Living with Autism

Recently I was back in my hometown of Ballarat to do a series of Grace App workshops. These were in aid of www.turnalifearound.com.au - a charity run by a Bendigo school teacher called Jacqui Righetti who was inspired to fundraise to help Autistic people to communicate. She collects old iPod Touch (3/4th Gen)  iPads and iPhone 3Gs, 4 and 4s and raises money to buy new devices for families who do not otherwise qualify for government funding. If you can help please visit www.turnalifearound.com.au and contact Jacqui.

Part of drumming up some publicity for the cause was making contact with the local media who covered it here in the Bendigo Advertiser and on ABC Radio Ballarat's Steve Martin show, And in the newspaper I grew up with: The Ballarat Courier.

They took a different spin, asking me to contribute to the "Catch Up With" section as a former resident. My sister gleefully tweeted the resulting article last weekend with yet another "what was I thinking?" phot…

While I realise that the above title may have lead you to think that this was a post about another kind of "diversity" - the  "It Gets Better" I'm talking about is my journey with Autism and my teenage son, and how it has got a whole lot better.

How did we do it? While it would be tempting to give credit to one thing (and then write a best selling book about it)  it is best to remember the science and take into account that:

Correlation does not imply causationI did not do one thing at a time, I did not run a placebo group and I had a number of variables over which I had no control. We did change 3 things which together seem to have worked.
 *knocks on wood*
1. Environment: 

As I have previously described, we got Liam's bed out of the open attic space and into a big room with a door that can be locked. He has his computer, an old tv and a vcr in there and his video collection. He can do all the things a teen needs to do including play with his iPad, iPhone a…

A first draft of this post appeared as a "Column" in Irish Online publication "The Journal.ie" yesterday. It was written in response to a small furore that has been going on in Ireland about negative comments appearing on Twitter and Facebook (read ithere)

While I am as appalled as anyone by someone deciding to harm themselves as a result of online bullying - I think there is a huge difference between harassing a private individual through a forum that is actively used by their peers; and making fun of a politician.

Coming from Australia - where the greatest gift of one of my favouriteex-Prime Ministerswas to eloquently insult the opposition in the parliamentary chamber; I guess I think that politicians need to toughen up.

But insidious online bullying of an individual by their peers, that I object to. However, rather than scaring the hell out of people, let me demonstrate how the Big Bad Social Media Wolf - can actually support us through mental strife, if we are pre…

In the past, this blog has featured a few stories on how not to do christmas when you have an Autistic Family. After 2007 and 2009 we eventually we learned to go our own way. We buy nice food, a lot of wine and plan our day around our kids. Presents that they have specifically requested arrive in a neutral space. In Liam's case they are snatched out of the stockings and brought upstairs to be watched. For Grace, it can take up to a week for the "new" to be absorbed into her existing collection, a bit like when you have to leave a goldfish in his bag inside a new tank until the temperature evens out. By the time of writing, one Sesame Street Story Book has made it upstairs into her bedroom. The remaining 4 are still in the kitchen, acclimatising. Only one has the celophane unwrapped.

Everything about our day, like our lives is arranged around what makes our kids happy and comfortable. No forced traditions, no expectations, no disappointments.

The only problem is you can …

I've been meaning to write about my son’s current phase of behaviour for quite a while. But I guess I was waiting until the storm had passed, that we had found a way to resolve it, and I could write an uplifting post full of practical advice and solutions.

But something else has prompted me to come clean and talk about what we are going through. I had a conversation with someone yesterday where I was asked what I thought of an event on the weekend, and in a moment of weakness I answered:

"To Be Honest, for us it was as much about the night off in a hotel, our son has been very difficult lately and we needed the respite.

and this person reprimanded me firmly saying "Oh I would never typify my son in that language"

I was shocked, and replied "I'm not being negative about my son, but he can be so challenging at times and it is exhausting.

She went on to say something about knowing its hard, but it is hard for all of us and not to think of myself as a victim. (I…

Smumpreneur:Alternative forms: Snompreneur (North American)Etymology: Blend of  special needs mum and entrepreneurNoun: smumpreneur (plural smumpreneurs)(informal) A mother of a special needs child or children, who works as a businessentrepreneur in addition to (and often inspired by) familycommitments
As you might have read on this blog, about 3 years ago I created and launched something called The Grace App, which is a picture communication system I created with, and for, my daughter Grace, who has autism and severely delayed speech. I did it with a really talented App developing wizard called Steve Troughton-Smith, who you may also have read about here.
And totally without planning it, I went from staying at home for the last ten years as a special needs mum to having my own product, my own business and the chance to get out of the house once in a while and get paid to talk. (my husband pays me not to talk)

Todo this I need props,  a lot of props, all of which I used to carry around i…