Living with Autism

Today we hear from Clive the Autism Assistance dog and my good friend Fiona.  Fiona's son Murray went to the same state autism school as Grace and Liam from 2004 -2008, when we left to go to Saplings.  Fiona and I have kept in touch sharing lunches and yes, a few boozy dinners with the group of Mums that I met at that little school in South Dublin which did our best to improve.
So it was with my heart in my mouth as I first read this post on Clive's blog and tears in my eyes when I finished reading it. You will see why...

Murray and Clive


"This has been a very special week in the House of Clive. We have had a really 'magical Murray moment'.
Murray is 12 and Clive has worked with him for the past five years as his Assistance Dog.

In that time there have been many wonderful moments between the two of them - lots of new adventures, lots of places travelled and most importantly lots of progress with Murray. He communicates so much better, is far more independent and more…

I recently joined a new facebook group for Parents of Autistic Children in Australia who are trying ABA. The old chestnut: When to toilet train?  came up and it reminded me to repost this advice:




Don't be pushed into it!
You have to be ready to persevere with it so make sure there are no holidays, or house moves coming up, or any kind of disruption to normal life as it will set you back.

Prepare by making a visual social story laminate the pictures and put them in the toilet where you can point to each step as you prompt them to do it.

You can also make a little book of pictures to represent each step - to read together.

These days you might be tempted to do a story using an App but please be warned - if you want it to be accessible during the toilet routine, you are setting yourself up for a water (and worse) accident with your iDevice.

Make it out of paper using pictures from any of the free image sharing websites listed below*
Adapt it to your child's needs and cognitive lev…

Once upon a time my little Liam was a biter.




Still is but he has learned to bite his own hand* in order to stay out of trouble.

We didn't teach him to do this, but the consequences of biting other people taught him to try and stop himself, by putting his hand up to his mouth. He used to bite a lot of other people. A lot.

Biting is such an effective way to get someone out of your space, to elicit a reaction, and to get sensory input when you are angry, threatened or excited, that it comes naturally to many children, not just those on the autistic spectrum. It comes just as naturally for the victim to squawk or scream in an amusing fashion, back off and leave them alone with whatever they were doing before you got bitten. No wonder it works.

So, how do we put an end to it? Well the first thing is not to react. Very difficult when your beloved 3 year old has just nipped you on the c-section scar (a convenient height when you are 3) and you are in white hot pain meltdown. But stifle …

My boys in the new pub in Greystones: "Mrs Robinsons" a nice way to encourage Boo to take a walk. xx

I'm sure it seems a little hard core to be posting a product review on New Year's Eve, so let me explain; Like many people, I like to think about what the new year might hold, and what I can resolve to do to make things happen. 
I don't smoke, I'm not too bothered about diet because at my age I find if I don't eat the right things, my body quickly tells me to cop on - and the regular visits of the wine fairy will be addressed later in January.


What I do resolve to do is get a bit more of a handle on Gracie's vocal approximations. When typical children learn to speak they move through the sounds like Bababaaba, Dadadaddda, and there is a natural progression as the baby talk eventually turns into speech.


Gracie did not say any babble and as you know, did not produce a recognisable word until she was six so her mouth did not "learn" to make each core sound.
She had little or no clinical therapy for many years, and access to a speech and language pathologist …

This year, Gracie is saying "Happy" when prompted to give a seasonal greeting.
So Happy Happy to all my friends and supporters. It has been a huge year for me and my company.  A lot of hard graft but also a lot of lovely feedback and that is what keeps me going on the difficult days.

My lovely Gracie is doing great at the moment, lots of unique requests* and interaction. Lots of giggles and fun so we have nothing to complain about.
Liam has made a huge list of DVD box sets that he wants. Like everyone, Santa was a little bit short of cash this year but he managed to find a few of them and a few surprises too.

To make it easier on parents, Santa, Aunties, Uncles, Grandparents or really cool supportive friends who want to help you get the gift of independent communication, you can now get Grace App for €20 or $25 which is the average value of an iTunes Gift Card, for the next few days.
Even if you don't have a device yet, you can download the app on your iTunes account an…

Liam made this lovely picture a few years ago, inspired by an episode of "Bear in the Big Blue House" or "Arthur." Note: the Colombia Tristar™ inspired winged horse pulling a carriage. Last time we were in Ballarat he had my sister find him a Menorah in an antique store. And my sister was delighted to find a lovely neon blue Krishna light that she plugged in on the deck to add to our ecumenical holidays that year.

So whatever you celebrate, I want to wish you a wonderful season. And please, if you have any trouble sorting out your priorities with regard to obligations, always put your immediate family first. You will never have cause to regret the time you spend with your kids doing what they like, whatever that is.

xx