of O2 Telefonica, will be awarded the United Nations World Summit – Mobile Award for e-Learning and Education. Grace App chosen was chosen by a jury from the best mobile contents and applications out of over 400 nominations from nearly 100 countries.
The World Summit Award Mobile (WSA-Mobile) is a global initiative to select and promote the world’s best in mobile content and innovative applications within the frame work of the United Nations.
The Grand Jury of 20 internationally recognized experts selected the global winners from over 400 nominations from nearly 100 countries.
“The Jury members hail from all continents and they worked to award visible great m-content, no matter whether it originated from,” explains WSA Chairman Prof. Peter A.Bruck. “The World Summit Awards therefore represent what is top on the global plane…

Yep, Grace App was  joint winner of the Best Mobile Application – Sponsored by O2  Of course - I couldn't even have entered without the magical work of Developer  Steve Troughton-Smith
That's me, along with the lovely Vinnie Coyne with his winning Eirtext app and my   Made in Hollywood Giant iPhone 4
(yep, my mascara was smudged. They were calling me Halle Berry afterwards)
It was an excellent night and I would like to thank all the organisers and generous sponsors,
And Mr Damien Mulley. 

Big thanks to the host Rick O'Shea who was very supportive when I was dissolving into buckets of tears waiting to do my speech, AND he gave a little shout out afterwards to get everyone to donate their lanyards from the Most Excellent Goody Bags!

The lanyards are used to make shoulder straps for iPhones to be used with Grace App
A big thanks to everyone who sent their congratulations via Text, Facebook and Twitter - I was really quite tickled.
The Mansion House is an excellent venue - the ba…

Being a Parent is Universal.
We all give birth or adopt a new life with the feeling that someone gave your heart a pair of legs and sent it out into the world to cope for itself. You do whatever you can to keep them safe while allowing them to grow to their full potential.

Sometimes that little "Light of Our Heart" has extra challenges that mean we as parents have to be smarter, more creative, have more stamina, patience, adaptability and acceptance

Update: August 2014
I looked up this old post because I've been thinking about getting some more "Smart Storage" and I wanted to send the link to them.

I was very amused to find the post was dated in August too. (August is the longest non-school month in the Northern Hemisphere) 

What is it about staying home with kids for the summer that inspires us to want to organise our home and possessions?

For me its about control. When life feels a bit messy, it helps to get a grip on what you can control. I've noticed that my kids become most rigid in their behavior when there is an aspect of life that they find challenging, like a change of classroom or teacher in school. I know I consciously look things to move and tidy in my home, when what I really need to tidy is my brain. This year I sorted Liam's massive video and DVD collection on to home made shelves in the attic.

And it works. Those neatly stacked shelves are a metaphor for the re-organisation of my work/life balanc…