UPDATE ON:My Son Has Been Out Of School For Almost A Year Now

(now 2 years by the time I write this)

It has been a year or so since I updated my story: My Son Has Been Out Of School For Almost A Year Now

Apologies for my silence of my fight to get my son back into school and a suitable school that would provide for his needs appropriately. Since this was an on going case, when I discovered that my blog was being read by my local government and their legal advisor, I felt it best to keep a lower profile in my blog, since anything I wrote about could be used in evidence.  

Having said this, my son and myself did win the long two year case, and from 8th June 2011 my son is now attending the school of our choice.  However I do not boast our success, but rather I am grateful that the correct school is now put into place, and write of this in hope to encourage others. My fight has been nothing unique, but common place to most parents of children on the higher functioning end of the autistic spectrum in the UK. It would be nice to think that our children could get the help that they are entitled to for their special needs, but this does not come automatically, and usually not come at all  without a legal fight. During these lengthy procedures, my son was growing up, and in fact by the time the final tribunal came to be, he was old enough, (14), to want to speak for himself in court, which he did, and to which all merit of winning the case goes to my son Ziggy himself, Well done Ziggy! (and of which could not have been achieved without our excellent legal support of course!)

Nerodiversity VS Disorder - The Other Great Divide Of Autism

 From Website:Autism Key -  www.autism key.com

"With all of the attention the autism-vaccine debate has received, often overlooked is another source of infighting within the autism community that involves neurodiversity vs. disorder. Neurodiversity is a movement commonly seen among those with high functioning autism and adheres to the notion that people with autism experience the world differently, not pathologically. As such, they are not looking to be "cured" and advocate for greater acceptance and awareness for themselves and others who are "different." Read More ...

"There is a real fear by many that the heredity model will take precedence and lead to eugenics as more and more parents opt to abort fetuses with a chromosome marker for autism, following the path of Down Syndrome where approximately 92% of all diagnosed fetuses are aborted. Do we really want to prevent the birth of the next Temple Grandin?"

Read More ...

'Cambridge University Researcher Endorses Neurodiversity', by Dr Thomas Armstrong

Dr Thomas Armstrong author, speaker and educational consultant, writes:

"I was happy to see recently a post on the Encyclopedia Brittanica blog that featured an interview with Cambridge University researcher Simon Baron-Cohen on the topic of neurodiversity.  When asked about the movement, Baron-Cohen replied:  “The neurodiversity movement has been a very positive influence in reminding us that there is no single pathway in neurological development, but there are many ways to reach similar end-points.” 

Baron-Cohen is most well known for his research in the field of autism and gender differences.  His book The Essential Difference: The Truth About the Male and Female Brain (Basic Books, 2003), presents a fascinating look at two dimensions of human behavior that exist along a broad continuum:  empathizing and systematizing.  Empathizing, of course, refers to the ability of an individual to get under the skin, so to speak, of another person and to know what they are thinking, feeling, or intending.  Systematizing, on the other hand, involves relating more to systems than to people.  Examples of systems include:  a computer program, a football game, a mathematical system, an automobile’s hydraulic system, or a poker game.  It may not surprise people to know that systematizers are more frequently male, and empathizers are more often female.  Women get together to talk about feelings, relationships, gossip, and other interpersonal behaviors. Men typically talk about what’s under the hood of a car, last night’s basketball scores, the latest software program, or what’s on TV tonight (and, of course, they control the TV clicker with greater speed and aplomb than women). 

Baron-Cohen emphasizes that these behaviors exist along a continuum, and that most people are in the middle of the spectrum, combining aspects of both empathy and systematizing.  On the extreme end of the systematizing side, however, one is likely to find individuals with autistic spectrum disorders.  A look, for example, at the savants of autism (estimated to account for about 10% of all autistic people), reveals their incredible abilities at manipulating various systems:  rapid calculation of mathematical information, incredible fluency with musical structures, extraordinary attention to visual-spatial features of the external environment, and the like.  Even those autistic individuals with low I.Q. scores are often found to be obsessed with systems such as the snow on a television screen or the workings of an electric fan.  What is significant in Baron-Cohen’s “system” (remember, he is a male!), is that we are all on the spectrum, so to speak, between empathizing and systematizing.  As he points out later in the Britannica interview, “The impact of dimensionalizing autism has been very positive, in terms of recognizing that we all have some autistic traits and that the difference between someone who needs a diagnosis and someone who does not is simply one of degree (they have more autistic traits) and their “fit” in society.” Read more

Pupil With Asperger's Syndrome Rejected By School

from The Guardian thegardian.co.uk

A teenager who was refused a place at his local school because he has Asperger's syndrome has won a conditional offer to study engineering at Cambridge.

Alex Goodenough, 17, taught himself at home from textbooks after Hertfordshire and Essex high school and science college (H&E) rejected his application to study there. Read more....

Article from 'Babycenter Community' website: 'A World Without Autism'

Quote from article Baby Center Community article:

"... would be a very boring, lackluster, unimaginative place. Did you ever why advocates enjoy letting people know about famous people with Autism Spectrum Disorder? Because it proves that Autistics are very intelligent people, very often genius in their intellect. It proves that Autistics can overcome their differences in thought processes to be not only productive human beings, but can make contributions that echo through history and across the entire world. It proves to overwhelmed, scared parents that their Autistic child can not only be successful in life, but be extraordinary."  Read more...

Brett's Blog: 'A World Without Autism'

Quote from Brett's Blog: 

"If autism could be cured, and if we, as a society, chose to cure it, what would that mean for our future?

How would it impact our lives, and the lives of our children (and descendants many generations down the line)?

What would society look like 50 years from now? 100 years from now, when autism (or autism-like traits) were no longer a part of our world?"

Autism Speaks Does Not Speak For Me: A Reply to Their Recent PSA