Autism West Midlands Fun Day

A couple of weeks ago, we attended our first family fun day event, run by Autism West Midlands. They run lots of different events and workshops all over the West Midlands, including pampering sessions, information days and courses. This particular one appealed to me because we were able to attend as a family, and it was not far from where we live.

I thought I'd write about it so that anyone considering attending one would have an idea what to expect.

The event was held at a large community venue that used to be a comprehensive school. I didn't feel that it was the best venue for the event, as the building itself was quite claustrophobic, with lots of narrow corridors, making it quite hard for us to find out where the event was being held! Luckily, there were some handy signposts and plenty of lovely, friendly staff on hand to help us.

The event was held on a Saturday morning, which posed a problem for some families, including ours. A lot of kids attend Saturday morning clubs, so quite a few people were turning up at about midday and missed some of the activities like the arts and crafts class, fire safety workshop and pony rides.

When we arrived, my son made a beeline for the fantastic disco bouncers; small bouncy castles which were dark inside and had disco lights and loud music. All of the kids seemed to love them and got very excited. It was lovely to see a group of kids who would normally have social issues, playing together and having fun without judgement.

We went inside to check out the indoor activities. The arts and crafts table still had a few bits and bobs left on it, so my daughter sat down and started paining some cards. My son had his face painted my an amazing face painter, who complied with his slightly unusual request to be Bowser, the villain from the Super Mario series. She did a fantastic job and my son spent the rest of the day channeling his "inner Bowser" and roaring at everyone.

We then went into another room to watch a pantomime, but unfortunately my son had trouble sitting still and didn't manage to watch the whole performance. I liked the way that the performance was relaxed, though, and the actors didn't seem to be fazed by the kids in the audience shouting out and moving around.

The staff were all fantastic and it was nice to go to a place where nobody is giving you funny looks or looking at you in a judgemental way. This was a place that we could truly relax and be ourselves, knowing that others understood us completely. It was such a nice feeling.

I'm truly grateful for organisations like AWM that put on events like these for families affected by autism. We really do appreciate it.

Autism Diagnosis is not the End of the World

I was reading the Daily Mail today (bad habit, I know) and I read a headline that made my blood boil:

SHATTERING MOMENT I HEARD THE ONE WORD THAT EVERY PARENT DREADS

The article was about the journalist's personal experience of finding out that his son had autism. The article itself was quite interesting, once I'd ignored the parts about him trying to "cure" his son. The son, incidentally, grew up to be a fine young man with a good job and a girlfriend, so I'm not exactly sure what all the fuss was about.

It was the headline that really annoyed me. The one word that every parent dreads? Really? There are a lot of things that I dread, but autism isn't one of them. Autism isn't deadly. It won't kill you. It isn't the end of the world.

I was actually hugely relieved when my son got his diagnosis. It meant I actually had a name for his condition and that I could get the support and help that we needed.

I wonder how the journalist's son felt when he read his father's article? I wonder how he reacted, knowing how his dad felt about his autism and the idea that it was something that needed to be "fixed?"

Autism isn't an illness. It is just a different way of viewing the world. Maybe I'd change the headline to this:

JOURNALIST PROMOTES THE ONE THING THAT EVERY AUTISM PARENT DREADS: IGNORANCE.

Brilliant Blogpost About Public Meltdowns

I read this blogpost today and it was absolutely spot on. I just thought I'd share it with everyone.

http://flappinessis.com/dear-shopper-staring-at-my-child-having-a-meltdown-in-the-grocery-store/

Autistic Man Opens Up to Teachers

This man wrote a letter to his teacher detailing all the things he would have liked to have told them as a child. It hurt him to be labelled as "naughty" but he couldn't adequately express himself when he was younger and wasn't diagnosed with Aspergers until he was an adult.

I found it really moving to read.

http://themighty.com/2015/11/man-with-autism-writes-what-he-wishes-hed-said-to-childhood-teachers/?utm_campaign=site_fb&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

Parenting Autism and Depression

I've been feeling a bit low lately, but found this really good article online that helped me to understand myself a bit better. I'm sharing it in the hope that it will help other autism parents like me.

http://iancommunity.org/cs/articles/parental_depression

A Weird and Unsettling Glimpse Into the Autistic Mind

A two-minute film has been created to help people understand the intensity of life with autism, particularly when it comes to sensory overload. It's powerful stuff. I got quite emotional watching it and felt very sad for my son if this is what his world is like. No wonder he has meltdowns.

Intense viewing.

Watch the film here.

Don't Stare, I'm Not Naughty!

Watching an excellent BBC documentary which EXACTLY echoes our experience and frustration with CAHMS and mental health services. Especially the part where the poor mum is fed up of being fobbed off from one service to the other. Proof that the current system is woefully inadequate.

Please watch this documentary if you would like some insight into what parents like us have to deal with all the time!