An Autistic Christmas -14 years on!

Well Christmas is over for 2014 and I've been able to reflect on how far we have come over the last fourteen years.

We've just returned from a week away in Scotland. It's the first time since Google was born that we've been away at Christmas. He knew where were going but he wasn't looking to the change in routine. Even the promise of a trip to see The Hobbit failed to convince him.


As I've discovered on previous trips away, all the sensory difficulties seemed to melt away.Although he took his ear defenders as props, Google  never needed them.He ate plenty of food, swam, played Pool and generally participated in the family banter.

As is usual on holiday, we had one 'sick day' when the anxiety and anticipation got too much and he didn't feel well but that was hardly surprising as he'd managed to endure the hoards of Christmas shoppersin Glasgow, together with the bombardment of carols and twinkly lights.In fact, to my surprise he later managed to endure an hour in the boxing day sales without any complaint or melt down and just walked quietly to the doors of the shop when it proved too much.

None of these 'steps forward' have been 'taught'  through 'forcing' him 'to have a go'. Quite the opposite in fact. We have listened to him, watched his body language and respected his anxiety and fear. In allowing him to be himself Google has learned to trust us with his fear and knows that we will take him seriously.
It has been one of the best Christmases we have had and we came back feeling really relaxed and ready to face the world again!

Judge for yourself- don't believe everything you read!

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Land based science working party

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Yesterday I was talking to a lady about my daughter's school.

"Ah yes" , she said, "That school has a bad reputation doesn't it?"

Well actually it doesn't. When OFSTED visited the school all the parents (with the exception of one) rated the school as excellent or good in all respects.The school is small. with a high percentage of special needs and it caters for each pupil as an individual ,whether they be potential Oxford and Cambridge entrants or struggling with a life long disability which will make independent living very unlikely.

School Fell race 2014

The sad thing is that people listen to OFSTED and the perameters of what makes a 'sucessful' school keep changing so  numbers dwindle and the future of our small local schools become threatened.Perhaps that's what the government is aiming for.After all they are a drain to the Treasury pocket!

I once read that the optimum amount of people that anyone can get to know is just over 100. In my daughter's school there are 150 and she knows most of them, if not personally, by sight. Bullying is stamped on immediately and when I suggested my daughter might be slightly dyslexic she was assessed within two days.

I can ring up reception and they know who I am and I can send an email knowing that my message will be passed on to the relevant teacher. Parents and children work together as a team and want what's best for each individual child. It's just about as good as it gets after home education. (but then I'm biased!)

So if you're looking for a good school,go and visit and judge for yourself. There is more to an excellent school than just good grades. But then what would I know, I'm just a parent!

Land based science working party

Dry stone walling!

Thinking for ourselves- when Education takes over!

In the light of The Corporation and Bowling for Columbine, Google and I have been looking at the economy and how it works. What the subject would be called at school is debatable. Certainly economics, possibly psychology. What I do know is that he wouldn't be studying it at school as part of the current National curriculum in the United Kingdom

 We have considered the power of large companies over the public and politicians, seen "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" (both American imports)  come and go, and the efforts of small business ' in Britain to fight back with "small business Saturday."

In "Bowling for Columbine" we saw that despite easy access to guns in the USA and Canada,gun crime in the USA is much higher. In the Canadian large cities gun crime was virtually non existent. The conclusion of the documentary was that the news media in America fed fear into  people, promoting negative and tragic stories because that's what brought in the money.
Whether the conclusion was right or wrong it made us think about society and the world we want to live in.


Google commented that he would like to live in Canada and we were certainly left with the impression that it was a country where community has not been lost, where people trust one another, where health care is free and wealth is distributed more fairly.

We also spoke to someone in the village who regularly watches News from France or Russia and Japan to get a more open view of what is happening in the world. Someone called her 'sad'. I call that open minded.

With petitions in circulation daily against injustices highlighted by members of the British public Google and I  have explored the working conditions of several large and 'successful' companies and are having to rethink  how and where we shop.

We've also looked at how food is marketed, what goes into processed food,how the obesity is rising and it is causing us to challenge what we do as a  family. In fact home education is changing our lives.

I've mentioned before that home education has made us more politically aware. Certainly Google follows current affairs with interest and has an opinion on most matters. He certainly doesn't sit back and accept the status quo!

I think that's what's wrong with our current education system.It doesn't challenge teenagers to think for themselves it's simply an exam processing machine!

 This morning I read a free E book about helping our children to develop into well rounded thinking individuals .It's called Re framing Success and it challenges the notion that those with high grades are 'successful"

I'm glad we took Google out of school.It's challenged us to look at what we do and change things when they don't sit comfortably with our beliefs.

So this year most of our Christmas presents are home made of from local businesses.We are trying to buy more fruit and less processed food,I've unsubscribed to some of the companies who send me daily promotional emails and trying to reuse and recycle where we can.

We have a long way to go but no matter how long it takes,each step is a step forward. Education is becoming part of our lives!

What makes us Happy?

As I grow older I increasingly find that it's the simple things in life that bring me the most happiness, like walking in the countryside,singing,coffee with friends and sharing! In fact a special friend and I have agreed to spend no more than £2 on one another for Christmas ( including card and wrapping paper) I'm having a great time scouring the shops for just the right present! The worrying thing is that my husband thinks it's a great idea and has decided that the i-pad he thought he might buy me has gone out the window!

The best gifts for me are memories. Putting up the nativity and remembering the year when Google decided to put baby Jesus on the roof, or the Easter card ,where if you looked closely , Google's chicken was wearing spectacles whilst his twin sister's conformed to the acceptable 'norm'

Making Sloe gin and watching the sun set over Black Combe as my daughter and I  stood by the farm gate with a box filled with Sloes. Being privileged to participate in a concert in memory of the First world war and struggling to sing the words "Everyone suddenly burst out singing" based on a poem by Siegfried Sassoon as there was such a lump in my throat and half the audience were crying!

And now we are looking forward to a season of concerts in nursing homes, day care centres and public Christmas events.Singing is free and brings lots of pleasure to so many,including those of us that sing! Here's one of my current Favourites "Cold enough to Snow"
I read this,this morning and thought it worth posting! I hope it has as much impact on you as it did me! http://www.thehappinessinstitute.com/blog/article.aspx?c=3&a=4035

The Story of Alan Turing

This morning I found myself in the Doctors surgery explaining what a Bonobo was to the nurse Not that it's likely to be something she comes across often in the Lake District, but you never know. It was something ,I told her, that my Autistic had explained to me a couple of weeks ago. "He sounds just like 'Google',she said and lo and behold I had my new blog name for him! So from now on "Google" it is! Google and I went to the cinema to watch The Imitation Game It's the story of mathematician Alan Turing and his successful attempt to decode The Enigma machine during the second World War.  The Imitation Game  has been criticised for being historically inaccurate in many ways , but having read about him after seeing the film,I have come away with a much better perception of how his invention played a huge part in bringing the war to an end, the punishment for homosexuality in the 1950's , the difficulty for women to be accepted as the academic equals of men and an overwhelming desire to visit Bletchley Park and expand my knowledge . The sad thing is that Alan Turing wasn't recognised for his genius during his lifetime and died at the age of 41, having committed suicide. He was only pardoned in December 2013  for his criminal record for being homosexual. Benedict Cumberbatch portrays him as a man with Asperger syndrome, and although the film never says that and there was no diagnosis in Turing's day there has been speculation that he was in fact Autistic. As Google's mother I found his portrayal both heart warming and extremely sad that most people didn't 'get' him. Google however just sighed and said "You think everyone has Aspergers!".I'll leave you to make your own mind up about it ! I gather that there has been much discussion in the scientific world as to whether he was on the spectrum. I don't think it much matters except that we do need to try and understand people better and if a label means that the normal man in the street understands the difficulties and challenges they face and makes compensations for that then it can only be a good thing. I discovered this blog post and found it fascinating If you get the change to see the film I'd recommend it!

A Corporate Christmas- not for me thanks!

Every day I check my emails and delete the daily promotions which are regularly sent to me from book clubs,gardening sites and sports outlets.Friday was exceptional and I was suddenly bombarded by something I'd never heard of called Black Friday.It's an American idea and an American friend tells me that historically it was the day after Thanks giving when family would spend time together shopping and having fun. She says that latterly it has become more like a warzone with people knocking each other over in their bid to get a bargain.So when I hear of similar sights on the news in this country on Friday I wonder why oh why would we want that in our country? Coincidentally I watched a documentary last night called The Corporation ,a fascinating insight into the power of big companies over Government and the populas.The overriding message at the end however was that we as individuals have the power to change all that if we work together! If we really want to change something then we can.If we disagree with Black Friday we don't have to buy into it,after all,the emails I receive daily about special offers and free delivery are not going to dramatically improve for 24 hours only. Sales were far more fun forty years ago when they just happened at New Year,people saved and waited to buy their new three piece suite or car.Now we seem to be driven along on the commercial band wagon and I for one won't be joining them! I'm sure I'm not alone.I came across 'buy nothing day" on Saturday.I intended take part but had already decided to go along to our annual Dickensian weekend and I wondered if the two were mutually exclusive?There would be crowds and stalls everywhere.Instead, I decided to take my camera and focus on the sights and sounds of Victorian Britain.

I had a lovely day, talking to visitors from Salford ,Liverpool and Nevada. Learning about the stall holders and their skills and looking at the decorated windows and listening to carol singers.A real festive treat! And now I'm sitting here surrounded by jam jars making my Christmas presents and enjoying the peace and tranquility of the country side! I may even have a go at making a Christmas wreath this afternoon!

Christmas really is what you make it.For some of us it's a Christian festival with Christ at the centre for other it's family time. It's a mind set.You can enjoy the community of Christmas nativities,carol concerts and craft fayres or you can get wrapped up in the trappings of Christmas ,just as the Corporations intend you to.It's your choice!