Blog
San Francisco was my first stop, it takes 10hours and 55minutes to get there from London, and this year I try’d out Virgin airlines,
I took the BART ( Bay Area Rapid Transit System) which is a underground train to Glenn Park, which is the area where the friends I stay with live. The first thing I noticed as soon as I got out of the station was the pine scented air, Glenn Park is near a canyon where they have wild coyotes, who mostly stay in the Canyon but who occasionally roam into the streets.
when I first came to America I found the food very difficult to eat, if there were a lot of textures like different beans and rice mixed together.This is due to tactile hypersensitivity My host family are Latino and so have an eclectic mix of food, one Favourites dish they introduced me to is Tacos, To begin with I had to have each part of the taco, the taco itself, tomato, choose,spinach and chicken in sauce separate on the plate, but now I can mix it all together.
Having finished work at 9pm the night before I flew to San francisco. and then the next day I was off with a film maker friend of mine William davenport whom filmed me for his documentary to sane for this world last year,.The trailer is here http://vimeo.com/24736711.
He took me to a really inspiring school. http://www.staracademy.org/about/staff.html The school is called Star academy, and what is so awesome about it so that its for people with Learning Differences. Note the word Differences. Which means that you get a large diverse group of kids, which allows them to work together help each other learn and feel safe in an environment where everyone can relate to being different. Giving a talk to children is one of the best bits of my job, because I know I can inspire them to change their lives, and not put up with being bullied, the children had a great number of questions, which I enjoyed answering.
Friday I saw a “programme” which I thought was really innovative they are called “Autistry” http://www.autistrystudios.com/
They bring together people on the Austin Spectrum for different creative workshops which are self directed, everyone has a project that he or she is working on sometimes the are collaborative sometimes they are individual. for example one man has written and illustrated a children's book.http://www.autistrystudios.com/blog/index.php/programs/buy-autistry-books/
The workshop finishes with a meal which everyone eats together they have also recently started doing group therapy sessions, using a role playing game. Programmes like this make me so happy because this can lead directly into employment or self employment which will be a research area I will be investigating.
the photo is of a figure that I painted.
Saturday I went to the AASCEND Conference, I was glad to speak here on a panel and introduce William, I also heard a poet and saw the creative work of others on the spectrum.
but on friday night I had started feeling unwell and disorientated and on the saturday started getting a cold, this is quite dangerous for me because I have scared lung tissue and all the flying and traveling can aggravate illness, so rather unfortunately I took sunday off and ad to miss speaking at AUTASTICS.
I went to the pharmacy to get phdafed (sudafed) they had no liquid so I had to have tablets.The next day I had to get up at 6am to get my next flight.
Los Angeles I was in town for 2 days day 1 I had lunch but people struggled hearing what I said, clearly thats not feasible in a talk so I rested as much as I could, the next day was no better so I went back to the pharmacy and got some liquid children's phadfed ( they don’t have an adult one) this helped somewhat, and I did my best to present my talk on safety which was liked, essentially I try’d to outline how people with Autism whilst vulnerable to some of the same things and some extra dangers to the non autistic population there are some specific things to be aware of for people on the spectrum, and suggested some things which may be useful.
Everyone in LA was so wonderfully welcoming.
Las Vegas I spoke for a group I had never spoken for here, they are called heads up and provide counselling and therapy, they are based in a building where outside every room is a small sound box which omits calming sounds like waves. There is also have a virtual fireplace on a TV screen. I spoke at united healthcare in a very large auditorium and was very well looked after. Then after that I had 3 days off, American food portions are much bigger then UK ones and this caused me a lot of anxiety, which caused me to Exercise as much as possible, Las vegas is very big, I didn’t gamble but I did go and see the strip and the vegas sign.
Pitsburgh
I am glad to know truly amazing people here, they are called ARC Washington county, ARC. My cold made a reappearance and so did some more children sudafed,
ARC run some different programmes, I visited a sheltered workshop which is somewhat like the ones in the UK, this particular service had different jobs, there were some quite physical jobs working on cars, and some less labour intensive jobs too,
that evening I spoke at an event to get rid of the word Retard, and I hope it was useful, the next 2 days, I presented afternoon and evening and morning and afternoon, both days were hard work but very rewarding, one place I spoke at was the woodlands centre, which had me speak in a cabin with a real fire which smelt lovely in my opinion and kept me nice and warm.
Im hoping Ill see them again soon, Woodlands is a purpose built camp for people with physical disabilities but they accommodate any disability, the have a gym suite swimming pool, assault course golf too I think.
Dallas to get to Dallas oddly I had to change plane in Denver Colorado, Denver is quite cold in this time of year whereas Dallas is hot, so I saw snow and cacti on the same day!
In dallas I got to slow down a bit, Here I visited Future horizons, they put on a lot of conferences in the USA and I enjoyed meeting Wayne and Teresa who I had heard so much about. Im really exited to tell you all about a new book which has just been published called apps for autism, which provides a comprehensive directory of apps that can help people on the spectrum. Future horizons is based in Arlington, and Funnily enjoyed I was on one of the last buses out of Arlington as its us depo closed that evening.
The next day started very badly having had a fun ride on a train I went to University Texas Dallas, and got lost because there were roadworks on the pavement and so called a taxi, but Im glad I persevered because their research programme is really interesting, they have created a island in second life that contains things like an office, burger restaurant and a town square.They are using it for social training. The person on the spectrum sits in a room with a headset with their own avatar ( a digital representation of themselves) and the therapist sits in another room which has a window of one sided glass so they can see their client. Their Avatar interacts with the person the spectrums, each week there is a set task to complete like ordering a meal.
What is so interesting about this for me is that if you are agoraphobic or very anxious about succeedin this could be something that can be done from home. and can help improve confidence
Dallas has a very large tower which has a revolving restaurant on the top, which I ate at on the last night ( just a small appetiser ) which was bought for me by 2 ladies one of whom was celebrating their 40th birthday, they were very interested to hear about england and my travels, By learning safety skills I can take risks like talking to strangers and read the situation, I think theses kinds of experiences have been some of the most fun in my life, but teaching people on the spectrum how to stay safe is key in enabling this to happen.
Its interesting having conversations with people at the bar about Autism, in general people ask questions probably more freely then they would at a seminar. It is interesting to see how much information they take in, and sometimes you wonder what impact you have made, I have had e-mails from people whom I have met several months after us meeting,That night I found a quiet restaurant which served texan sausages portions are much bigger and sometimes it can be hard to keep a balanced diet, especially if you are feeling overwhelmed and need to eat food familiar of home.
Miami
My last stop, At this point Im tired and it effects my ability to plan I didn't have much time free anyway, in the evening I spoke at Miami University and had diner with some people who work at Maims CARD centre. CARDs are small teams which are all over america, they mostly have small budgets and are charities. have few staff but aim to provide training and sometimes interventions for families.
The next day I saw a programme called New Direction which was run by Dr Rubin I was really impressed with how this was set up, essential college age ( i.e university) students sign up for college and also have support sometimes paid for from medical insurance, sometimes by families, to new directions, they stay in apartment buildings alongside other people families etc, and get support like therapy coaching etc they also have a fitness centre,
What I felt was beneficial for this group of students is that if they stop turning up to appointments because they are in bed watching TV then the TV gets taken away ( i the USA pretty much everyone has cable) the same with the internet, however by going to appointments you can earn privileges like the internet etc, one young man had been working hard and Dr Rubin had arranged for him to do a recoding of a song in a music studio, he has a record deal now too I think,
whilst theses massive achievements may seem very far away and sometimes insurmountable the important thing to remember is that as professionals, parents and supporters we need to help people to be the best they can be, regardless of what that is.
The actually tangible statements like flying round america record deal etc are not as important as happiness for example and some people who hate my job, for example.
Self Employment and ASD
I have decided that I want to conduct some research into people on the Autistic Spectrum who are also self employed.
This is because I am self employed and have found it beneficial to me, I think their are many other people on the Autistic Spectrum who would also benefit from being self employed, but do not know this is an option, or need help in finding suitable tools, books or strategies to help them to become self employed, and to maintain an income.
From this research I would like to write a presentation or workshop which could be presented to people on the Autistic Spectrum, support workers, social services employees such as social workers and parents, to help people to Realise self employment is possible and to share some of the tools, books or other materials and strategies people on the Autistic Spectrum have found helpful with regards to their self employment. I may also be able to make.design.write my own tools,books or articles.
I would like to speak to people on the Autistic Spectrum on the telephone but I know this may not be possible for everyone, I know it is important to communicate with other people on the Autistic Spectrum in their preferred communication method
However to begin with If you would like more information ,
please could you E-mail me, my E-mail address is robyn@robynsteward.com
Safety and Autism
You wouldn’t want to stop someone driving a car if they had a licence and were fit to do so to do so? But you would want them to wear their seat or safety belt, as someone with Autism I can safely say that I and many others on the spectrum ( I don’t think I’ve met anyone who didn’t) want to live our lives, doing stuff not just having stuff done to us.
So to be able to achieve this one must learn to keep safe this is like getting a driving licence for life, and to be able to use these skills that’s like wearing your seat belt in a car.
I premiered my Safety Lecture at UCLA last week and I will be presenting it again in Pittsburgh this week,
Essentially I outline, the areas in which one may encounter as a person in the world, there are still many people who are a little bit surprised that people with Autism would want to do all the same things their neurtopoical counterparts may want to do, but its important to outline here that there are things NTs may not want to do just as there are things people on the spectrum may not want to do, and theses choices are personal and for individuals to make.
I go on to talk about the specific things which I have seen as a mentor and which I have read about which cause problems for people on the spectrum and the tools which can be used to overcome theses.
In 2 hours you are not going top be abler to cover everything and this presentation isn’t supposed to. The reason I wrote it was because I was seeing lots of people with Autism falling into the same types of problems, and if they had, had a little info to begin with they may well of not got into those situations, but more importantly would know hpw to get out of them.but I also see people with Autism missing out on life, because they are someone close to them is worried something bad might happen to them,
There hasn’t been a huge amount written on the topic but Books like Lianne Willeys recent book on women on the spectrum and safety shows that there is recognition this topic needs to be talked about.
Transition can Happen (M)any time(s) a day.
Transition is a key word for people on the Autistic spectrum. When you ask teachers,TA’s or LSA’s when Transition happens, the first answer is often from Primary to Secondary school, ask support workers and they will often say from family home to Independent living. Not too long after this people realiaze transition happens everyday and many times.
We Transition from our bed in the morning to getting dressed, we transition from being at home to being at work, and this involves a journey Transitions definition really is quite individual, and could mean mindset or psychological state ( happy, agitated etc) or activity ( reading, walking etc) and context which may not make sense to someone with Autism.(One theory for this as described by Olga Bogdashinain her book sensory perpetual issues in autism and Asperger’s syndrome is that people with autism have Gestalt perception, that is that one sees the world in static pictures and this is why the slightest change in furniture position for example can cause a great deal of anxiety, or the seemingly unpresidented loss of skills). But everyone is different. continued
This time of year is a very important time to consider transition because if you have had new students or clients enter your school / college or service you may well of picked up on some issues which were not perviously noted on the IEP or LDA (learning disability assessment).
It is unfortunately common that transition is something like sensory issue soften not noted.
If a student is finding it difficult to settle in, perhaps there have been some behavioural issues, theses need to be carefully noted in a diary, and looked over, scrupulously to look for patterns, and to identify causes and effects, its also important to then have a transition plan, which should be designed by staff and the person on the spectrum.
Once you’ve established what the problems are you need to find the cause, for example is it a dislike to change or sensory perception causing the problem,
then you can write a transition plan with strategies to overcome as far as possible each competent which makes up the transition, it may be important to document strategies for each situation at which a transition is a problem.
It is very important that you are also aware of any cognitive delay in processing which is where a social sorry for a situation which is repeated daily may be useful
10/09/11
Ive been making a lot of different youtube videos below soem of them