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Archive for December 18th, 2010

First Published Wednesday, 25th June, 2008.

Advocates for Children of New York

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kim Sweet,
212-822-9514
June 23, 2008
Groundbreaking Class Action Settlement for Students with Disabilities
Parents Have until June 30 to File Claims


New York City. Advocates for Children of New York announced today the groundbreaking settlement of a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of parents of students with disabilities in New York City’s public schools.

The lawsuit, filed in 2003, challenged the systemic failure of the New York City
Department of Education (DOE) to timely and fully implement orders of impartial hearing officers, who are independent officials assigned to resolve disputes over special education services. The lawsuit alleged that, as a result, students with disabilities were denied important and necessary educational services, including in some instances being excluded from school altogether. The lawsuit, L.V. et al. v. New York City Department of Education et al., was brought by Advocates for Children of New York and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.

Under the settlement agreement, the DOE agreed to comply with a series of benchmarks for implementation of orders going forward and that an Independent Auditor would monitor its compliance with the benchmarks.

Lysa Vanible, a Lead Plaintiff in the case and a parent of a child with a disability, stated,
“The settlement is designed to ensure that the DOE has an effective system to provide students with disabilities with the services that hearing officers find they need.” The settlement also provides compensation for students with disabilities who obtained favorable orders from an impartial hearing officer but whose orders were not fully and timely implemented by the DOE. Parents may obtain vouchers for up to $15,000 for educational services to compensate for the services that were denied, reimbursement for expenses they incurred because their orders were not implemented, or payments for services required by an order. Parents can use the vouchers from the settlement with a wide range of providers to obtain tutoring, career and vocational training, assistive technology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and other educational services for their children. Parents may also make a request to the Independent Auditor to use the voucher at a service provider they select if an alternate provider is more appropriate for their particular needs.

“The voucher provisions of the settlement provide an opportunity for parents to secure much needed educational services for their children – services that they can choose based on their children’s specific needs and circumstances – where the DOE failed to provide such services,” stated Shawn Morehead, Director of Litigation at Advocates for Children of New York.

Parents of students with disabilities have until June 30, 2008 to file claims for educational services or repayment. Claim forms may be obtained at http://www.hearingordersettlement.com/ or by calling Advocates for Children at (212) 947-9779 x577. Parents or advocates may also contact Advocates for Children if they have any questions about completing the form.

For more information about the settlement, please visit:
http://www.hearingordersettlement.com/


Advocates for Children of New York:
http://www.advocatesforchildren.org/



First Published Monday, 23rd June, 2008.

Autistic man lost a week is found alive

Area 1 mile west of camp had been searched 3 times before

Keith Kennedy, found alive on Sunday after being lost for seven days in the wilderness south of Grantsburg, Wis., is transported by stretcher to a waiting air ambulance. (Special to Pioneer Press: Priscilla Bauer, Inter-County Leader)

Her son was unable to speak, unable to walk and covered with ticks.


For Linda Kennedy, it was a wonderful sight.


“He’s alive,” she said Sunday night. “It’s miraculous.”


Keith Kennedy, her 25-year-old son with autism, had been missing for a week from a camp for developmentally disabled adults near Grantsburg, Wis.


Just as hopes were dimming in the weeklong search for him, Kennedy was found alive by a group of St. Paul and Maple Grove firefighters at about 7 p.m., lying next to a stream a mile west of Trade Lake Camp.


Linda Kennedy said her son appeared dehydrated and scraped up when she saw him briefly before he was transported by helicopter to the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview.


The man was in

the intensive care unit this morning, but was stable and improving, a spokeswoman said.


“We just called his name and told him we’re here for him and he’s going to get better and he’s going to get help,” the mother said as she drove from Wisconsin to her son’s hospital.


“Other than some scrapes and cuts and being covered with bugs, he looked pretty darn good. We’re having a party right now,” Burnett County Sheriff Dean Roland said.


Hundreds of people had scoured the fields, forests and rivers near the camp for seven days, joined by searchers in helicopters, on horseback and in canoes.


Roland estimated more than 40 square miles had been searched.


Kennedy was found in rough terrain marked by swamps and thick brush. The area had been searched three times in the past week, Roland said, and about 70 searchers were about to conclude a fourth search Sunday night when they found Kennedy.


Hours before that, Roland had contemplated calling off the search.


Searchers also worried Kennedy was suffering because he hadn’t received needed anti-rejection medication for a kidney transplant he received in 1995.


“I will never forget the smile on Mom and Dad’s face after they heard their son was safe,” Roland said.


It is still not clear how Kennedy, who needs constant supervision, was able to walk away from the camp a week ago.


Kennedy, who lives in a Shoreview group home, had spent a week in each of the previous two summers at the Grantsburg camp without incident, veteran camp counselor Barb Denn said.


After dinner June 15, he was expected to get ready for bed but was reported missing about 8 p.m. The search began immediately.


Early on, some searchers were told he would hide from loud noises, including those created by search planes or ATVs, and wouldn’t answer if called.


His mother didn’t dwell on the search Sunday night as she drove to be with her son.


“Hopefully, he’ll survive this horrible ordeal. He’s an incredibly strong individual,” Linda Kennedy said.

Linda Kennedy prays as she awaits the arrival of her son. (Special to Pioneer Press: Priscilla Bauer, Inter-County Leader)

John Brewer can be reached at 651-228-2093.


Source: http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_9669321?source=rss

divider

Further update:


Autistic man recovering well after a week lost in the woods


by Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio
June 23, 2008

Doctors at the University of Minnesota Hospital say a 25-year old autistic man is lucky to be alive today after spending a week in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin.


Minneapolis — Keith Kennedy was found Sunday night without any clothes on, covered in dirt and ticks, and suffering from hypothermia and dehydration.


He also had gone days without medicine he’s taken since having a kidney transplant in 1995.


But through all of that, doctors say he’s improving and they’re optimistic he’ll pull through.


Keith Kennedy’s parents say their son has always been a wanderer — any open door or window was an invitation to explore.


His mother Linda Kennedy says the question, “Where’s Keith?” was probably the most common phrase heard in their home.


“From about age 3 he’s been a runner, and our house, really, truly, was like Fort Knox. We had so many systems set up to make sure that he was safe and not going to escape,” said Linda Kennedy.


He’s been found before in stores and even a factory near the Kennedy home, but nothing ever like this.


The young man wandered away a week ago from the camp in Wisconsin he was attending for people with developmental disabilities.


One theory is his love for popcorn drew him back to the kitchen to sneak a snack, and he didn’t go straight back to his cabin for fear of getting caught.


Hundreds of volunteers spent last week scouring at least 14 square miles before two firefighters found Kennedy in a heavily wooded area that no one thought Keith would ever go into, though it had been searched before.


Kennedy’s father, Bruce, says it wouldn’t be surprising for searchers to miss a target in that area the first time. He says he and his wife didn’t even have confirmation their son was alive until the car ride out to the site.


“He really was filthy, and his eyes were glazed and he was moving slowly, but he was moving,” said Bruce Kennedy. “He even attended to me when I spoke to him and looked at me even though, through glazed eyes, I knew he was hearing me and so forth. Considering the alternative, it was awesome.”


Just why or how Keith disappeared will likely never truly be known. Keith’s autism limits his vocabulary to four words.


That limit also hampers doctors, who rely on patients to tell them what hurts.


Even after checking and double-checking for injuries, University of Minnesota Dr. Timothy Whelan says Kennedy is doing great. His body temperature is back to normal after being below 90.


The ticks that covered Kennedy’s body aren’t the kind that carry Lyme disease. And his kidneys are still functioning, albeit poorly.


“We’re all very hopeful the kidney’s going to turn around,” said Whelan. “I, personally, really think there’s a very high likelihood that he’s going to do tremendously well, but we just don’t know. We have to wait a little bit more time, at least a few days.”


Linda Kennedy says the happy ending makes the search an event everyone involved will always remember.


She’s resolved to help out the next time she hears of a missing person, and she hopes the incident doesn’t turn people off to these kinds of camps that she says truly do help people with disabilities.


Bruce Kennedy is also making changes. He says he’s been researching GPS chips that can be implanted under the skin to track a person that’s wandered away.


Source:  http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/23/manfoundfolo/?refid=0



First Published Monday, 23rd June, 2008.

FWD:


We will be transcribing a few of the Autreat 2008 sessions this week to an IRC
(Internet chat) channel, so that remote participants can join us.

Details can be found on the Autreat 2008 IRC web page, at
http://ani.autistic s.org/aut08irc. html

Updates will be posted to that page as any additional sessions are
confirmed, so check back during the week (and remember to refresh the
page in your browser).

Please post this message to other listservs, newsgroups, and message
boards you
may belong to. Bloggers, feel free to pass the announcement along on your
blogs.

— Phil Schwarz, for the Autreat planning committee



First Published Sunday, 22nd June, 2008.

FWD:

REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENSION: 10 MORE PLACES

The registration deadline, which was set by the venue, officially
expired on Thursday. But after
negotiations with the venue, they have generously granted us an
extension of the registration
deadline for up to ten (10) more places.

So registration is still open for those 10 places, on a first-come
first-serve basis. If you want to
attend Autscape but missed the deadline, you still have a very good
chance of getting in if you
hurry and register now!

To register, go to:
http://reg.autscape.org/registration/

All the general information about Autscape is at:
http://www.autscape.org/



First Published Saturday, 21st June, 2008.

working environment

Employment

According to information on the ‘Planning for Life’ report, only 6% of adults on the autism spectrum are in full-time paid employment. Only 20% of adults on the autism spectrum are in any employment. Autistic adults say that finding a suitable job would improve their lives more than anything else.


In the following article, we take a look at the wonderful work those over at Prospects are doing to support and assist those on the spectrum employment-wise, as well as their employers and work colleagues here in the UK. We also hear personal stories/case studies from both men and women on the spectrum. There will be more upcoming contributions from the US shortly, and we’ll also take a look at “Self Employment” but meanwhile, in “Job Interview Jitters”, Nick Dubin supplies us with some invaluable job interview tips. From time to time, I hope to update this particular article and warmly welcome any contributions.


Prospects Employment Consultancy


Many people on the autism spectrum are keen and able to work. The work carried out by the NAS employment consultancy Prospects over the past decade demonstrates that paid employment is a very real option for people with a diagnosis of autism or Asperger Syndrome. Here we highlight some of the successes achieved by our clients and the Prospects service, lessons we have learnt along the way, and our hopes for the future.


How did it all start?


Prospects began in 1994 as a small pilot scheme working with 30 people registered with an ASD in London. During the first 2 years 19 of the 30 people registered with the service secured jobs. In contrast only five of 30 people in a comparable group with no specialist help in other UK cities were placed in work.


For many in the Prospects group this was their first job after many years of unemployment. For others it was their first job that enabled them to use their skills with an employer who understood why they were different to other colleagues. The pilot project clearly showed that specialist help in finding and maintaining jobs could lead to success in the job market even for the long-term unemployed.


Building on the successful work carried out in the London pilot, we set up a further three services – in Glasgow (1999), Sheffield (2000) and Manchester (2001). Today our team of 16 staff helps 300 people a year to prepare for, secure and retain paid employment. Lack of funds has unfortunately meant that the service has not become more widespread.


What works?


Prospects employs a team of dedicated co-ordinators, employment consultants and employment support workers who understand autistic spectrum disorders and who are committed to helping clients make real progress in the world of work. They provide work preparation training, secure work experience placements, help the client to get a job and then support the individual and the employer in the workplace. The relationship they build with each of their clients is at the heart of finding the right jobs. Giving the employer the knowledge to understand autism and Asperger Syndrome is also a vital element in helping the individual succeed at work.


Prospects co-ordinators and employment consultants enjoy their roles: “I like giving people the tools to realise their potential and move forward in life and work,” says Jim Doherty – Employment Consultant, Prospects Glasgow.


Listening to a client talk about a friend they have made at work says it all,” says Suzanne Lees – Employment Consultant, Prospects Sheffield.


A client’s journey through Prospects


Some clients have help with finding more than one job. For example, we help people to access temporary or fixed term contracts which provide excellent experience and give the person the chance to get some paid work on their CV. After this they return to get help with job finding and often at this stage go on to secure a permanent position. Like many working people our clients sometimes decide they want to move on from a job after a few years. We help them to find a new job and progress their careers.


Whether the job is temporary or permanent our consultants provide support for the client and the employer once the job starts. This involves helping the person to understand what is required of them, to learn the job and to establish good working relationships with their manager and colleagues. Most of our clients are keen to become as independent as possible and see the regular support provided by the consultant as assisting them to maintain their independence at work. Support is tailored to the needs and wishes of the client and employer with a gradual reduction of involvement over time.


Most people need more support at the beginning of a job:


“As I began my training at the job, I felt overwhelmed because of the amount of information I had to try and take in. Early on in the job (day two), I telephoned Judith and told her I was not coping. But I had not understood the fact that EVERYONE takes time, maybe months, to learn a new job. Thankfully, I did not give up and I am now enjoying my job very much.”


Ben – administration, Criminal Appeals Department, High Court, London.


But almost all clients feel that some level of ongoing support helps them in their jobs:


“When I started doing tele-sales I had to learn new skills like how to use a different computer system, how to check for ticket availability and book seats. I feel it is important for me to have a regular meeting with my employment consultant in case anything goes wrong and I feel something is too complicated for me to understand.” David – customer services assistant, GNER


What are the benefits of working in the right job?


Many of our clients have found that they:


  • *are more financially independent

  • *grow in confidence and self esteem

  • *are able to use their strengths and skills productively

  • *meet more people and in some cases gain a better social life

  • *relationships with other people improve through learning how to get on with people at work.

What have we learnt?


One of the most important lessons we have learnt is to keep an open mind. At first we assumed that there was only a narrow range of jobs that people with an autistic spectrum could or should apply for – even to the point of listing ‘suitable’ and ‘unsuitable’ jobs.


The good news is that this assumption has been proved wrong, as clients now hold down a wide range of jobs, including some with a customer service and supervisory focus. For example, David works very successfully as a customer services assistant for GNER


He says:


“I like my job as it is to do with trains and it’s a customer service job. I would hate to be working as an engineer or a builder or something like that. Also my job gives me the opportunity to mix with people.


Occasionally I may chat to a customer i.e. If they live in an area where I know or even a tourist and I can help them have a most enjoyable stay in the UK.”


At Prospects we now believe that it is the unique skills and abilities of the individual which determine the suitability of a job and that no role should be ruled out just because the person has a diagnosis of autism or Asperger Syndrome. If you are on the autism spectrum, it is important to ask yourself, “Do I have the skills, qualifications or experience to do this job?” Equally, a good employer will consider whether the job applicant has the skills needed for the job and not be distracted by the person’s disability.


Having a learning difference or a diagnosis of autism and not Asperger Syndrome does not automatically make an individual less employable. Our clients have a wide range of abilities and making a judgement based on the level of IQ does not determine the person’s ability to do a job. Many of our clients are considered to have a learning disability and this has not hindered their success in work. Their motivation and hard work are far more important to holding down a job. A manager at Goldman Sachs listed just some of the benefits of employing someone on the autism spectrum:


  • *A dependable and hard-working individual is brought into the team, making a worthwhile contribution to the workplace

  • *Strong integrity and reliability that we look for in everyone

  • *High level technical ability and attention to detail

  • *Good memory for facts and figures.

81% of line managers felt that they had personally gained something from working with Prospects.


“It has given me a greater insight into autism.”


“I often apply many of the techniques taught to me by the Prospects employment consultant to the rest of my team.”


99% of senior managers were satisfied or very satisfied with Prospects’ service.


“If there is a problem, the employment consultant will come the same or next day.”


“I like the way the service is tailored to suit the individual.”


Prospects, Unit 8, The Ivories, 6/8 Northampton Street


London, N1 2HY Tel: 020 7704 7450


Prospects – the next 10 years


Our aim is to directly help at least 300 people a year across the four Prospects services and to continually develop good practice for the benefit of clients and employers.


Our vision is that in 10 years time all people on the autism spectrum who want to work will have access to a service which understands their abilities and needs and which can help them to achieve their employment goals. Here are details of some of our initiatives.


Prospects for young people – transition time


We want to ensure that young people on the autism spectrum have access to our four services as soon as they start looking for work. Whilst we work with anyone of working age (17 to 65 years) most of our current client group are in their mid to late 20s following a series of setbacks and negative experiences of work. Our aim is to dramatically increase the numbers of school and college leavers entering the service so that we can help them earlier in their lives.


In many cases it is possible to improve their chances of success and reduce the feeling of failure and lack of confidence that can come from repeated knockbacks and disappointments in the search for a job or when an employer is not aware of their diagnosis.


We are making good progress in reaching young people before they leave school through our Transitions programme that began in Scotland and which we aim to establish in other Prospects services in the coming years.


Project officer Ruth Langford writes here about the start of the Transitions programme in Scotland:


Prospects and the NAS Development team worked jointly on a bid to the Scottish Executive, securing over £200,000 to set up a new ‘Transitions into Adulthood’ project.


The aim is to support young people (12 – 17 years) who are on the autism spectrum through a major transition period in their life – leaving school.


The project has two core elements:


  1. 1. Term-time support (Prospects Project Officer – Ruth Langford) A programme of support will be offered to young people who wish to make the transition from school into further/higher education, employment or other community involvement. The project will help them to identify not only their skills and strengths, but also the adult services that are available to meet their future needs. Many of the young people leaving schools and colleges with a view to gaining employment will benefit from the specialist support that can be offered by Prospects at the NAS.

  1. 2. Social Groups (Project Officer – Lynsey Calderwood) The opportunity to attend a social group will be offered to young people to help them develop their social skills, confidence, and social awareness. At the same time they will be able to enjoy different activities and learn to support one another.

Who is the project for?


The project is for young people who are on the autism spectrum with a focus on those with high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome. By the end of the three years we hope to support people from the following local authorities: East and West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow City, North and South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire.


How long does it last?


Support will be built up gradually as the young people progress through their secondary school education. When they reach 15-16 years, a more intensive programme will be provided to prepare them for continuing their education, entering employment or leaving school.


The story from the start…


The project had a very positive start.


Thirty schools contacted us to express an interest in taking part, and the project officers have met with a wide range of professionals who are already involved in supporting young people on the autism spectrum, and who are supportive of the project and its aims. 32 pupils were referred by the second week of the school holidays.


How can young people be referred to the project?


Please express an Expression of Interest form by contacting Ruth Langford at the Glasgow NAS office:


Ruth Langford,


Transitions Project Officer,


Prospects Glasgow


NAS Scotland


Central Chambers


109 Hope Street


Glasgow


G2 6LL


Tel: 0141 221 8090


Email: ruthlangford@nas.org.uk

Case Studies


Jobsearch – Alex


Alex was referred to Prospects in April 2004. He was already working on a voluntary basis at two organisations (both of which he had arranged himself) and was doing a self-taught IT course. Despite his strong motivation, Alex lacked confidence in his own skills and abilities. He has no formal qualifications and felt this put him at a real disadvantage in achieving his goal of becoming an administration assistant.


Through the work preparation course at Prospects, Alex learnt how to present himself and his disability more positively. He learnt more about different types of roles he could apply for, and had support in completing application forms and understanding the conventions associated with them. As part of Alex’s course, a six-week placement as an administration assistant in the HR department at Guardian Newspapers Limited was arranged. The Head of HR was also impressed with Alex’s enthusiasm, and his ability to express his own strengths and needs.


Alex started the placement in June and within his first week he made a good impression with his department. He was given a range of tasks, which he completed well, with the help of clear guidelines from colleagues and Alex’s own written notes. Alex’s confidence grew significantly during his placement. He was achieving all his goals and receiving positive feedback. At the end of his fourth week, he was offered a contract as an HR admin assistant at The Guardian, proving what a great success his placement had been. Ade Adeniji, Head of HR, said of Alex:


“We have all been very impressed by the commitment shown by Alex. He became a part of the team very quickly. We are pleased that we are able to continue using his talent at the end of his placement.”


Through Prospects, Alex was given the opportunity to prove his skills to an employer. Alex has summed up his experience in his own words:


“I’m absolutely delighted with this development, as it was exactly what I was looking for: nice people to work with and interesting work. I feel very motivated.”


Katie Wood Employment Consultants


Prospects, London

Jobsearch – Melissa


Melissa was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 1999 and was 22 when she first approached Prospects.


Despite her obvious intelligence, she had been unable to finish her college course and had dropped out, due more to the fact that she finds social situations more difficult than anything else. She is, however, a wizard with computers and it was something in this line of work that she was looking for.


She had several job-searching sessions with Prospects before the opportunity came up to apply for the BBC Extend scheme – a project to help people with disabilities to gain experience of working for the BBC.


Melissa applied, undertook some interview preparation sessions and a Prospects employment consultant provided support at the interview. She got the job and began just before Christmas. She worked on the Radio Four quiz for the BBC website, and her skills as a researcher and organiser were quickly recognised by both her line manager and department manager. Prospects provided ongoing support to Melissa and her colleagues, with regular meetings for feedback.


Melissa thoroughly enjoyed her first experience of real work but of course this was a placement and, as such, time limited. However, her managers recognised the valuable contribution (their words!) she was making, and managed to get the placement extended by six weeks – and then, during this six weeks, a vacancy arose in the Religion and Ethics department, a job with a six month contract.


Again, Melissa was supported at interview and was successful, transferring from one department to another without too much difficulty. She is still there and if you care to check out the BBC website, you will find examples of her work.


Incidentally, Melissa did let slip that just before she left her previous department, they had been nominated for a ‘BBC Teamwork Award’!


All credit to the BBC, her managers and colleagues who have supported Melissa and Prospects throughout, but especially to Melissa.


Norman Darwen


Employment Consultants


Prospects Sheffield

Jobsearch – Larry


Larry was referred to Prospects by his local Jobcentre in August 2001, undertaking a 13-week period of work preparation, including a 6-week placement with Glasgow City Council.


Larry continued to attend Prospects in order to target suitable administrative vacancies. Glasgow City Council also extended his placement for another six weeks in order to allow Larry to gain further experience. In addition to making applications, we attended interviews together and, following employer feedback, carried out further ‘mock interviews’ to fine-tune Larry’s interview technique.


In June 2001, Larry gained a casual administrative assistant post, within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with responsibility for recording new applications for Disability Living Allowance. Larry was made a permanent member of staff later that year.


Larry’s support needs gradually reduced as he settled in well. It has been immensely satisfying to see Larry gain his preferred type of employment and maintain this over a long period of time, adapting successfully to changes occurring within the workplace and growing increasingly confident on a social level.


Larry is pleased:


“Prospects helped me gain the confidence to look for work. I really enjoy being part of the team here at DWP.”


Jim Doherty


Employment Consultant


Prospects Glasgow

Prospects for Providers


In order to help more people on the autism spectrum who want to work, Prospects has developed a training programme for other organisations.


Through the work of Prospects there is no doubt that specialised job finding and support is successful in helping clients to find and keep work – even when they previously had severe problems with employment. Both the employer and the employee have much to gain – companies benefit from capable, motivated workers and the individual gains independence and social status.


We hope at Prospects that an increasing number of people with a diagnosis will see paid work as a genuine option and that all autistic/AS people will soon have the same employment, training and career opportunities open to them as everyone.


Jill Lennon, Programme Coordinator, writes here about Prospects Provider Training…


Prospects success has led to a strong reputation in the areas where it operates.


The Provider Training Programme has been designed to enable other organisations to offer Prospects-style job finding and support programmes for people on the autism spectrum outside our current areas of operation in London, Glasgow, Manchester and Sheffield.


Its objective is to train professional providers of employment services for differently-abled people in order to increase the reach of the Prospects service and increase the numbers of people who can gain specialist help.


The package of materials and training are designed to equip those attending with the practical tools and knowledge required to work effectively with people on the autism spectrum who want to get a job.


For further information, please contact Jill Lennon, Co-ordinator of the Prospects Provider Training Programme, by telephoning 0141 248 1725 or 07795 685 358


Email: jlennon@nas.org.uk


Catherine Burkin, Director – Prospects

US Employment “You’re Hired!”


In 2007 Natural Learning Concepts launched a vital and exciting new resource to assist people on the autism spectrum in finding employment: Autism Job Placement, available at www.nlconcepts.com/autism-jobs.htm


This free service aims to link people with ASD to autism-friendly employers who look beyond factors like interview or interpersonal skills and who, instead, want to know about unique talents and abilities. People with ASD can post information about their skills or job interests; employers can list job vacancies and desired needs.

The Road to Stability”


Despite his gift for mathematics and good qualifications, James Macy found it difficult to settle in the workplace. Only when he happened to read about Asperger Syndrome in the New Scientist and on the Internet in 2001 did he wonder if the problem was more than just a lack of assertiveness. After being made redundant and then undergoing unpleasant disciplinary procedures in another job, he finally gained a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and some support. James writes…


At about the time I gained my diagnosis I also contacted Prospects and they sent Andrea to help with the situation at work.


Things had got so bad that I was not able to stay there, but Andrea explained to people at work about Asperger Syndrome (AS). She was also extremely helpful in negotiating favourable terms for me to leave the job.


I decided that I really wanted to move back to the area of mathematics after having drifted into computer programming. We looked at various jobs on the internet and Andrea suggested I should apply for a statistical job in the civil service.


Finding a new job in statistics


There was then a delay in my getting further help to look for a job – the job centre was trying to find out if some other agency could help me more cheaply. Fortunately, contact with Prospects was re-established in time for Andrea to help me to prepare for the civil service interview.


We spent time discussing interview skills, and I did practice interviews (some of them videod). Andrea gave me feedback on my mock interviews and I was encouraged to evaluate my own performance. This process greatly increased my confidence.


Andrea also came along to the selection process with me, where she explained to the interviewers about AS and provided tips on the best way to communicate with me in this setting. Shortly after that I heard that they would offer me a job.


There was then a delay of six months while the civil service was trying to find a suitable position for me. Katie, a new recruit to Prospects, was now helping me to prepare for the new job. She attended an informal meeting I had with the people from the methodology group. Katie explained about AS and the ongoing support Prospects offers in the workplace. I felt more relaxed having somebody else to represent me at the meeting and was given the opportunity to explain how AS effects me.


Ongoing support


In February 2003, I started work at the Office for National Statistics. Now I am working with some statistical software in an environment which is more structured and surrounded by a large number of other statisticians.


As I get rather tired with commuting to London daily, I was pleased that the ONS agreed to let me work 80% full-time – four days each week. After I started, Katie gave a short ‘AS awareness’ seminar to my immediate colleagues. (Hardly any had heard of AS.)


She gives me valuable feedback on how I am relating to others at work and also helps me to organise myself, always a weak point with me. Above all it gives me much more confidence knowing that I have the support from Prospects.


James Macy


Prospects Service User


Aspie to Aspie – “Job Interview Jitters”


A job interview is nerve-wracking for any individual, but it can be especially difficult for those of us on the spectrum. Here’s 10 things to remember before and during a job interview:


Before applying for a particular job, ask yourself if it plays to your strengths. Is there too much multitasking, socializing or too many sensory distractions, etc? Be honest with yourself.


Create a portfolio that visually shows your potential employer accomplishments (awards), activities (camp counselor, public speaking), or job-related strengths (web design, artwork). Doing this can and will make you stand out from the crowd.
Hire an agency that helps create resumes to get yours in tip-top shape; only list references from people you trust.
At the interview, shake the interviewer’s hand with a firm grasp and make eye contact.
Sell your strong points. Many individuals with ASD make terrific candidates because of their honesty, dedication and overall desire to do the best job possible.
Do your best to answer the interviewer’s questions as directly and completely as possible without overindulging or giving one or two word answers.
Self-disclosure (regarding your diagnosis) is extremely important once you have been hired, but is not recommended during the initial interview. Your main job during an interview is to sell yourself to a potential employer.
At the end of the interview, conclude by saying ….. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr/MS Jones” (or whoever).


Follow up the next day with a thank you note and reiterate your strong points.


Don’t be crushed if you’re not hired for the first job you apply for. Most people have to apply several places before finally receiving an offer. Remember, it’s NOT personal.


Nick Dubin, M.Ed., Psy.S, diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome;


author of Asperger Syndrome and Bullying: Strategies and Solutions (2007)


Nick Dubin – The Official Website of Author & Presenter Nick Dubin”
http://www.nickdubin.com/
Includes DVD “Asperger Syndrome and Employment: A Personal Guide to Succeeding at Work”
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843108498


International “Auties.org”

Individuality, Diversity, Equality, Achievement


Auties.org is for people on the Autistic Spectrum who are ready to dare reach out, open the doors to the community and market their abilities directly to the public and for those interested in supporting these pioneers.


So if you are on the autistic spectrum and stagnating whilst waiting for society to create something for you, why not go ahead and look at what you CAN do and CAN manage, what you ARE interested in and ARE doing now, and begin creating your own opportunities. Even more, if you haven’t got a clue where to start, take a look at what others on the autistic spectrum are doing in their own self employment and employable hobbies/skills and see if it inspires you to dare such things or even something completely different with your own unique style, in your own unique way.


All you need is a website or an email and the desire to take that leap. They say the greatest risk in life is taking no risks at all.


Auties.org has several parts:


  • the entrepreneurial/self-employment/work-seeking part where people formally diagnosed on the autism spectrum can list their own goods, skills and services, seek autism friendly employment or seek work partners and also where employers and consumers can find people on the autism spectrum to employ or buy from;

  • the ‘autism-friendly’ people and establishments side where you can check out all kinds of places, spaces, faces and activities that are advertising themselves for various reasons as ‘autism-friendly’. Some of these people may even be open to employing people on the autism spectrum;

  • the autism friendly activities club part where people can join or form clubs based on shared skills, interests or activities;

  • the autism friendly dinner club part where people can join or form dinner clubs.

By using Auties.org and autism-friendly establishments and contributing to the employment and self employment of those on the autism spectrum, you are supporting a vision of equality regardless of difference, celebration of diversity, ability within disABILITY, and of active empowerment of one of the most disempowered and also underemployed communities in society.


http://www.auties.org/


Donna Williams re Auties.org:


”The level of unemployment among people on the autism spectrum is massive”:


http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/50628

USA “College Living Experience(CLE)”
We know people who once thought that college wasn’t an option for them. In fact, we see them daily, because we’re the people who are making sure college is an option. We’re CLE – College Living Experience – and not only do we make college possible by offering an unparalleled network of academic support, we teach independence. Our students go to college while learning to live on their own. They’re making the grade and a home at the same time. CLE. College made possible.


Our students.
Our students are those for whom success, career and independence are possible. Their challenges include: Learning Disabilities ADD/ADHD Psychosocial-Maturational issues Aspergers Nonverbal Learning Disorder

Ask about CLE locations in Austin, Denver and Ft. Lauderdale
Call us at 800.486.5058 or visit cleinc.net

In no particular order…



Not Limited to Location “Autism At Work”


Enabling People On The Autism Spectrum To Find Employment
http://www.autismatwork.org/




USA ~ Twin Cities(Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota) “Employment Services”
http://www.opportunities.org/Employment-Services.asp



The Autism Society of Minnesota: “Employment Resources”
http://www.ausm.org/supportServices/employmentResources.asp


USA “Employment for Persons with Disabilities”
http://codi.buffalo.edu/employment.html


USA “Autism Society of America:  Employment”
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=life_lifespan_employment



USA “Pathfinders for Autism:  Employment Training Opportunities”
http://www.pathfindersforautism.org/EmploymentTrainingOpportunities.aspx



USA – MARYLAND “CSAAC – Vocational Supports”:
http://www.csaac.org/vocationalsupports.htm




USA

Job Accomodation Network   http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/



Project HIRED   http://www.projecthired.org/



The Monster Board   http://www.monster.com/



Americans With Disabilities Act   http://www.ada.gov/



Institute on Independent Living   http://www.independentliving.org/



Social Security Online   http://www.ssa.gov/



AUSTRALIA “Alpha Employment”
http://www.alpha-employment.org.au/



AUSTRALIA “JobAccess – help and workplace solutions for the employment of people with disability”
http://www.jobaccess.gov.au/joac/home



WESTERN AUSTRALIA “AIM Employment Services”:
http://www.autism.org.au/AIM%20EMPLOYMENT%20SERVICES.htm



NEW ZEALAND “Equal Employment Opportunities Trust”:
http://www.eeotrust.org.nz/index.cfm




SINGAPORE “Disability Portal – Autism Employment
http://www.disability.org.sg/autism/employment.asp


JAPAN “Autism Japan”
http://www.autism.jp/



CHINA “Autism China”
http://www.autismchina.org/



THAILAND “Autism Thailand”
http://www.autisticthailand.com/



SLOVAK REPUBLIC “SPOSA”
http://www.sposa.sk/



INDIA “Autism Links”
http://www.autism-india.org/afa_otherlinks.html


AFRICA http://www.autismafrica.com/index.php


SOUTH AFRICA http://www.autismsouthafrica.org/


SWEDEN http://www.autism.se/


DENMARK http://www.autismeforening.dk/


BELGIUM http://www.autismevlaanderen.be/


ITALY “Autismo Italia”
http://www.autismoitalia.org/


SPAIN “Pagina principal de Autismo Espana”
http://www.autismo.org.es/AE/default.htm


TURKEY “Todev”
http://www.todev.org/


FRANCE http://autisme.france.free.fr/


THE NETHERLANDS http://www.convenantautisme.nl/home.html?mnu=tmain0:*&s=1&l=nl&t=1219256150


GERMANY http://www.autismus.de/pages/startseite.php



BRITISH COLOMBIA “Autism Society of British Colombia Employment Opportunities”:
http://www.autismbc.ca/employment.php




ONTARIO – Pickering, Federal, Durham Region and Toronto Employment Networks
http://www.autismontario.com/client/aso/ao.nsf/Durham/Teens+&+Adults?OpenDocument#Q14



SCOTLAND “Intowork Website”



The Moving Intowork Team works with people who have Asperger Syndrome (AS) in order to support them into mainstream work or assist their progress towards employment.
http://www.intowork.org.uk/employment/asperger.htm




SCOTLAND “Go for it!”: Findings from research commissioned with a view to reviewing progress in regard “Nature & Availablity of Employment Support” for people with learning differences and/or Autism/AS.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/06/14102552/25551




SCOTLAND – The EQUAL project was launched in Autumn 2005, for young people and adults attending further and higher education establishments within the Glasgow area who are on the autism spectrum, focusing on those with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome orhigh-functioning autism. Support is given while the young person is participating in their chosen course, in order that the barriers they face are reduced as far as possible, both socially and academically. They are helped to make the transition in to employment at the end of their course. Young people interested in being referred should contact Anna Williamson on 0141 221 8090 (anna.williamson@nas.org.uk)


BELFAST The Orchardville Society – “Employment for Autism”
http://www.orchardville.com/projects/viewdetails.asp?itemID=19




UK “The Integrated Resource – Supported Employment Project”:
http://www.kesresource.org.uk/


UK “Benefits Advice, Employment Training, Employment Advice, Disabled Education and Employment Opportunities” via ableize(Disability Resource Directory owned and run by people with disabilities)
http://www.ableize.com/Employment-and-Benifits/




UK – (WEST YORKSHIRE ) “SACAR” Enabling and Employment Support
http://sacar-trust.org/index.html

http://sacar-trust.org/employ.html



UK “Autism Plus – Employment Services:  jobsteps”
http://autismplus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=44



UK BASED/INTERNATIONAL “Asperger Technical”



Asperger Technical was established to help highly skilled people such as scientists, engineers, and software developers, with Asperger syndrome and high functioning autism find suitable careers either in industry or government departments. Our aim is to create a channel for people with Asperger syndrome who have a high level of technical skills and qualifications, and people from the high technology industry and government departments to connect with one another.
http://www.aspergertechnical.org.uk/



UK “AS-IT”  IT Consultancy employing people with Asperger Syndrome
http://www.as-it.co.uk/




UK “Aspire Employment Service (Shropshire):
http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/community.nsf/open/FC4FBE24F0D5B70F80257266003C0DE5



UK “The Undiscovered Workforce: the NAS Employment Campaign”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=507&a=5974


UK “Autism Initiatives UK”:
http://www.autisminitiatives.org/oande.htm



All Flags Courtesy of 3D Flags:

http://www.3dflags.com/



UK “Rookery Hove” Opened November 2006
Mark is 20 and has Asperger’s Syndrome. He really wants to work and to live in his own flat but he’s anxious about ……lots of things!



His next step?



Rookery Hove is a unique short-term residential facility providing a ‘higher’ education in life developmental skills for young people aged 18 to 35 with Asperger’s Syndrome.



You may have left education or not achieved your goals, finding it difficult to cope in a mainstream setting.



If you are ambitious to learn and are self-motivated to progress, Rookery Hove can offer you an intensive programme for 3-5 years in social and personal development. For those who require additional therapies we have access to a wide range including Psychiatrist and Psychologist support. We have links with local colleges and courses and will support you to attend.



Funding will usually be through Social Servces.



If you would like to know more or to enquire about a place at Rookery Hove call 01373 475177 or email rookeryhove@priorygroup.com



Rookery Hove – We offer continued specialist development to help individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome meet their potential and further develop their life skills to gain independence and integrate into community life.

UK “Information for people with an ASD”
Includes:
“The ‘Access to Employment’ course in London”
“Living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder”
“Education, Employment and your ASD”
“Benefits and Welfare Rights”
“Driving”
“Encounters with the Law”
“Resources – magazines, journals, newsletters and websites specifically for and/or by people on the spectrum”
“After diagnosis: adolescents and adults”
“Services for people on the spectrum, includes information regarding “Prospects”
“The Politics of Autism meeting”
“Helpline email service”
http://www.autism.org.uk/peoplewithasd



UK Prospects London:

020 7704 7450 or email prospects-london@nas.org.uk

Prospects Glasgow:

0141 248 1725 or email prospects-glasgow@nas.org.uk

Prospects South Yorkshire:

0114 267 6210 or email prospects-sheffield@nas.org.uk

Prospects Manchester:

0161 998 0577 or email prospects-manchester@nas.org.uk

Or visit www.autism.org.uk/prospects

Copenhagen, Denmark


“Specialisterne”

We Make A Difference



Many of the world’s great minds have reached astonishing achievements due to persistence, learning faculties, a structured way of thinking, and attention to details.


Albert Einstein, Socrates, Charles Darwin, and Sir Isaac Newton were all probably affected by a mild form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) called Asperger’s Syndrome.


If they had not met the criterias for Asperger’s Syndrome, they would probably not have been able to achieve the same degree of competence that helped them change the world as we see it today.


Times have changed – modern society has increased its demands to the capabilities of the employees in the areas of social interaction, communication, and adaptability – exactly those areas, where Einstein and those like him, could not cope.


Society’s social demands to employees have consequences for people with ASD. In spite of their special competences, most have difficulties finding and keeping a job.


At SPECIALISTERNE we are organized to meet the requirements of persons with ASD in order to create an optimal working environment.



Did you know?



Did you know that close to one percent of the population meet the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?


  • *Did you know that most people with ASD do not get the necessary support because of lack of ASD knowledge?

  • *Did you know that the business community realises a growing need for specialists?

  • *Did you know that people with ASD are natural born specialists?

http://www.specialisterne.dk/html/english/Home.html


Article “Meet the Danish company for autistic staff”

LOOKING UP Autism Newsletter – Volume 4 Number 9 2007


COPENHAGEN, Denmark: Autistic people rarely have diplomas. Many lack the piece of paper showing that they have finished school, because exams are too much of an obstacle. This limits their career opportunities, and many never get a job because their handicap requires different settings than most Danish workplaces offer.


Fortunately, there is an IT company called Specialisterne (Danish for “The Specialists”) which, with few exceptions, only employs people who are normally not seen in Danish workplaces. Three out of four employees have autism spectrum disorders. Most have Asperger’s syndrome.


The first three software testers were ISEB test certified recently, and according to Thorkil Sonne, founder and CEO of Specialisterne, the plan is for all employees to be certified within the areas where it is possible to achieve internationally recognised proficiency diplomas and certificates.


”Introducing a certification programme is a milestone for us. Autistic people do not have many things on their CV. Our objective is for everyone to go through the programme,” Sonne says.


A person with Asperger’s syndrome is capable of going to school and learning. But new surroundings, unfamiliar situations and unknown people are generally difficult for these individuals to handle. Because of this, many have difficulties taking an exam.


“Many did very well in school, but not when it came to tests. Therefore, they do not have the diploma they were supposed to have,” general manager Lisbeth Zornig Andersen explains.


Therefore, exams in connection with test certifications must take place in an environment that is secure for Specialisterne’s employees, and they therefore take place in the company’s offices in a suburb of Copenhagen.


The untraditional education and exam form was developed in co-operation with the Danish IT Society, which is in charge of certifications, and the development company Delta, which supplies teaching resources.


It may be argued that a certificate is not significant if a person already has a job he or she likes. But this is not Specialisterne’s way of thinking.


“The certifications are about the self-understanding of the company and its employees. It also relates to customers’ security,” says Sonne.


Many of Specialisterne’s 50 employees solve tasks for external customers, although it requires some preparation, both for the customer and for Specialisterne.


But Specialisterne’s employees are fabulous software testers. Their error rates are extremely low, and they often solve software tasks faster than average in the industry,” says Sonne.


Sonne established Specialisterne in 2005 when his son was diagnosed with ASD. He realised that the labout market was not geared to employ handicapped people, and he saw it as his mission to help people with this disability maintain a satisfactory and active life.


This year, he hired a manager, Lisbeth Zornig Andersen, who handles business development while he is becoming an international guru in his field.


Thorkil spends most of his time travelling around the world to create networks and inspire other autism organisations. For instance, he has been to Ohio this year to deliver a lecture at an autism conference. Furthermore, he is going to participate in the software test competiton, Starwest, in the United States next year. In 2004, he received the Autism Award for his work.


Sonne has promised his wife that he will not take out a mortgage loan in their house when he starts doing business abroad, as he did when he started his company.


But once financing is in place, he expects to set up an office in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2008 where the objective is to employ 500 software testers with ASD.


“We also have serious contacts in Sweden, Norway and Germany that want to start similar companies. So things are moving in the right direction,” says Sonne.


Specialisterne expects a small profit this year. Business is going great and the customer base is stable, not least since the company recently joined forces with the Danish consultancy, Testhuset, Sonne explains. “This is an important agreement. They are in charge of managing tasks, and we supply the executing efforts. It really extends our networks.” The extraordinary IT company is greeted with understanding and kindness in the Danish IT industry and abroad.


“Specialisterne is an exception in Danish business life. Integrating these people in a workplace requires extensive resources, and Specialisterne does a great job,” says Anders Linde, training consultant in the Danish IT Society.


The Danish IT Society, which supervises the software certifications, has offered a favourable price on the certifications. At the moment, two business consultants from Accenture are working on a blueprint describing all processes in order for the business concept to be easier to apply in other places.


“They do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Acenture has made a donation without our request,” says Lisbeth Zornig Andersen.


In Denmark, Specialisterne has customers like KMD, Microsoft, CSC and Oracle. “They have seen the light. They do it because they realise that they get their money’s worth. We solve real tasks for them. That is the way we prefer it, because that way we can prove our worth,” she says.


The fact that Specialisterne has attracted interest all over the world is emphasised by a tie-up between Sonne and a research student from a Barcelona university to apply for European Union funds for a research project on ways to integrate particularly challenged people into the labour market.

Want to Work at NASA?

NASA is more than astronauts. We are scientists, engineers, computer programmers, personnel specialists, accountants, writers, maintenance workers and many, many other kinds of people. At the NASAJobs Web site, you can review job listings, post a resume and even apply for a NASA job online.


At NASAJobs students can find opportunities for internships, cooperative programs and summer employment.


For all the diversity of NASA’s workforce, the question, “How can I become an astronaut?” is very common. The answer depends on where you are now and where you want to go.


If you haven’t finished high school yet, former astronaut Dr. Sally K. Ride has these suggestions for you:


“The most important steps that I followed were studying math and science in school. I was always interested in physics and astronomy and chemistry, and I continued to study those subjects through high school and college on into graduate school. That’s what prepared me for being an astronaut; it actually gave me the qualifications to be selected to be an astronaut. I think the advice that I would give to any kids who want to be astronauts is to make sure that they realize that NASA is looking for people with a whole variety of backgrounds: they are looking for medical doctors, microbiologists, geologists, physicists, electrical engineers. So find something that you really like and then pursue it as far as you can and NASA is apt to be interested in that profession.”


If you’ve graduated from college or are in the military, and you’re ready to apply, here’s how


“NASA Jobs”:
http://www.nasajobs.nasa.gov/

UK  “Skills Train – Your fast track to a new IT Career”


SkillsTrain is the acknowledged leader in providing affordable, high quality IT training – we are the UK’s largest specialist home study and distance learning provider of IT courses.


Our specialist knowledge is industry led and commercially focused and will benefit the aspiring IT professional as well as those taking the first steps towards gaining a professionally recognised IT qualification. Our distance learning courses provide the skills and qualifications that can make a difference to your career success, whether you are seeking an entirely new career or boosting your earning potential in your existing career in IT.


SkillsTrain’s home study courses allow you to learn at your own pace, to fit around the life you lead. You will be offered unrivalled training support from qualified tutors and are regularly assessed as you study towards an industry recognised qualification and certification.
http://www.skillstrainuk.com/

SWEDEN “Left is Right”


Left is right is a consulting company offering a unique capability. Our consultants are diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, and thus have a sense for detail, are extremely thorough and have the ability to work with repeated tasks while maintaining a high quality. To read more about how we can help your company, read Our services.

Luxury Quality Scented Candles “Humbolt Candles – Autism & Disability Employment Company”:


Nothing says Humbolt like artisan craft.  What’s also Humbolt is luxury quality uniquely fragranced soybean candles at very competitive prices.  All of the candles are handpoured and with highly aromatic fragrances.  We strive to create the perfect candles that are long lasting, highly fragranced and that individuals become loyal to not only because of their superior and unique qualities but because they are assisting the disability community to work.  Please support Humbolt Candles disability community to work to make available employment opportunities for people with autism and other developmental related disabilities.


http://www.humboldtcandles.com/index.html

Autelligent Laboratories


We believe all people have a contribution to make and deserve an opportunity to be productive.


With your caring and excellent help, we are creating jobs for the 40 million people worldwide who are diagnosed with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Today less than one in five of us are currently employed. We are motivated and competent and we deserve equal employment. Help make this a reality.


Autelligent Laboratories is dedicated to creating a space where autistic software engineers can more than contribute, we can excel.


“Autism Jobs”

Linking job seekers with vacancies in work related to autism, Aspergers and ASDs
http://www.autismjobs.org/?section=00010009


“Autism & Employment”:
http://www.neurodiversity.com/employment.html

Research Autism “Supported Employment”
http://www.researchautism.net/interventionitem.ikml?ra=83&infolevel=4


Web MD article “Adults with an ASD”
Includes Employment & Housing options
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/adults-spectrum-disorder


Indiana Resource Center Article “Moving Into the World of Employment”
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/adultoptions/WorldEmployment.html


BOOK “Employing people with Asperger syndrome: a practical guide is a book aimed at helping employers employ and support people with Asperger syndrome. It is available from www.autism.org.uk/pubs or by contacting the Prospects team. The Undiscovered Workforce information packs, for people on the autism spectrum seeking employment and for employers, are also available to download from the NAS website.


BOOK  “Asperger Syndrome Employment Workbook:


An Employment Workbook for Adults With Asperger Syndrome”

Author: Roger N. Meyer Foreword: Tony Attwood
http://www.amazon.com/Asperger-Syndrome-Employment-Workbook-Adults/dp/1853027960

NORTHERN IRELAND Acceptable Enterprises (Larne) Limited

We at Ael:

Provide disadvantaged people with the support to access further education, training and employment opportunities.

Support disadvantaged people to access a wide range of inclusive, community-based, educational, vocational and social opportunities.

Enable disadvantaged people to enhance their lifestyle and to operate more effectively in education, work and in the community.
http://www.packaged4u.co.uk/

The following is from an article on employment of AS people entitled “Employment and Adults with AS”.



Authors: Karen Hurlbutt, PhD is an assistant professor of special education at the U of N. Dakota. Her current interests include autism spectrum disorders and transitions of high schoolers with developmental disabilities. Lynne Chalmers PhD is a professor of special education at the University of North Dakota. Her current interests include field-based pre-service training and the impact of mentoring. Address: Karen Hurlbutt, University of North Dakota, Education Building, Room 303, Centennial Dr., Grand Forks, ND 58202.



Employment and adults with Asperger syndrome

Karen Hurlbutt and Lynne Chalmers




The names used in this study are pseudonyms.



Xenia. Xenia is a 39 year-old woman with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome who lives in an apartment in a large city in the Midwest with her cats, Vivar and Quiero. She has had a job providing respite care to a teenager with autism for the past 2 years. Xenia is currently single but was previously married. She and her husband divorced 6 years ago, after being married for 3 years. Xenia described her childhood as chaotic, as she is one of eight children. She struggled with peer relationships and tried hard to fit in. While her peers were interested in music, sports, famous singers, and the opposite sex, she was interested in numbers, Indians, rocks, and, her biggest passion, South America. Her interest in other countries started at a young age and continues today. She has maps and flags of different countries and bus schedules from different cities and can remember where people are from before she remembers their names. While she was in college, a friend approached her about her possibly having autism and gave her a book to read on the topic. Certain things began to make sense to Xenia, and she was finally diagnosed with autism by a clinical psychologist at the age of 19. Xenia graduated from college with a degree in political science but has never held a job in that field. She receives support services through Vocational Rehabilitation and currently takes Prozac for depression.



Eugene. Eugene is a 65 year-old man with a diagnosis of autism. He is presently retired and lives in a city in the northeastern United States. He lives in a house with his brother and three cats. He has never been married. For the past 6 years he has held a volunteer position at a clearinghouse that distributes information about autism. He fills orders by putting together packets of information based on specific requests. Eugene struggled with relationships and getting along with people while he was growing up. His most successful school experiences were in military school, where the schedule and rules provided him with the order and structure he needed. His mother fought to provide him with the support he needed, as autism was virtually unheard of in the 1940s and 1950s, when he was growing up. He was finally diagnosed as having autism in 1995, at age 56. He wishes to this day that there had been more information about autism in his youth, because he could not figure out why he was the way he was and thought he was the only one in the world like this. Eugene graduated from college with a degree in speech. He had planned to get a degree in speech correction but was unsuccessful at student teaching. His supervisors told him he needed professional help but never offered to help him. He has had numerous jobs over the years but was unsuccessful at most of them, for one reason or another. He has never received any supportive vocational services; if he had, he believes he would have had much more success on the job. He currently takes Paxil for depression.



Joe. Joe is a 35 year-old man with a diagnosis of autism. He recently married and lives with his wife in a large city in the Midwest. He holds two master’s degrees, one in medieval and Roman history and the other in library and informational science. Joe works as an information specialist at a university. He was diagnosed as having autism at age three and a half and again at age six, when he was also labeled as deaf and mentally retarded. When Joe was young, he was echolalic and liked to watch records spin around and around. By the time he was in college, Joe was interested in meeting young women and dating but was unsuccessful in his attempts to start a relationship. He often called women on the phone too much and drove them away by not recognizing their feelings of being harassed. He had always wanted to be married and finally reached this important goal; he was married last summer. Eye contact continues to be difficult for him, especially with new people or in new situations. Joe has had numerous jobs in his life and has struggled with maintaining meaningful employment until now. He has never received vocational support services, nor is he being treated by a psychiatrist.



Rosalind. Rosalind is a 43 year-old woman who officially received a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome just 5 years ago. In school, when she was growing up, she received no help whatsoever. Teachers referred to her as “intelligent” but thought she was refusing to do what she was supposed to do. She was unorganized and messy; however, she did receive good grades. Her family did not understand what was wrong with her but observed that she was not social, did not participate in activities as other girls did, and seemed to always be competing with her sister. Rosalind had passionate interests in ancient Egypt, Japanese culture, and science fiction, and was in the electronics club at school. She is currently divorced and has a teenage son, who also has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Rosalind majored in accounting in college but had no real interest in it and did not do well, although she completed her college degree. She had to take whatever jobs were offered to her over the years. After years of failed employment attempts, she currently works in a preschool setting for children with special needs. She would like to return to college to get a degree in social work or teaching. She is currently being treated by a psychiatrist and had previously been prescribed Ritalin for ADHD symptoms.



Daina. Daina is a 56 year-old woman with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. She lives in a medium-sized city on the East Coast with her teenage son. Daina received an official diagnosis of Asperger syndrome only 3 years ago but always knew that she had it. She read an article about it when she was a teenager but was so much more verbal than the children she read about that she and her family did not pursue a diagnosis at that time. When Daina was growing up, she was teased and belittled a great deal. She developed defense mechanisms to survive, and she describes herself as “a little eccentric.” She did not understand what the other teenage girls saw in cliques and fashion, and never understood why anyone wanted to wear jewelery. She continues to struggle with reading others’ faces and expressions and does not interact much with co-workers. She believes she does not have the “same emotions” as they do. Daina has held numerous jobs in her life, mostly as a typist or secretary. The longest she has held a job is 5 years. The day the primary researcher contacted her, Daina had just lost yet one more job.



Jack. Jack is a 25 year-old man with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, which he received at the age of 14. He received services under IDEA throughout his school career, under the category of Other Health Impaired (OHI). He continues to receive psychiatric services and is taking Buspar for anxiety. During his last 2 years of high school, Jack received vocational support services and completed three different job-shadowing assignments. These were at a library, a food-packaging warehouse, and a sheltered workshop setting. After graduation, Jack applied for vocational rehabilitation services and received job coaching support for 2 years. He is currently single, lives at home with his mother and father, and works in a factory with four other young adults with disabilities. There is one job coach available for the five employees. Jack checks canned goods for damage before they are packaged for grocery stores. He has had this job for 2 years. Jack wants to move into an apartment but stated that he is not ready yet. His parents encourage him to do so, as they do not want him to become too comfortable living at home. However, there are no other young men with similar needs in Jack’s town who might be his roommates, and he does not want to live alone. Because of Jack’s high level of anxiety and his worrisome and obsessive personality, his parents also do not want him to live alone. However, Jack is not eligible to receive long-term support services for independent living, so he is not sure what he will be able to do in the future.




Theme 1: Adults with AS/HFA Experience Frequent Unemployment and Underemployment Situations




All of the participants had negative experiences in the world of work over a period of several years. For the most part, they had not been able to obtain jobs in the fields they had been trained in, and each had lost many jobs in the past.




Rosalind, for example, majored in accounting but had never worked in the field. She shared that she had to take whatever job I could get, whatever was offered to me – usually menial jobs, like entry-level computer or fast food. I think the longest I ever held a job was for 2 years, and even then I juggled a few times within that department. I don’t think I’ve worked longer than 3 months at any given place this past year.




Xenia commented on a too common situation:



I have a degree in political science and am just trying to get a decent job with decent pay and benefits. I have cleaned cat cages, done janitorial work (which is boring, boring, boring), office work at the VA, (been) a telemarketer (which I hated, but I learned how to do public speaking!), and worked in a group home on the early morning shift.




Daina had similar work experiences and had “had so many jobs” in her lifetime. She noted that she had been working as a secretary for more than 35 years and shared that the longest she had ever held a job for was 5 years, when she worked as a secretary for a one-person business. She believes that she “really understands the stuffy” but the other secretaries soon became uncomfortable around her and “try to get rid of me. I try to make it as difficult as I can for them to find an excuse to get rid of me.”




Eugene also worked at a large number of positions in various places of business. He provided a great deal of information about those jobs and the reasons why he was terminated. He shared that he had worked as a caseworker but was let go after 5 months. He also did odd jobs as a dishwasher or in stockrooms, and “during the summer, I would rent out beach chairs and umbrellas, and parked cars with my oldest brother.” The reasons he was given for being fired from these jobs was that he “either asked too many questions, or didn’t ask enough.”




Similarly, Joe experienced the loss of innumerable jobs in the past and shared his frustration at not being able to maintain any of them. “I have had lots of jobs which have lasted anywhere from 1 week to 1 year. This was very frustrating to me. I often needed to ask for help and never did because I did not want to look stupid.”




Jack noted that he had not been in the world of work for long but admitted that he had struggled with the jobs he had held so far. He said that his concentration was better when he worked within a small group of people because “there is too much confusion when too many people are around.” At his current job, he was laid off temporarily because he experienced too much anxiety with the change in co-workers, supervisors, and job coaches. He required supervision to reassure him that he was doing adequate work and commented that this requirement had resulted in his not receiving more competitive job placements.



Conclusions



In this study, adults with Asperger syndrome revealed areas of difficulty regarding their employment experiences and gave reommendations for helping others like them be successful in employment situations. All of those interviewed had had difficulty finding work commensurate with their ability levels and maintaining a job. Not being able to maintain employment was the biggest problem for each of the participants. This was the result of poor communication between the employee and employer or co-workers, social skills deficits, and sensory issues. In terms of employment, the main goal is to help people with AS obtain and maintain successful job experiences in a way that allows them to be who they are.



The problems and difficulties encountered in the world of work can have a devastating effect on mood, mental health, and self-esteem for adults with AS. Depression, anxiety, and anger are very common in adults with AS and often are the result of employment issues (Attwood, 1998; Bashe & Kirby, 2001).



Adults with AS have difficulty in understanding social rules/customs, understanding cues/nonverbal body language, reciprocating social interactions, understanding their own and others’ feelings, and being able to interpret the other person’s feelings (Attwood, 1998). Their need for routine, sameness, and predictability causes them to be resistant to change (Meyer, 2001). They are usually concrete and literal, may develop an intense interest in a certain topic, and may have organizational difficulties (e.g., getting work assignments organized, forgetting to take things to work or home, having a messy work area). They may have difficulty structuring their own environment, including their work area (Myles & Simpson, 1998). In addition, individuals with AS tend to follow rules extremely well but may experience difficulty in accepting that others may not follow those same rules and may take it upon themselves to report others if they feel they are not doing as they should (Attwood, 1998; Meyer, 2001).



Adults with AS may or may not have early or continued delay in language but fairly consistently have difficulties with language for social purposes (Attwood, 1998). Their speech may be pedantic; they may use a monotone voice and have inappropriate inflection or expression (yet may have an advanced vocabulary). Idioms, metaphors, and words with double meanings are often misinterpreted or not understood. These individuals may take irrelevant comments or may not know which questions to ask (Attwood, 1998). These difficulties can cause problems interacting with employers and coworkers.



Adults with AS have sensory sensitivities, especially to noise (e.g., fire alarms, fluorescent lights, crying babies), but also to variations in lighting, textures (e.g., certain fabrics, may not like buttons), tastes (e.g., may gag on certain foods/textures), or smells. They may have hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to any of the senses, which can cause difficulty in work settings.



Adults with AS may exhibit self-stimulation (e.g., rocking, twirling, spinning self or objects) or ritualistic behaviours (e.g., lining things up, needing things to be “just so”). These behaviours most likely provide comfort, relaxation, and a feeling of control (Meyer, 2001). If inappropriate behaviours are observed, it is typically during times of stress, fatigue, or sensory overload.



The Supported Employment model and the Master and Apprentice model are both excellent models for working with people with AS (Attwood, 1998; Suomi, Ruble, & Dalrymple, 1993). The Master and Apprentice model allows for the individual to become skilled through training first and learning on the job first hand, at the individual’s own rate. The Supported Employment model emphasizes “place-train” (i.e., the individual is placed first and then learns on the job) rather than “train-place” (i.e., the individual is trained first and then placed on the job). Note that simulated settings and situations may not work effectively for individuals with AS, as they may refuse to participate (Myles & Simpson, 1998).



The professionals responsible for job matching should take into account the individual’s strengths, interests, and need for flexibility, as well as the job complexity. A flexible job situation may include flexible work hours or comp time, allowing work to be done at home, adjusting the amount of work that needs to be completed in a given time, or allowing breaks at unstructured times. On the other hand, some individuals with AS may have more difficulty with changes and may work better in consistent, structured environments.



When placing individuals with AS in jobs, professionals need to remember to find a good match with the individual’s interests, strengths, and unique needs. For example, if the individual is interested in maps, perhaps he or she could become a cartographer or a taxi driver. If the individual has great skills in art, a job as a cartoonist, architect, or artist may be appropriate. The areas of computers, electronics, science, and engineering are often areas if interest as well.



Temple Grandin, one of the best-known women with autism, described how one of her teachers used her special interest to help her develop a career:



“Mr. Carlock used my fixation on cattle squeeze chutes to motivate me to study science and learn how to use the scientific indexes. He told me that in order to really learn about my interests, I had to learn scientific methods and study in school. The psychologists and the counselors wanted to get rid of my weird interest, but Mr. Carlock broadened it away from a narrow fixation into the basis of a lifelong career. Today I travel all over the world designing stockyards and chutes for major wheat packaging firms. (as cited in Attwood, 1998, p. 97)



The many advantages of hiring an individual with AS should be emphasized and shared with the potential employer. Individuals with AS are more likely to arrive at work on time and return after lunch and other breaks on time, will rarely miss work due to illness, and will not waste time chatting with coworkers or spend time on personal phone calls.



Initially, individuals with AS should be provided with a personal tutor, mentor, or job coach to help them learn and maintain the job. They may require support for longer periods of time than is typical.



If the need for accommodations is not revealed at the beginning of the job experience, the individual with AS may have no means of legal protection (e.g., Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitiation Act of 1973). Even when sufficient support is provided to individuals with AS on the job, it may still be difficult for them to maintain that job.



Adolescents and adults with AS appear to be at risk for depression; therefore, involved professionals should note any changes in behaviour that may indicate signs of depression, such as high levels of disorganization, inattentiveness, isolation, excessive fatigue, and suicidal remarks (Barnhill, 2001).



Support services such as counseling, psychiatric services, or psychological intervention should be available for individuals with AS to help them cope with the problematic social aspects of employment.



In conclusion, success on the job can become a reality for individuals with AS if they are provided with structure, order, routines, and clear rules and assignments. If changes on the job do occur, the individuals need to be prepared for these transitions through clear explanations. Breaking tasks into steps can alleviate feelings of being overwhelmed. Like many adults, people often define who they are by their occupations and interests, “by what they do in a practical sense rather than as a social network” (Meyer, 2001, p.5) More often than not, they may not have a life outside of work. In an interview with Temple Grandin, she stated that “my life is basically my work. If I did not have my work, I would not have any life”.



Ultimately, if individuals with AS are provided with jobs that are commensurate with their ability and educational levels, built on their strengths and interests, and provide sufficient job support, they will have more successful job experiences. As Rosalind stated, “Employment issues are our biggest concern for all people with AS. It impacts so many other things.”


Autism and Asperger’s Personal Stories ~ Fact Sheets



“Preparing To Be Nerdy Where Nerdy Can Be Cool”

College planning for the high functioning student with autism or Asperger’s

By Lars Perner, Ph.D.
http://www.autism-help.org/adults-school-college-transition.htm



“Choosing The Right Job For People With Autism Or Asperger’s Syndrome”

By Temple Grandin, PhD.
http://www.autism-help.org/story-autism-finding-work.htm



“Holding Down A Job”:
http://www.autism-help.org/adults-aspergers-work.htm



“Workplace Bullying”:
http://www.autism-help.org/adults-bullying-aspergers.htm



“Employment and Asperger’s Syndrome”

By Mr Coffee
http://www.autism-help.org/story-adults-employment-autism.htm



“Advice For Employers With Aspie Workers”:
http://www.autism-help.org/story-adult-workplace-adaptation.htm



“Making The Transition From The World Of School Into The World Of Work”

By Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
http://www.autism-help.org/story-school-to-work.htm

A Positive Attitude to Disability

BBC Scotland reporter Ian Hamilton has been travelling around Europe to investigate job opportunities for disabled people.



MADRID


Denmark and France were quite different when it came to helping disabled people into work.



As Preeti and I landed in Madrid after a two hour flight from Paris, we were soon to discover that Spain also had some common themes.



For example, like France, Spain also has a quota system.



Ian and Preeti at Servi media

Half of Servi Media’s workers has disabilities

Also like France, the Spanish employers generally ignore the quota.



This is reflected in the statistics, as fewer than 30% of disabled people in Spain are in work.



The Spanish have two different sets of quota targets for disabled workers.



The first is aimed at the private sector, which states that 2% of the workforce, in any company which employs more than 50 people, must have a disability.



For public administrations, it is 5% of the workforce.



If they can’t meet their quota targets, they do have other options.



Employers can buy services or goods from a disabled workshop or a disabled self-employed person.



If that doesn’t suit, the company can make a financial contribution to a workshop for disabled people.



Finally, the company can give cash to a training group which helps disabled people to find work.



Powerful group



If an employer refuses to do any of these, they can be fined.



Although, it could be as little as 300 Euro – £240.



The fines are low and not readily enforced, which results in 80% of companies in Spain ignoring the quotas.



The disability employment market in Spain is dominated by the Blind organisation called “ONCE”, which is pronounced Yonthy.



It is a blind organisation which runs the Spanish equivalent of the national lottery.



ONCE is a very wealthy and powerful group which gives employment opportunities to blind people.



In 1988 ONCE created a new organisation called the Foundation ONCE to help other disabled people into work.



It, in turn, has developed 20 trading companies providing further work for disabled people.



No amount of quotas and laws will force an employer to take on a disabled worker if they don’t wish too

One of these is Servi Media.



It is a press agency which sells stories to the Spanish media, mainly focusing on social affairs.



Half of the 100 workforce has disability

I wonder how bad the Spanish unemployment statistics would be if it was not for ONCE and its various subsidiaries?



Under the 1997 treaty of Amsterdam, all countries in the EU had to have employment laws in place by 2003 to protect disabled workers.



But one thing was clear to me after my trip.



No amount of quotas and laws will force an employer to take on a disabled worker if it does not wish too.



It is more about a society and a culture which can make things happen, than it is about European legislation


PARIS


In my last entry, I suggested that France could be a very different place in how it regarded people with disabilities – and I wasn’t wrong.



The French have some of the earliest legislation to protect the rights of disabled people dating back to the 1970’s. However, this has appeared to have made little impact on the psyche of the French.



Ian Hamilton

Ian on the latest stop of his European tour

That’s not my opinion; it’s that of a small, but influential group of disabled people I talked to during my short visit to Paris.



They did concede that there had been some progress, but it was still a long way behind other member states in the EU, particularly when it came to their employment prospects.



Despite numerous laws and quota systems only 30% of people with disabilities are in employment. So clearly these various methods aren’t working.



Compare them to the Danish who have few laws and no quotas but have 58% of people in work. So why should this be? There is no doubt it has to do with culture and attitude.



As it was described to me in a frank and very open way by social researcher in Paris, Dominique Velche.



“The French don’t like disabled people.” Shocking I know, but according to him that’s what they think.



He believed it was because, as a culture, disabled people were hidden away and the general public were highly suspicious of people with disabilities.



As my guide Preeti and I, along with production support, moved around Paris on the Metro, Preeti commented that I was always being stared at.



Poor benefits system



I thought delusional as I am; it was because I was so fantastically good looking. Sadly, I expect it was because I’m blind and was carrying my white stick.



However, I couldn’t say they were directly unfriendly; someone always gave me a seat in the Paris rush hour.



Disabled people don’t have a high profile in Paris. Mainly because most, if not all, their transport isn’t accessible to a range of people with disabilities.



One of the biggest criticisms that disabled people have in France is the poor benefits system. Individuals who are on disability benefits are on 628 Euro per month and according to the disability movement in France, it’s 25% below the recommended breadline.



This is why just over a week ago 32,000 of them took to the streets of Paris to protest against the poor levels of living standards.



One of the organisers of the rally said he wasn’t hopeful about getting more cash from the French Government, but they intend to fight on.



I’m now preparing to go to our last city – Madrid, the capital of Spain. Someone said here in Paris, “the further you go south into Europe the worse it gets for people with disabilities.”



I’m not convinced that’s true, but I’ll find out soon enough and let you know.



DENMARK


Ian Hamilton

A 65m long wall divides the main square in Copenhagen

The Danes have a very casual attitude towards disability. I’m not suggesting they don’t care or they are rude, if anything the opposite is true.



It has more to do with their history and culture, according to a Danish social researcher I was interviewing as part of my report for Good Morning Scotland on Radio Scotland.



As far back as 1872, the Danes have had organisations led by disabled people and since the 1930s they have had a major influence on Danish politics.



They also do not have the large disability charities that we have here in Scotland.



Consequently this has helped to mould the attitude throughout Danish culture that disabled people are as good as anyone else and should reach their personal and professional potential.



This doesn’t mean that Denmark is some kind of disability utopia

The Danes have cultivated the principle of acceptance among the general public and government.



I expect this is probably why they have 58% of disabled people in employment, compared with Scotland and the UK’s 49%.



The Danes have been able to achieve this without any stringent disability laws and quota systems adopted by their European neighbours.



However, this doesn’t mean that Denmark is some kind of disability utopia.



The national disabled group in Denmark has constructed a 65m long wall dividing the main square in two, in front of the city hall.



The wall has only one opening for people to pass through. This is to symbolise the barriers that disabled people face and the lack of options they have.



In such a short visit it is hard to grasp how true the view is that the Danes are totally relaxed around all matters disability.



However, purely from a personal perspective, I get the impression: “You are blind, so what.”



I must emphasise, they somehow do it from a positive perspective and not a negative one.



I am now off to Paris to find out what the French are doing to tackle the problem of high unemployment among their disabled community.



I anticipate it will be very different from Denmark, let’s see if I am correct.



GLASGOW


Ian Hamilton

Ian is investigating job opportunities for people with disabilities

I am travelling to three countries in the European Union as part of an investigation into the employment prospects of people with disabilities in Denmark, France and Spain.



I will be comparing them with the opportunities for disabled people in Scotland.



As someone who is a blind reporter, one of my big challenges is getting from one country to the next, especially as I’m not taking my guide dog on this trip – nor do I speak Danish, French or Spanish.



On reflection I decided to take some sighted assistance, so I brought my production help along in the form of Preeti.



I never imagined for one minute that my biggest challenge would have been to get into Glasgow Airport.



Understandably, after the attack on the terminal building last summer they have significantly tightened the security on the approach roads to the airport.



Help essential



I will be generous and say perhaps I got them on a bad week as numerous flights to and from the new Heathrow Terminal 5 were drastically affected, which had a knock-on impact on flights to and from Glasgow.



However, I did try to call 48 hours in advance, as they advise, to book assistance to get me from the new drop-off point into the terminal building.



If I was to do it unassisted, I would require the tracking and path-finding skills of Ray Mears, so some help would be essential to navigate this trail.



I called and called the airport. I found that my calls were either cut off, or in a never-ending loop of messages and requests to press various options.



Drop-off point



Eventually, I got through to the airport helpline which gave a further number to call and advice about a special disability drop-off point, where I could call for help.



Fantastic! Now I am getting somewhere. Sadly, no. This number also rang out.



Fortunately for me, on the day of my departure I was collected by a taxi driver I knew. We tried to find the drop-off point they referred to with no success.



After a fruitless search the driver parked and deposited me safely inside the terminal building.



After I met up with Preeti, I’m pleased to say my journey so far to the Danish capital has been uneventful. Now it’s time to do some reporting.



GLASGOW UPDATE


I thought you may be interested in a reply I received from the organisation which provides the airport support for disabled passengers.



Before I left for Denmark, I emailed them after my attempts to call them to ask for assistance failed miserably.



Well, I got a nice reply saying that they only provided disabled passengers with support Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 – so if you are planning to travel, I advise you only to have a disability during office hours.



To be fair, they also said that Glasgow Airport was responsible outside these hours. Well, not if my experience is anything to go by, as it wasn’t for the want of trying.



Source:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7326009.stm

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http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/men_with_mops_employs_autistic_adults.htm


“Thorkil Sonne: Recruit Autistics”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/thorkil_sonne_recruit_autistics.htm


“The Job Place and Ticket To Work Program”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/the_job_place_and_ticket_to_work_program.htm


“Penelope Trunk: Asperger Syndrome In The Office: How I Deal With Sensory Integration Dysfunction”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/penelope_trunk_asperger_syndrome_in_the_office_how_i_deal_.htm


“Employment: NAS “Don’t Write Me Off” Campaign/Autistic People Condemned to Poverty”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/employment_nas_dont_write_me_off_campaignautistic_peopl.htm


“Gender Discrimination in the Workplace”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/gender_discrimination_in_the_workplace.htm


“Northern Ireland – Some Autistic ‘Missed Out On Jobs”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/northern_ireland__some_autistic_missed_out_on_jobs.htm


“Brendan Keeley – Freelance Cartoonist & Illustrator’s Work To Go On Display”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/brendan_keeley__freelance_cartoonist__illustrators_work_t.htm


“Brevard Business Leadership – Companies Step Up With Special Hires”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/employment_brevard_business_leadership_network_companies_s.htm


“National Stress Awareness Day: A Professional Approach to mental Health At Work”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/national_stress_awareness_day_a_professional_approach_to_me.htm


“[UK] Tackle Work Stress, Bosses Told”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/uk_tackle_work_stress_bosses_told.htm


“Project Spectrum:  Strengths of Autism Shine Through In 3D”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/project_spectrum__strengths_of_autism_shine_through_in_3d.htm


“Robert Schrum: Autistic Poet Shares His Work”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/robert_schrum_autistic_poet_shares_his_work.htm


“Autism Seen As Asset, Not Liability, In Some Jobs”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/autism_seen_as_asset_not_liability_in_some_jobs.htm


“Employment Opportunities: National Prize For Autistic Students”:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/employment_opportunities_national_prize_for_autistic_studen.htm


“Autism in Computer Science”:http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/autism_in_computer_science.htm


“Employment: MU Professor Writes Guide To Help Autistic Adults Find Jobs”: http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/employment_mu_professor_writes_guide_to_help_autistic_adult.htm


“Tories Plan £1m Fund To Help Disabled People Become MPs”: http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/tories_plan_1m_fund_to_help_disabled_people_become_mps.htm


“When Work Interferes With Life”:http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/when_work_interferes_with_life.htm


“Targeting Workplace Bullying, Latest Stats On Girls & Violence”:http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/targeting_workplace_bullying_latest_stats_on_girls__violen.htm


“Eileen Parker: Autistic Adult and Creator of the Cozy Calm Weighted Blanket”:http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/eileen_parker_autistic_adult_and_creator_of_the_cozy_calm_w.htm


“7 Office Depression Busters: Tips For Work Depression/Bonuses Generate More Heat Than Light”:http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/7_office_depression_busters_tips_for_work_depression.htm


“Volunteering – Good For You, And Good For The Day Job”: http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/volunteering__good_for_you_and_good_for_the_day_job.htm

“Air Cadets Flying With Success”:

“Nine Tips For Feeling Happier When You’ve Lost Your Job … Or Fear You Might”:

“Tips To Avoid Burnout”:

“Autism Employment Campaigners Claim Victory From Government, UK”:

“Will Hadcroft: Writing Can Make a Difference”:

“Work Addiction Defined”:

“Women Face Inequality in Professional, Family Lives”:

“I Beat Trauma of Blindness To Build £1m Firm”:

[Australia]”Employment: Only Autistic People Need Apply”:

“Work/Life Balance Evades UK Female Academics, UK”:

“Employment: Job Would Be A Dream”:

“Autistic Numbers Whiz Thrives In Brooklyn Store”:

“To Tell Or Not To Tell Your Boss: Bipolar and Depression in the Workplace”:

“7 Ways To Beat Depression If You’re Unemployed”:

“Employment: Project To Boost Opportunities For Autistic People”:

“Health Problems From Working Overtime”:

“Women Well-Suited To Be Leaders”:

“Shift Workers Make Fewer Mistakes When They Take Caffeine”:

“Attention Deficit A Boon For Bosses”:

“I Hste My Job! What Can You Do If You’re In A Job You Hate?”:

“Adult Autism Program”:

“The Secret To Getting The Job, The Raise, The Promotion, The Deal”:

“Autism Means Great Workers”:

“Adults With ADHD At Work”:

“National Recognition For Employability Programme”:

“NAS and Remploy Work To Improve Job Opportunities For Autistic People/Chancellor Announces Future Changes To DLA”:

“Conducting A Rational Job Search”:

“Workforce Issues Key In Mental Health, Australia”:

“Weird And Wacky Job Interviews And Bad Psychology”:

“Tomorrow’s Surgeon’s Are Today’s Video Gamers”:

“Arizona: Life OK Now For Jerry, But Others Still In Need”:

“Autistic Adults In Ohio Have A Hard Time Finding Work”:

“Guardian: Do Disabled People Fare Better In The Open Labour Market?”:

“Employment: Hampton Teen Bella Tommey Takes Pop-Up Cafe Idea To 10 Downing Street”:

“Some Standardized Employment Tests May Be Biased”:

“Jobs Cash For Autistic People In Scotland”:

“Redefining Sexual Discrimination”:

“How To Support Someone Who Is Unemployed: Seven Steps To Making A Difference”:


Last Updated Saturday 14th August, 2010.



First Published Thursday, 19th June, 2008.

Fwd:


Hello all,

Today, I will attend the first meeting of New Jersey Adults with Autism Task
Force, the nation’s first state-level planning committee specifically on the
needs of Autistic adults. As some of you may recall, the Autistic
Self-Advocacy Network lobbied for the creation of this task force with an
autistic representative. On April 2nd, I was named by Governor Jon Corzine
of New Jersey to serve as one of the body’s public members. We are pleased
that our community’s voice was heard on this issue and I look forward to
serving on the Task Force in future months. Although it will only make
policy recommendations for one state, this body will develop ideas that, if
effective, may provide guidance for public policy on the needs of autistic
adults across the globe.

As such, I am personally inviting autistic adults, family members,
professionals and others who are interested in sharing their thoughts about
the Task Force’s mission to e-mail ASAN at info@autisticadvoca cy.org with
stories, recommendations and other comments that you feel will help broaden
the perspectives of the Task Force’s members, including myself. Please put
the keyword, “AUTISTIC ADULTS” in your subject line and feel free to send
your stories and/or thoughts at any point over the coming months. In your
e-mail, please indicate where you are writing from, some background details
about you to the extent you feel comfortable sharing them and whether or not
you would be okay with your story being shared publicly. No e-mails will be
posted anywhere without the prior written permission of the author. Over the
next year, the Task Force will draft policy that I hope will serve as a
model for meeting the needs of autistic adults now and into the future.
Thank you and please feel free to distribute this message to your networks.

Regards,
Ari Ne’eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1101 15th Street, NW Suite 1212
Washington, DC 20005
http://www.autistic advocacy. org
732.763.5530



River Elbe

HEADLINES


“Search for missing autistic man hits critical stage”:
http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_9612477?source=rss


“Time short in search for autistic man, 25”:
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_9617265?nclick_check=1


“Missing 8 year old autistic boy found by police”:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local&id=6213421


VIDEO “Man may be reunited with son”:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1127733498?bclid=1127701735&bctid=1606795082


Youtube video(as above) “North Carolina ordered to return Texas child, Joshua Smith”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNNKvY6nfJ8


VIDEO Ari Ne’eman and Kristina Chew on Neurodiversity – Good Morning America segment “Autistic and proud of it”:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5036816


“Letter: Parents of autistic boy know difficult behaviour”:
http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080608/OPINION/106080043/-1/RSSOPINION


“Abuse claim probed based on psychic’s report”:
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/article/329416


AUTREAT 2008 “IRC (Online Chat) Enabled Sessions”:
http://ani.autistics.org/aut08irc.html


“Autreach – New Video Project”:
http://autreach.backpackit.com/pub/1382191


“China sorry for insensitive Olympics guide, Manual for volunteers contained stereotypes of the disabled; Organizers blame translation”:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/02/world/main4145995.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_4145995


“Church shuts out autistic teenager”:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-autismjun02,0,2711383.story


“Skate park neighbors: Restore our privacy”:
http://www.indianagazette.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30259&Itemid=2

RESEARCH


“Study looks at link between sleep apnea, autism”:
http://www.nbc4.com/health/15742672/detail.html


“Missing protein in Fragile X is key to transporting signals with neurons”:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/eu-mpi060308.php


“Spontaneous mutations rife in nonfamilial schizophrenia”:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/niom-smr052808.php


“New scanning technology offers better picture of critical brain functions”:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/111699.php


“The APCs of nerve cell function”:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/111612.php

EDUCATION


“Youths rally for disabled rights in schools”:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1213418109274090.xml&coll=1


“Parents demand new plan”:
http://www.somdnews.com/stories/06182008/rectop143026_32164.shtml


“Autism school to open in Fall”:
http://yorkdispatch.inyork.com/yd/local/ci_9601497?source=rss


“Big investment in school”:
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/northdevongazette/news/story.aspx?brand=NDGOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsndga&itemid=DEED18%20Jun%202008%2009%3A07%3A39%3A410


“Disproportionality in Special Needs Education in England”:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1432372/disproportionality_in_special_needs_education_in_england/


“Why youngsters with ASD remain underrepresented in Special Education”:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1432389/why_youngsters_with_autistic_spectrum_disorders_remain_underrepresented_in_special/


“School leaves autistic kids out of Yearbook”:
http://www.kptv.com/education/16639257/detail.html

“Phoenix autism school holds 1st graduation”:
http://news.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=859575


“Schools’ finish signals beginnings, endings”:
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806100337


“Finally at the summit”:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-skhirsch105721515jun10,0,4437004.story


“Jennifer Lopez – Lopez treats school kids to private concert”:
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/lopez%20treats%20school%20kids%20to%20private%20concert_1071806

EMPLOYMENT


“Auties.org”:
Individuality, Diversity, Equality, Achievement

Auties.org is an Aspie & Autie friendly site for all people on the Autistic Spectrum who are ready to dare reach out to occupation and employment, open the doors to the community and market their abilities directly to the public and for those interested in supporting these pioneers. http://www.auties.org/


“Prospects”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=473&a=2348


“AutismJobs”:
Linking job seekers with vacancies in work related to autism, Aspergers and ASDs
http://www.autismjobs.org/?section=00010009


“Current job vacancies within the NAS”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=170

GENERAL/HUMAN INTEREST


Joanna Moorhead asks why do we hear so little of girls being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome? “It’s not just boys who are autistic”:
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,,2283569,00.html


“Bible program caters to special needs kids”:
http://www.powhatantoday.com/index.php/news/article/bible-program-caters-to-special-needs-kids/15730/


New Oklahoma Website “Website offers information on autism”:
http://newsok.com/web-site-offers-information-on-autism/article/3253789


TARC – New Support Group(Links) “Finding support by supporting others”:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080610_11_A9_Anwspo208645


“Stressed military family finds haven in Oregon”:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1212816313274810.xml&coll=7


“Help with autism under one roof”:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/08/20080608edautism0608.html


Speech & Communication “Dubai autism center conducts 3-day workshop”:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/June/theuae_June205.xml&section=theuae&col=


Speech & Language Disorders “Speech block a parental nightmare”:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23854505-23289,00.html


“Grandfather builds browser to assist autistic grandson”:
http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=95620


“Time to say hurray!”:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/June/theuae_June424.xml&section=theuae


“Unique fishing event helps those with disabilities enjoy the outdoors”:
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=17274


“A-OK means fun for autistic campers”:
http://www.thestar.com/FreshAirFund/article/440164


“Autism support dogs”:
http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6705756&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1


“Child expert on board for Zenith tower”:
http://www.ameinfo.com/159873.html


“You’re never too old to be a Dad”:
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.2333889.0.youre_never_too_old_to_be_a_dad.php


“Concept media releases AD/HD, autism, and LD programs”:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080616/20080616006210.html?.v=1


“Transition Information Network”:
http://www.transitioninfonetwork.org.uk/page/1

ADD/ADHD


“Computer games to help kids with ADHD”:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23869261-23289,00.html


St John’s Wort “Extract doesn’t help ADHD, study says”:
http://www.wdsu.com/health/16561565/detail.html


“The value of hyperactive curiosity”:
http://confectionerynews.com/news/ng.asp?n=85921-st-john-s-wort-adhd-disclosure


“Hyperactivity gene helps nomadic tribesmen?”:
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/005263.html


“ADHD treatment company in liquidation”:
http://news.smh.com.au/national/adhd-treatment-company-in-liquidation-20080617-2s4d.html


“Personal Stories and Anecdotes from Adults with ADD/ADHD”:
http://add.about.com/od/personalstorie1/Personal_Stories_and_Anecdotes.htm


“ADHD and Sleep”:
http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/sleepandchildren/a/adhdrelax.htm


“
adders.org”
Our objective is to promote awareness to AD/HD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and to provide information and as much free practical help as we can to affected by the condition, both adults and children, their families in the UK and around the World via this website.

http://www.adders.org/


“
ADDISS” The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service.
http://www.addiss.co.uk/index.html


“
ADDA”:
http://www.add.org/


“
hi2u ADHD Pages”:
http://www.adhd.org.uk/


“
CHADD”:
http://www.chadd.org/am/CustomPages/home/CHADD_Home.htm?CFID=2282059&CFTOKEN=38105335&jsessionid=f2303343221169802693562


BOOK  “
ADD and Me: Forty Years in a Fog”

Author: Ken Patterson
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843107774

SPORT


“Billerica Little League gives kids with disabilities a chance to swing away”:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/06/08/their_turn_at_the_plate/


NAS “Grab a “Pisa” the action: trek Tuscany this September!”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16690


“Sky diving: take the plunge for the NAS”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16319


“Support NAS Scotland … by eating Sunday lunch”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16282

“The London Triathlon 2008 – 9th-10th August”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16295


“Adidas Women’s 5k Challenge – 7th September, 2008”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16296


Newcastle & Portsmouth “BUPA Great North Run 2008 – World’s Biggest Half Marathon – 5th October”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16132


“Sahara Desert Trek – 8th-15th November, 2008”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16303


“Cycle China 2009 – 19th-29th March”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16305


“Trek the Inca Trail 2009 – 14th-23rd May”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16310


“Trek Jordan 2009 – 10th-14th September”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1667&a=16314

MUSIC


Donna Williams “Donna and the Aspinauts, set to launch”:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/64941


“Teen from Hampton lends her voice for autism”:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08162/888635-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml

ART


Jessica Park

A primarily self-taught artist, Jessica employs unique painting techniques to create art that both exemplifies and overcomes the obstacles she faces in daily life. Her work is well known and sought after. Jessica is represented by Pure Vision Arts, a division of the Shield Institute in New York City, and works primarily on commission. Her list of individual and group shows is impressive, and she has received numerous awards and recognition for her art.
http://www.jessicapark.com/


“Painting the world with a rainbow”:
http://www.folkart.org/mag/park/park.html


“Paint by magic: Jessica Park is known for her “Pop Architectural” works – not her disability”:
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7782716_ITM


“The Jessica Park Project”:
http://campus.mcla.edu/park_project/exhibition.php


NAS “Take part in our creativity competition”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1665&a=16597

MOVIES/ENTERTAINMENT


“Saving Sabine”:
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/wellbeing/story/0,,2285062,00.html


“Actors for Autism”:
http://www.actorsforautism.com/

BOOKS


“Visual Perception Problems in Children with AD/HD, Autism, and Other Learning Disiabilities: A Guide for Parents and Professionals”

Author: Lisa A. Kurtz
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843108269


Coming Soon “All Dogs Have ADHD”

Author: Kathy Hoopmann
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843106517


New “Providing Practical Support for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Supported Living in the Community”

Author: Denise Edwards

Foreword by E. Veronica Bliss
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843105770


New “Autism, Discrimination and the Law”

Author: James Graham
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843106272


New “Asperger Syndrome and Social Relationships: Adults Speak Out about Asperger Syndrome”

Edited by Genevieve Edmonds and Luke Beardon
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843106470


New “Dasha’s Journal: A Cat Reflects on Life, Catness and Autism”

Author: T.O. Daria
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843105862


New “Art Therapy and Anger”

Edited by Marian Liebmann
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843104254


“Perfect Targets: Asperger Syndrome and Bullying; Practical Solutions for Surviving the Social World”

Author: Rebekah Heinrichs
http://www.asperger.net/bookstore_9918.htm


“Becoming Remarkably Able: Walking the Path to Talents, Interests, and Personal Growth”

Author: Jackie Marquette, Ph.D.
http://www.asperger.net/bookstore_9992.htm


“Asperger Syndrome in Adolescence: Living with the Ups, the Downs and Things in Between”

Edited by Liane Holliday Willey

Foreword by Luke Jackson
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843107422


“Adam’s Alternative Sports Day: An Asperger Story”

Author: Jude Welton
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843103004


“Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger’s Love Story”

Authors: Jerry Newport, Mary Newport

Contributor: Johnny Dodd
http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Whale-Aspergers-Love-Story/dp/074327282X


“Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant”

Author: Daniel Tammet
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Blue-Day-Extraordinary-Autistic/dp/B0018SY6KI/ref=pd_sim_b_title_1


“Women From Another Planet?: Our Lives in the Universe of Autism”:

Editor: Jean Kearns Miller
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=16210

Panda

In closing, for the animal lovers among  us…
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080515-pandas-quake.html

Plovdig, Bulgaria

“How well do you know your cities?”


As part of the Places of a Lifetime series from Traveller magazine, you’re invited to enjoy a fun, interactive WorldWise Quiz. Challenge yourself and friends, learn interesting facts, and have some fun! 20 cities and a series of 10 multiple choice questions:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/places/places-of-a-lifetime/london-quiz.html


Till next time,

Take Care,

Julie

Dresden cafe



Dec

18

Bubble Eater

PICA


Childhood is a precious thing. As children, we learn through play, through interacting with our environment and those within it. Nature itself, provides us with the most wondrous array of tastes and textures, a symphony of sounds and a smorgasbord of vibrant visuals. Naturally, as young children, we seek to explore the world as presented to us, through taste and touch, from babyhood forth. Innocent exploration of our surroundings invites discovery and feeds our imagination. Some of us may have lived close to or in a rainforest environment. For others, the ocean was our playground. For some, frozen winters and arctic conditions provided just as magnificent an array of experiences and discovery of taste and texture as any.


However, for some, tasting a slither of mudpie or partaking in a sand-wich, or an icy snow-cone, can be taken just a mite too far, entering the realms of what becomes for some, a serious disorder. The article(“Fluff and Stuff”) contained herein clearly illustrates the enormous impact upon a family , Pica can have. According to statistics, around 25% to 30% of children(and 20% of those seen in mental health clinics) have the eating disorder. The word itself is derived from the latin word for magpie, a bird known for its large and indiscriminate appetite. Pica is characterized by persistent and compulsive cravings (lasting one month or longer) and involves the eating of nonfood items. Research indicates that it is most common in people with developmental disabilities , including autism and ID, that it may surface in children or adults who’ve had a brain injury, and that it can also be a problem for some pregnant women, as well as people with epilepsy. It is said to occur in an equal number of boys and girls.

eating soil

Pica behaviour is also known to occur ritualistically in some cultures. Geophagia(clay ingestion) is the most common form of pica, occurring in tribe-oriented societies as well as in people living in the tropics. It was a common act in the 1800s in the southern United States, primarily among slaves. Geophagia(soil or clay ingestion) has been associated with soil-borne parasitic infections, such as toxoplasmosis and taxocariasis. Gastrointestinal (GI) tract complications, including mechanical bowel problems, constipation, ulcerations, perforations, and intestinal obstructions, have resulted from Pica. Pica has been practiced as part of religious ceremonies, magical beliefs, and attempts at healing. It occurs the world over. Pica is a widespread practice in western Kenya, southern Africa, and India. Pica has been reported in Australia, Canada, Israel, Iran, Uganda, Wales, Turkey, and Jamaica. In some countries, Uganda for example, soil is available for purchase for the purpose of ingestion. An article by Cynthia R Ellis states that Pica is reportedly problematic in 70% of the provinces in Turkey.


Let’s take a look at some of the non-food items being consumed:

  • dirt

  • clay

  • rust

  • paint chips

  • plaster

  • chalk

  • cornstarch

  • laundry starch

  • baking soda

  • coffee grounds

  • cigarette ashes

  • burnt match heads

  • cigarette butts

  • broken crockery

  • oyster shells

  • coins

  • faeces

  • ice

  • glue

  • hair

  • buttons

  • paper

  • sand

  • toothpaste

  • soap

  • shampoo
coins

Although consumption of some items may be harmless, pica is considered a serious eating disorder that can sometimes result in serious health problems such as lead poisoning and iron-deficiency anemia. There was an article in The Guardian way back in October, 2006 entitled “There’s nothing he wouldn’t eat” in regard a 61 year-old man from south Wales. And so it proceeds…”A recent inquest found that a man had died swallowing a screw, a pen top, some coins and a magnet. Emine Saner reports on pica syndrome – a rare but deadly condition.” To read on: http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/wellbeing/story/0,,1930043,00.html

In another case, in 2002, a French man went to hospital complaining of stomach pains. An x-ray showed he had swallowed 5kg of coins, necklaces and needles; his stomach was so heavy, it had been forced down between his hips. He subsequently died after an operation to remove the objects.


The following information comes courtesy of Kidshealth and was reviewed by Mary L. Gavin, MD in December, 2007.


So what are the signs and why does it occur?

You or your child may have Pica if you note:

repetitive consumption of nonfood items, despite efforts to restrict it, for a period of at least 1 month or longer

the behaviour is considered inappropriate for your child’s age or developmental stage (older than 18-24 months)

the behaviour is not part of a cultural, ethnic, or religious practice


The specific causes of Pica are unknown, but certain conditions and situations may increase likelihood:


nutritional deficiencies, such as iron or zinc, that may trigger specific cravings(however, the nonfood items craved usually don’t supply the minerals lacking in the person’s body)

  • dieting — people who diet may attempt to ease hunger by eating nonfood substances to get a feeling of fullness

  • malnutrition, especially in underdeveloped countries, where people with pica most commonly eat soil or clay

  • cultural factors — in families, religions, or groups in which eating nonfood substances is a learned practice

  • parental neglect, lack of supervision, or food deprivation — often seen in children living in poverty

  • developmental problems, such as intellectual deficit, autism, other developmental disabilities, or brain abnormalities

  • mental health conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia

  • pregnancy, but it’s been suggested that pica during pregnancy occurs more frequently in women who exhibited similar practices during their childhood or before pregnancy or who have a history of pica in their family


Is a Doctor necessary?

If your child has consumed a harmful substance, seek medical care immediately. If you think your child has ingested something poisonous, call Poison Control at (800) 222-1222.

A child who continues to consume nonfood items may be at risk for serious health problems, including:

  • lead poisoning (from eating paint chips in older buildings with lead-based paint)

  • bowel problems (from consuming indigestible substances like hair, cloth, etc.)

  • intestinal obstruction or perforation (from eating objects that could get lodged in the intestines)

  • dental injury (from eating hard substances that could harm the teeth)

  • parasitic infections (from eating dirt or feces)

Medical emergencies and death can occur if the craved substance is toxic or contaminated with lead or mercury, or if the item forms an indigestible mass blocking the intestines. Pica involving lead-containing substances during pregnancy may be associated with an increase in both maternal and fetal lead levels.

What Will the Doctor Do?

Your doctor will play an important role in helping you manage and prevent pica-related behaviors. He or she will educate you on teaching your child about acceptable and unacceptable food substances. The doctor will also work with you ways to restrict the nonfood items your child craves (i.e., using child-safety locks and high shelving, and keeping household chemicals and medications out of reach). Some kids require behavioral intervention and families may need to work with a psychologist or other mental health professional.

Depending on a child’s age and developmental stage, doctors will work with kids to teach them ways to eat more appropriately. Medication may also be prescribed if pica is associated with significant behavioral problems not responding to behavioral treatments.

Your doctor may check for anemia or other nutritional deficiencies, if indicated. A child who has ingested a potentially harmful substance, such as lead, will be screened for lead and other toxic substances and might undergo stool testing for parasites. In some cases, X-rays or other imaging may be helpful to identify what was eaten or to look for bowel problems, such as an obstruction.

Fortunately, pica is usually a temporary condition that improves as kids get older or following pregnancy. But for individuals with developmental or mental health issues, pica can be a more prolonged concern.

Following treatment, if your child’s pica behavior continues beyond several weeks despite attempts to intervene, contact your doctor again for additional treatment. Remember that patience is key in treating pica because it can take time for some kids to stop wanting to eat nonfood items.

mud pie

The following article is provided courtesy of the NAS Communication magazine (Volume 40 Number 4 Winter 2006)

FLUFF AND STUFF

Vicky and Jonathon Foreman’s son Thomas has an overwhelming desire to eat fluff, along with soft furnishings, carpets, hair, soil, sand, grit, and much more. This consuming of non-food items is also known as ‘pica’. With the help of psychologist Emily Janes – and the odd glass of wine – the family has been finding ways to help Thomas satisfy his craving for sensory stimulation safely.

“Our son Thomas is five years old. He has the face of an angel, topped with a mass of unruly blond hair. He is also severely autistic, has no language and suffers from severe sensory difficulties, particularly seeking oral stimulation.

He has an overwhelming desire to eat fluff. The list of things he will bite, pull and pluck is endless: almost any soft furnishing, carpets, his own hair, foam stuffing and the loose hairs he finds tangled up in hair or sweeping brushes. It includes fluff from other people’s jumpers (especially embarrassing if the person wearing that beautiful woolly jumper is a complete stranger who just happens to sit in front of him on the bus), soft toys – much to the sadness of his long-suffering sister, Ella – and cotton wool from Christmas displays; his class was the only one with a doily Santa instead of a cotton wool one. If he finds himself in a fluff-free environment, he has been known to eat the fluff balls that have collected on socks. Unfortunately, the person is usually still wearing them at the time.

Thomas also loves to eat gritty things. To satisfy this urge, he will eat soil, dust, sand, soot, rubber play park flooring and glitter, producing festive faeces at Christmas time. He will lick stones, sticks, logs, slides, swings, the soles of his shoes, pram wheels, and cars. Trips to the beach can be particularly tricky. Thomas spends his time scooping up handfuls of sand to eat, washed down with seawater, as we dash after him, brushing his hands down and vainly trying to distract him with tickles.

Thomas’ favourite pastime, however, has to be smearing. He likes to smear spit all over his hands, mouth, TV, books and windows, leaving a very wet and messy trail of devastation behind him. One particularly embarrassing incident involved him enjoying a soft play session. He began to spit into his hands and then, as his excitement levels rose, he started to flap. As we spotted a ball of spit fly out of his hands and disappear across the crowded room, we quickly left without waiting to find out who or what it landed on.

Occasionally, we get invited around to our very understanding friends and families’ homes. Thomas then embarks on a series of raids: to munch his way through their carpets and cushions, to ferret up chimneys for soot, to sneak into bedrooms for woolly, fleecy things to eat and to smear spit all over their TV and windows. We and our hosts spend what should be a lovely evening rearranging rooms and erecting temporary barriers in a vain effort to thwart a very determined and, in most cases, successful Thomas. Thank goodness for alcohol!” Vicky Foreman

As well as resorting to alcohol to get through the week, Vicky’s family has had ‘brilliant’ support from assistant psychologist Emily Janes. She has been involved with the family for over a year and comes round weekly to help tackle Thomas.

“I will never forget the first time I was introduced to Thomas. As I entered the room, Thomas began flapping his arms and jumping up and down excitedly. He edged over to me and began patting my arms. I thought ‘Wow! What a friendly, sociable little boy.’ That is, until I realised he was in fact jumping up and down in glee at the lovely green fluffy poncho I was wearing and how best to eat me! That was the last time I wore anything fluffy on a Tuesday.

I have been working with Thomas and his family for the past year. Thomas was initially referred to our service, Community Team Learning Disability, for support and help regarding his fluff-eating. However, as is often the way with autism, fluff-eating was just the starting point. Thomas’ taste palate was becoming more sophistocated but, where you and I may broaden our tastes to enjoy olives, strong cheeses and coffee, his food list was expanding to include soil, sand and grit. Thomas’ pica had slowly begun to take over his day-to-day life, impacting hugely on his family.

The first approach we took was to try to find out what it was exactly that Thomas was getting from eating these items. We did some observations in our sessions and Vicky kept a record during the week, looking at what sorts of materials Thomas was seeking out, how he touched them and how he handled them in his mouth. This information told us that Thomas was not simply consuming these materials because of the taste: instead, he was obtaining sensory stimulation from the handling of the items – both oral and tactile. Therefore, if we were to stop Thomas from eating these substances completely, we would remove the danger of his ingestion of these items, but his need for this stimulation would still be there.

We began to look for alternatives to grit, sand, fluff and so on. We tried everything we could think of: lentils, liquorice, dried fruits, seeds, flour, icing sugar, gritty crackers: the list was endless. Eventually, we found a few alternatives with which Thomas seemed satisfied: seeds (similar to grit); flour (similar to soil); crusty bread (similar to fluff); and, strangely, mashed potato flakes (similarity unknown)! At controlled times of the day, Thomas was given these more appropriate items and happily played around with them. This did not stop his cravings for non-food items completely, but we found that it gave him some sort of ‘sensory fix’ that enabled him to attend to other activities for a short time.

We worked closely with Thomas’ school and passed on our findings to them. They began to incorporate controlled sensory sessions into their school day and found that Thomas was better able to concentrate on activities immediately following his ‘fix’. Thomas was also granted extra provision at school during holidays and this added stability in his routine, along with the sensory input, is helping him to slowly overcome his ‘addiction’ to non-food items, aiding his development in other areas, such as cognitive and social development.

Since then, we have looked at other areas in which Thomas is ‘sensory seeking’ and come up with lots of more appropriate alternatives. For example, the family recently bought a large exercise ball and Thomas spends his days jumping up and down on it, gaining proprioceptive (body awareness), tactile and vestibular (balance) stimulation, which acts to calm him down and enables him to simultaneously attend to other tasks.

Tackling Thomas has been a difficult journey, both for the family and other professionals involved. By discovering the route to Thomas’ behaviour, we were able to better understand his world, his wants and needs. Looking to the future, we hope this will help Thomas to remain the happy and special little boy his is. Emily Janes

pica on a plate

For further reading…

NAS Information Sheet “The sensory world of the autistic spectrum”:

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=299&a=3766

Articles, Recommended Reading and References:

“Eating Disorder: Pica” Author: Cynthia R Ellis, MD

http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1798.htm

Cooper M. Pica. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, 1957.

Crosby WH. Pica: a compulsion caused by iron deficiency. Br J Hematol. 1976; 34: 341–42. [PubMed]

Johnson BE, Stephens RL. Geomelophagia. An unusual pica in iron-deficiency anemia. Am J Med. 1982; 73: 931–32. [PubMed]

Lackey CJ. Pica during pregnancy. Bol Assoc Med Puerto Rico. 1984; 76: 405–7.

Reynolds RD, Binder HJ, Miller MB. et al. Pagophagia and iron deficiency anemia. Ann Intern Med. 1968; 69: 435–40. [PubMed]

Roselle HA. Association of laundry starch and clay ingestion with anemia in New York City. Arch Intern Med. 1970; 125: 57–61. [PubMed]

Vermeer DE, Frate DA. Geophagia in rural Mississippi: environmental and cultural contexts and nutritional implications. Am J Clin Nutr. 1979; 32: 2129–35. [PubMed]

VonBonsdorff B. Pica—a hypothesis. Br J Hematol. 1977; 35: 476–77.

Kirschner, Jeffrey. “Management of Pica: A Medical Enigma.” American Family Physician 63, no. 6 (March 15, 2001): 1169.

BOOKS

Heird, William C. “Food Insecurity, Hunger and Undernutrition.” In Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 17th ed. Ed. by Richard E. Behrman, et al., Philadelphia: Saunders, 2003, 167-172.

Matthews, Dawn D. Eating Disorders SourceBook Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Incorporated, 2001.

Walsh, B. Timothy. “Eating Disorders.” In Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 15th ed. Ed. by Eugene Braunwald et al., New York, McGraw Hill, 2001, 486-90.

West, Delia S. “Eating Disorders.” In Cecil Textbook of Medicine. 22nd ed. Ed. by Lee Goldman, et al. Philadelphia: Saunders, 2003, 1336–8.

PERIODICALS

Dreyer MJ, Chaushev PG, and Gledhill RF. “Biochemical investigations in geophagia.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 97, no. 1 (2004): 48-53.

Kuhn DE and Matson JL. “Assessment of feeding and mealtime behavior problems in persons with mental retardation.” Behavior Modification 28, no. 5 (2004): 638–48.

Lavoie PM and Bailey B. “Lead poisoning from “lead-free” paint.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 170, no. 6 (2004): 956–8.

Moya J, Bearer CF, and Etzel RA. “Children’s behavior and physiology and how it affects exposure to environmental contaminants.” Pediatrics 113, no. 4 Supplement (2004): 996–1006.

ORGANIZATIONS

National Eating Disorders Organization (NEDO). 6655 South Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK 74136. (918) 481-4044. Hotline: (800) 931.2237. Web site: http://.

OTHER

“Children and Eating Disorders.” Vanderbilt University. Available online at http://.

“Eating Disorder: Pica.” eMedicine. Available online at http://.

“Eating Disorders.” Encyclopedia.Com. Available online at http://.

“Pica.” Web MD Health. Available online at .

  1. Fleming Fallon, Jr., MD, DrPH

Pica on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder)

In popular culture

eating kashiwa-mochi



First Published Saturday, 14th June, 2008.

A Father's Moment

A Father’s Moment

by Patrick Paulitz


All of us make daily choices in life. Most of these choices are trivial, like what to have for dinner or what color socks to wear. Other choices are more life-changing, like whom to marry, where to live, or what house to buy. Sometimes, choices are made which at the time seem to be in error, but allow us, if our ears, eyes, and mind are open, to learn about life, our children, ourselves. Sometimes a wrong turn can lead to nothing less than a miracle.


It was a spring Saturday in the Bay Area. There was nothing exceptional about the day, except that it wasn’t raining. Not bad for a weekend in the wettest year California had experienced in decades. The sky was blue with white puffy clouds, and it was on the cool side – a great day for a picnic.


April and I decided to spend the day in Sausalito, a trendy upscale town on the waterfront just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. We packed a lunch and ate hotdogs, chips, and sodas with a spectacular view of the San Fransisco skyline. The pigeons and seagulls, we discovered, are only your friends when you’re eating. They’re not one of God’s more loyal creatures, to say the least. Later that afternoon we blew bubbles with Shamus, our four year-old autistic son, in a local park before starting the drive back to our home on the Peninsula. On the way home I took a minor detour; I wanted to show April some nice places to have a picnic another time, with a great view of the San Francisco Bay. As luck would have it, despite our best efforts to follow the signs to the freeway we somehow took a wrong turn. Or was it a wrong turn?


We soon found ourselves among green rolling hills that we could see eventually led to the Pacific Ocean. We were debating whether to turn around, or just keep going and enjoy the ride. It was so beautiful, we decided to venture on. By the time we arrived at the ocean, April had no interest in making the short trek to the water. I parked the van and walked to the beach by myself, staying only a few minutes. It was no fun being there without my wife and son. That’s just not the way God intended it.


Before maneuvering home, we knew Shamus needed a potty stop. Even though the restroom building was not more than a few hundred feet across the parking lot, we figured the less walking our boy did here, the better. Parked cars are a real distraction for Shamus. Once ‘business’ was done, I turned to Shamus and said, “Shamus, do you want to go to the beach?” He was never a beach-lover before, but I thought I’d give him the option. Surprisingly, he said “yes”. Kids, even autistic ones, do change sometimes, I guess… We watched the waves tumble in, leaving the hissing, white-green foam behind. Shamus seemed to be enjoying it so much – the sound of the ocean, the frothy surf, the big sky overhead.


Now, Shamus is a native Californian and our home is only 10 miles from the ocean. He had been to the beach many times before and had never been too interested in exploring beyond the blanket he was sitting on. But today was different; he wanted to get his feet wet.


San Francisco is not a ‘beach’ town, despite its physical proximity to the ocean. The water is cold, and summer weather along the coast is usually cold and foggy the entire day. Bay Area residents, especially coastal residents, don’t wear shorts and don’t keep beach towels in their car. Extra blankets and jackets are a far more practical item to have on hand.


But here was my son wanting – for the first time – to get his feet wet. So, we rolled up his pants, took off his socks and shoes, and I did the same. Shamus got his feet wet. He was ecstatic. As for me, the water felt like ice, my feet were frozen, my rolled-up pant legs soon unravelled, and in no time, both our pants were soaked – and we had no dry clothes.


And yet, I wouldn’t have traded that moment for anything in the world. It was our moment – father and son – playing in the surf. Nothing else in the world mattered to either of us. For most four-year-olds, such a moment would be routine. With our dear Shamus, however, I take nothing for granted. April is such a ‘Mom.’ Even today my own mother, who is 82 years old, often tells me to put on a sweater when she is cold. A mother’s nurturing nature transcends generations and crosses cultural lines. As April motioned for us to come out of the water, even trying to bribe Shamus with a bag of potato chips, I shook my head. I laughed and laughed and shook my head. “No way,” I was thinking to myself. This is our special moment in time. I knew what she was thinking. We were cold and wet – more specifically, Shamus was cold and wet. Dad can take care of himself. And I knew that I would allow nothing – not even a loving Mom waving a bag of potato chips and a warm minivan could wait.


After we came out of the water, April drove home as I sat in the passenger seat, stripped down to my T-shirt and underwear. Shamus wore only a shirt and towel – and a big smile on his face. As we drove south across the Golden Gate Bridge, I thought about what a miracle God had given me that day – and all because of a wrong turn.


Come walk with me, son


First Published Saturday, 7th June, 2008.

Learn to Fly

EDUCATION/HOME ED UPDATE


Hope you’re all doing well.  Time to take a look at the latest roundup of news and articles on the Education/Home Ed front.

We begin with a look at what’s happening in Belgium…

learning

“Belgium home educator’s rights under threat”


Back in mid March some home educators started receiving communications from a part of Europe that has not to date been much of a cause for concern, Belgium.

Belgian home educators are concerned about a new decree effecting Belgium’s French Community.  Minister Arena made public on February 22nd plans that, if voted for, would make home education difficult and deny families their constitutional right to freely educate their children.  It imposes constraints on subject and content and forces a monitoring and regulating process;  as well as inspections of the educational approach.  Furthermore, it introduces a number of discriminations against home educated children.

Belgium home educators say that the text exceeds its objectives by limiting educational choice.  The people concerned have not been consulted and risk arbitrary administrative decisions and there is no provision for independent review of adverse rulings.

Belgian families are writing to their members of parliament, founding a new organisation called Appendre en Famille and examining the possibility of taking court action should the decree be ratified.  The new group has made contact with some foreign organisations with similar concerns and are making a list of basic demands and proposals which will be published soon.

Home educators in Belgium appear to stand a slightly better chance of opposing these proposals than home educators in other European countries, particularly Germany, as their constitution clearly states that education must not be restricted.  This might well be a basis for an appeal to the constitutional courts in Belgium.

“Much ado about nothing – A Californian court ruling”

On February 29th a Californian court was asked to make a ruling in what can only be described as a deeply distressing case.

The father of a large home educating family was accused by two of his adult children of child abuse.  Social services stepped in and duly prosecuted the parents and asked for a ruling on the right to home educate.

The ruling was eventually handed down by Justice H. Walter Croskey who said, ‘California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to Homeschool their children.  Persons ‘between the ages of six and eighteen’ are to be in ‘public full-time day school’ or a ‘private full-time day school’ or ‘instructed by a tutor who holds a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught’.

If this ruling had stood it would have caused all kinds of political fallout.  California has a substantial home educating community;  certainly one big and active enough for a state governor not to want to alienate them.  It would have meant the return of thousands of children into the state school system, which even if it were a temporary measure while parents found more preferable alternatives, would in some areas have led to insurmountable logistical problems.

Additionally many private schools in California, who employ non accredited teachers, would have been forced to sack half their staff and perhaps close down.

Furthermore, the judge used the word ‘at’ in his ruling which was being interpreted as meaning that distance learning, an option taken up by many thousands more parents, would also have been deemed illegal.

National and local home education networks, which in the US are well funded by their members with some possessing millions of dollars at their disposal, set up joint emergency meetings.  They sought advice to decide what to do next.  It was generally their view that the judge was fundamentally in error over his ruling and that they make take a case to a higher court to have it overturned.

Meanwhile, the right wing press added petrol to the flames by making all kinds of claims that night have been plot summaries of X-Files episodes.  By the end of the following week many families, fearful that their lifestyle was at risk and concerned about what might happen next, were bombarding the state administration, their legislative representatives and the courts with letters and emails in what one Californian parent described as ‘a frenzy’.

Arnold Schwarzennegger

The state governor (Arnold ‘I’ll be back’ Schwarzenegger) then made a statement that was meant to pour oil on troubled water, but due to his ignorance of how home educators felt on the issue only added to the anxiety.  The governor wrote to the press saying, more or less, that he would personally ensure that parents continued to have the right to home educate by passing legislation to that effect.  While this sounds like a good thing, home educators the world over know that once legislators get hold of draft legislative measures offering families more concrete rights to home educate, pressure groups, usually in the form of teaching unions, move in and hedge those rights around with various restrictions and caveats.  This has the cumulative effect of making home education many times more difficult than it otherwise would be.

HSLDA then infuriated local, secular, state home education groups by circulating a petition which would have prompted legislators to legislate, in just the way local organisations were trying to avoid.

At this point the senior lawyer of the largest Californian home education group took the extraordinary step of writing to the global home education networks asking them to ‘calm down’ while they did their jobs.  He argued that writing to the courts using inflammatory language could irritate judges and backfire badly.

Finally, on March 25th the ruling was vacated, which in English means that it was set aside.  There will be a new ruling made shortly but this one is likely to find that home education is a legal option in the state of California.

So in less than four weeks the whole debacle had gone full circle and a new ruling is expected at any time.

The argument has now moved on to a long term campaign by HSLDA for a parental rights amendment using the current Californian ruling as a supporting argument.  While a Parental rights bill sounds good it is in fact intended to counter proposals for a children’s rights amendment incorporating the UNCRC into US law, preventing corporal punishment, the practice that started the whole debacle  back in February.

Further reading at: http://www.hsc.org/

learning to count
“Home Education in Ireland”
by Nick Gudge


The history of home education in Ireland is unusual.  When Ireland was ruled by Britain there was religious persecution and Catholic schools were prohibited.  Informal “hedge schools” were formed where parents, priests and lay people taught in homes around the country.  An historical objection to total government control over education was established, supported formidably by the Catholic Church.  Ireland’s first president Douglas Hyde was home educated and he and writers of the Irish Constitution ensured that there would be constitutional protection for parental choice in education.

Article 42 of the Irish Constitution sets out the relationships between the family, parents, children and the State with respect to education.

1.“The State acknowledges that the primary and natural educator of the child is the family and guarantees to respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children”.

2.“Parents shall be free to provide this education in their homes or in private schools or in schools recognized by the State”.


3.1 “The State shall not oblige parents in violation of their conscience and lawful preference to send their children to schools established by the State, or in any particular type of school
designated by the State”.

3.2“The State shall, however, as guardian of the common good, require in view of actual conditions that the children receive a certain minimum education, moral, intellectual and social”.

In the 1990s a series of well publicised failed prosecutions of home educating families under the 1926 School Attendance Act led to the creation of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000.

Under this legislation a new government body, the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB), was made responsible for setting up a register of all children, including a register of all home educated children.  Guidelines were drafted for the assessment of home educated children.  To date approximately 320 children have had their educational provision assessed and registered.  (Please note there is no assessment of the children.)  No one has been declined registration.  Most home educators have not registered.  Negotiations for the review of these Guidelines are underway between the Home Education Network (HEN) and the NEWB.

Irish children

HEN was formed specifically to respond to the Education (Welfare) Act.  It is the only significant sized formal Home Education organisation in Ireland.  It has approximately 150 families as members, with about another 500 families known to them.  Together these represent an estimated 1 500 home educated children.  It is an inclusive group with no requirements to membership.  HEN provides a website, a contact list of home educators for new members, regional groups which organise activities, a quarterly newsletter, a help line and an annual conference.

The largest groups of home educators in Ireland are those who choose child centred learning, those who choose for religious grounds, those whose children have special physical and psychological needs and those whose children have been bullied in school.

Home education is growing in Ireland and is becoming better known.  There have been frequent articles and features in print, radio and television media.  All of these have been arranged by HEN over the past 5 years.  Almost all the media attention has been positive as a consequence of this policy.

Estonian children
“Estonian Home Educators”


There has been a group working to promote home education in Estonia for a few years now.  The group set up the Estonian Centre for Home Education to support home educators in 2005 and have organised conferences and produced articles to further their cause.

While the estonian government, and in particular the current education minister, has been supportive of home educators the law has only allowed home education to the age of about 12, corresponding to our primary education, and requires children to then go to senior school.

The support group have been quietly promoting a change in the law and last Christmas a present came in the form of a new policy document which will make this possible from September 2008.

In total there are nearly 1200 children being home educated in Estonia and now that it is legal to home educate to the age of 16, this will inevitably grow rapidly.

The Estonian Centre for Home Education
http://www.koduope.ee/

resources
Educational Resources


Downloadable audio stories free on the internet, provided by Story Nory:
http://storynory.com/

They are royalty free MP3 files available for download.

They add a new story every week all specifically aimed at children.

They include many classics by Hans Christian Anderson and Dickens as well as more modern tales and ancient myths.  All free of copyright.

You can sign up for automatic updates to your computer using Itunes and the stories can be loaded onto portable MP3 players or burned onto CDs to play in the car on long journeys.  Ideal for the summer and a thoroughly recommendable resource.

The British Geological Survey Education website:
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/education/home.html


This is, on the whole more for older children, or those with reasonable computer competency.  It has all kinds of tools and guides relating to geology, many are interactive and downloadable.

The Home Education Toolbar
http://www.homeeducationuk.ourtoolbar.com/

Most of the resources mentioned in this column, and many that are not, can be found on the Home Education UK toolbar, which enables you to link directly to all kinds of resources, many specific to home educators, all directly from a dedicated tool bar.

The HE UK toolbar has its own interactive features which allow you to chat directly to the other 300 or so current users when they are online.

It also links to all the main sections of the UK home education website allowing you to easily check legal issues and find support when you need it.

The toolbar does not load spyware or popups onto your machine.

Sudoku
http://www.countonnine.com/sudokuGame.htm


For the serious sudoku fans:
interactive sudoku games available free online.

Particularly good for developing critical thinking.

unbeatable
Children are Unbeatable

UNITED NATIONS


The 2006 report of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children called on countries to prohibit physical punishment of children by 2009.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reminded signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the UK, that equal protection for children is ‘an immediate and unqualified obligation’.  The Committee continued:

‘…the Convention requires the removal of any provisions which allow some degree of violence against children, in their homes/families or in any other setting.’

The UN Committee has twice recommended equal protection for the UK, in 1995 and 2002.  In 2002 the Committee stated:

“…governmental proposals to limit rather than to remove the ‘reasonable chastisement’ defence do not comply with the principles and provisions of the Convention…, particularly since they constitute a serious violation of the dignity of the child.’

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

In 2005, the European Committee of Social Rights, monitoring conformity with the European Social Charter, found UK law in breach of human rights obligations.  It concluded:

‘…since there is no prohibition in legislation of all corporal punishment in the home, the situation [in the UK] is not in conformity with Article 17 of the Charter.’

Equal Protection Across Europe

19 countries in Europe have now acted to satisfy human rights obligations by giving children equal protection from assault:


Sweden          Finland          Norway
Austria           Cyprus           Italy
Denmark        Latvia            Croatia
Bulgaria         Germany        Iceland
Romania        Ukraine          Hungary
Greece           Portugal          Spain
Netherlands


Of the 47 members of the Council of Europe, more than half have legislated for equal protection for children or are committed to doing so soon.

Of 27 countries of the European Union, only 5 – 1 of which is the UK – fail to give children equal protection or have not made a commitment.

Progress is also being made internationally.  In 2006, New Zealand became the first English-speaking country to give children equal protection.

learning to cook
Single parents and Jobseeker’s Allowance


Currently single parents do not have to sign up for the jobseeker’s allowance and can remain at home to care for their children.  However, the government is consulting on new regulations which will reverse that policy;  forcing single parents to sign up as available for work or lose £60 a week.

The new regulations will come into force in stages, starting with the parents of 12 year olds and progressively working down to 7 year old children.  It will come into force in early November 2008.

This policy will have a major impact on single parent home educators.  Should the regulations remain  as they are currently worded such parents will effectively lose their right to home educate.  In research(published in The face of Home-Based Education 1 Page 18) it was found that 22.4% of home educators were single parents, meaning that the changes could affect more than 11 000 children.

Many children of single parents are home educating because school is unable to meet their needs.  To deny these children the right to be educated as they wish will lead to stress and trauma for many of them.

Both Action on Home Education and Education Otherwise are attempting to have home educating parents excused from the requirement to register as seeking employment in these regulations.

Back in December there was a white paper which said that respondents to an earlier consultation felt strongly that single parents of children who fell into several categories (including disabled children and home educating single parents) should not have their benefits cut.  Unfortunately this recommendation seems to have fallen away in the current round of consultations.

EO has held a couple of meetings with officials and has been promised that anything they send will be shown to the minister.  Meanwhile, AHED is running a campaign to get families to contact their MP s.

While this has been going on the President of the Head Teachers association has made an ‘off message’ speech castigating parents for ‘dumping’ children for 10 hours a day at school, yet this is now government policy for the children of single parents!

If Head teachers can see this is bad for children why can’t government ministers?

runaway
The State as Parent


The government are losing ever more children in care.  There was a 3% rise in children going missing between 2005 and 2006 and a further 6.7% rise between 2006 and 2007, so that in 2007 950 children in the care of the state went missing despite an overall fall in the numbers of children in care.  Worse still 30% of those children (370) were missing for more than 30 days.

The rise is entirely accounted for by children running away from foster care placements.

Meanwhile children in care fall further behind in terms of their educational achievement.  Only 13% achieved governments benchmark 5 good GCSEs while the average for all children stands at 62% and a third did not sit any GCSEs.  Under half achieved the NC test level expected for their age compared to 82% for all children.

The shadow minister Tim Loughton pointed out that things were getting worse.

‘At GCSE the achievement gap between children in care and their contemporaries has widened by almost a  quarter in six years and is continuing to grow year on year.’

Nursing Tools
An Open Path to University for Home Educators
by Tamsyn Fortune-Wood


Most home educators will, at some point in their lives, want to go on to get some form of higher education in order to either pursue a career or just expand their knowledge of a subject area.  One of the biggest questions many people pose is, “How can I get into University?”  It is also one of the arguments used against home education and something that parents may worry about.  There are, however, many ways in which a home educated teenager can get into university.

Nursing

I’m a nineteen year old ex home educated child who now attends Birmingham City University, in my second year of studying for a BSc  in Nursing (child branch).  And I got there without any schooling.

I was educated at home from the age of five and a half.  I am a member of a family of children who were all home educated.  I had a very non-coercive upbringing and didn’t do any form of structured education till I was fifteen when I decided that I would like to go to university to do a medical subject.    At this point I started to do an A-level in biology, but I found that though I was getting high marks, I was not finding the course engaging.  So I decided to look elsewhere for courses in science subjects.

I found the Open University and looked into their courses as a means of getting into other universities.  I found that it was entirely possible so I enrolled onto ‘The Discovering Science’ course.  I really enjoyed all my courses with the Open University because they fitted around my lifestyle and I could do the work in my own time.  After doing eight courses with the Open University and accruing about half the points of a first degree I went on to a traditional university.  I have no GCSEs and no A levels and I got offers from several universities, including an interview at Cambridge and an unconditional offer to study genetics.

I am enjoying the new experience of lectures and I am enjoying meeting people from all over the world.  A teachers’ official in Wales recently wrote an article about how home educators find it difficult to move on to other educational environments due to socialisation problems, but this isn’t something I’ve experienced at all.

A friend of mine, Tommy Robin, has just started a degree at Sheffield University – the Contemporary Art Media course.  He got accepted by Sheffield by attending an interview, showing enthusiasm for the subject and showing some of his previous work.

“They were looking for someone who was enthusiastic about the course,” Tommy said.

I have found that this option is particularly open for art courses at universities, whereas science subjects tend to want some kind of qualification.  It doesn’t have to be a conventional qualification, though.  My older brother decided to do the whole of his degree with the OU and is now studying for an M.A. In Creative Writing.  My younger sister studied courses with both the OU and the Open College of Art and has worked with a local silversmith to build up a portfolio.  She plans to do a degree in photography.

There is also the more conventional way for applying to university.  It is still possible to do A-levels and GCSEs as a home educator by going to college or by studying through a distance learning college like the NEC.

http://www.open.ac.uk

http://www.nec.ac.uk/courses/?usca_p=t

Internet Safety
Internet Safety

While the internet is an enormously important resource for many home educators and gives children access to some wonderful, interactive resources, no parent can fail to be aware that it also a route into our homes through which unwelcome intruders can gain access to children.

The government and child protection charities have run a number of campaigns to raise awareness and promote safety on the internet and a number of new laws have been passed.  Yet despite all this activity there is a continuing flow of news about a very few young children and teens being abducted.

At the forefront of these campaigns is CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.  CEOP seems convinced that as the online fight against exploitive adults develops and the authorities become more adept at spotting them the perpetrators spread their nets more widely.  Currently the concern appears to be focusing on social network sites like Face Book.

However there are particular issues for home educated children, especially teens.  Due to the nature of home education and the distances young people often live from one another, they often communicate using networks like MSN and windows messenger.  These informal networks of contacts rely upon each young person inviting other young people they know into the “circle” of friends.

If someone gains access to such a circle then they can become trusted by all, thus compromising the whole group.

These groups are mostly run by the young people themselves, developing organically one contact to another into quite large informal online communities, unmonitored by adults and relying entirely on the children’s own skills.  It’s up to us as parents to ensure that they have these skills.

Unless we live in a family with religious or moral objections to internet technology, it’s pointless to suggest that we shouldn’t allow our children access to the internet with IT fast becoming regarded as a basic skill along side the three Rs.  What we need then are strategies for safety.

internet safety

A method used by unsavoury adults trying to lure children is to create questionnaires for children to answer.  The basic question is known as “ALS” or some variant of it.  This stands for Age, Location, Sex and is an attempt to get some basic information about someone with whom you are communicating.  Answers come back in the form of 35, UK, M meaning I’m a 35 year old male living in the UK.

But recently more detailed questions have appeared where young people are asked to disclose all kinds of information.  For example, one encountered was cleverly mixed with probing questions with other relatively innocuous questions and asked for hobbies, school, city, girlfriend/boyfriend, sports and mobile phone number.

If a child answers this they may at some point be asked for a photograph and later still for their name and home street.  This gives someone the name of the school, a picture of the child, location of their home and a mobile phone number, as well as a list of personal interests.  Using this information a child could easily be tracked down.

It is easy to become paranoid over the internet, which in reality is no more dangerous than any social setting.  The real danger is in not realising that although you are sat in your bedroom you are in fact communicating with the outside world just as you might in a park or street.  This creates a false sense of security and may lead young people to make unwary disclosures of personal data that can lead them to be identified in real life.

Knowing ahead how to protect such data is obviously the key.

www.ceop.gov/get_advice.asp


CEOP online safety tips for parents

Know what your children are doing online

Get them to show you how to do things

Help them understand not to give any personal information to online friends

Teach them to ignore spam

Teach them to ignore files sent by people they don’t know

Teach them some people lie online

Tell them to keep online friends online

Keep talking so they know they can always tell you if something makes them feel uncomfortable

Show children how to block people online and how to report them

News
News Articles


“The Idle Parent:  the less school the better”:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/education/2008/03/15/faidleparent.xml

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 15/03/2008

Tom Hodgkinson says the idea that school is good for us doesn’t bear examination
What do Bertrand Russell, William Blake, John Ruskin, William Cobbett and John Stuart Mill have in common? The answer is that they never went to school. Yes, many of our greatest and most independent thinkers were educated by parents, tutors or by the best teachers: themselves.
Russell and Ruskin were educated at home by a series of tutors. Mill was taught by his father and by the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Blake spent his youth wandering around Peckham Rye and seeing angels. Cobbett was largely self-taught.
That most un-Victorian of Victorians, William Morris, went to a chaotic early incarnation of Marlborough, where he learned nothing, and resumed his education at home.
It is to this lack of formal education that the historian E.P Thompson attributes Morris’s revolutionary brilliance: somehow, he slipped through the brainwashing net and became a passionate enemy of Victorian competitive values.
Samuel Johnson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were great skivers who never finished their Oxbridge degrees. Robert Louis Stevenson was of the view that “full, vivid, instructive hours of truantry” were a better education than sitting in a classroom having information drummed into your mind by Gradgrinds intent on producing obedient wage slaves.
I am certain that most of my education happened when I was on my own, reading, or staring out of the window, thinking. This is not to say I didn’t have a few brilliant teachers – I did.
And teachers can show the way, without doubt. But the way to get an education is to go out and experience life and read books. That’s it. And it is a process that should never end throughout one’s days.
It is true that two of the 20th century’s greatest novelists and free spirits, Aldous Huxley and George Orwell, went to Eton, but then Eton is unusually unschool-like. The pupils are given a huge amount of choice, respect and freedom.
I offer these examples as proof of my point: as a method of delivering education, school is overrated. This was Bertrand Russell’s view. “Men are born ignorant, not stupid,” he wrote. “They are made stupid by education.”
Einstein wrote of “that divine curiosity which every healthy child possesses but which is so often weakened early”. In which case it makes sense for the idle parent to keep formal education to a minimum. Intellectual loafing centres such as Westminster or Eton are not an option for most of us.
In any case, who wants to slave all the hours that God gives to send our children to private school? And as the idle child is an anti-consumerist child, it doesn’t make sense to send him or her to school with the country’s richest families.
The problem is, I am also against the local comprehensive. This is because the comps are run by the state, which means their long-suffering teachers have to cope with a constantly changing educational ideology.
Right now the idea is targets and more targets, but doubtless the next Education Secretary will have a different set of brilliant ideas and the previous lot will be thrown out. If politicians could only leave the schools alone, teachers might be able to get on with teaching.
School terms are much too long; so are school days. The schools that produce the best results and the freest thinkers have the shortest terms and shortest days. They are not merely containment camps for pre-workers. (A thought: now that playschool has been renamed preschool by the fun-haters, why not go the whole hog and rename school prework?)
This is the spirit we need to bring to education: the less school, the better. We need to explore other options – home schooling, learning groups, home tutors.
That doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of hard work or expense. This is where idleness comes in. It is precisely a love of learning and curiosity that schools tend to kill.
So it is the responsibility of the idle parent to implant a love of education. The way to do it is to lead by example and curl up with a good book.
Tom Hodgkinson is editor of The Idler.

“Schools breaching admissions code”:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7326347.stm

Almost one in six schools checked by an official inquiry are breaking the code on admissions, ministers have said.
Of the 96 schools in three areas found to be breaking the rules, six asked parents to make financial commitments as part of the admissions process.
Many of the other cases – in England – involved not giving due priority to children in care or with special needs.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said the situation was “unacceptable” and plans to tighten the rules still further.
Amendments to the Education and Skills Bill, currently before parliament, will:
require local authorities to report annually on the legality and fairness of all schools admission arrangements in their areas
extend the power of the schools adjudicator to amend arrangements that come to his attention
make sure that parents and local communities are properly consulted about school admissions arrangements
Last month the government claimed “a significant minority” of schools in three areas were still breaking the admissions code which was tightened up last year.
It has now revealed that of the 570 schools it checked in Manchester, Northamptonshire and Barnet, some 96 were in breach of the code.
The three areas were chosen as being representative of a metropolitan authority, a shire county and a London borough – and were areas where there had not been objections to admissions policies.
“We have no reason to think that these areas are any different from any other authorities around the country,” Mr Balls said.
At the time it declined to put a precise figure on the number involved, pending checks.
Now that the schools have been asked to explain themselves, the Department for Children, Schools and Families has published lists of those involved along with their breaches of the code.
About a third failed to comply in more than one respect.
‘Wrong’
The schools were allegedly asking parents banned questions about their marital status, financial background or even in some cases asking for financial contributions.
It was put to Mr Balls that he had made too much of these requests for money – that they involved only six, mostly Jewish, schools in Barnet and these were only about 1% of those checked.
Mr Balls said one school would mean hundreds of parents affected, six schools meant thousands.
“I think one child and one parent being deterred from applying to a school because of an unlawful charge is wrong,” he said.
“What we are highlighting here is thousands of parents being put in that position.”
He rejected the idea that the sort of middle class parents schools wanted to attract could afford the payments – which he said in one of the schools in Barnet were £995 per child per term.
He knew parents wanted the best for their children and he was on their side, “but you can’t have a two-tier system”.
To eradicate educational disadvantage it was “absolutely critical” that governing bodies, local authorities and the Schools Adjudicator enforce the code.
Shadow Schools Secretary, Michael Gove said: “Ed Balls started a witch-hunt against schools which were alleged to be handing out places for cash.
“But there’s no evidence that money played any part in determining admissions in any of these schools.
“Ed Balls knows that many faith, and other, schools ask parents if they’d like to make purely voluntary contributions.
“He also knows that Jewish faith schools have to secure additional funding to guarantee the physical safety of their children.
“But he put these schools in the dock simply in order to distract attention from the fact that 100,000 parents weren’t getting their first choice of school thanks to his policies,” he added.

“School choice fuels segregation”:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7270861.stm


School admissions and parental choice are fueling segregation, says the man in charge of England’s admissions.
Instead they should be used to limit social and racial division, says chief schools adjudicator Philip Hunter.
Schools with a high number of difficult-to-teach pupils were not being given a chance and needed help.
Admissions lotteries could be brought in or schools could be closed, with their pupils dispersed, or they could be reopened as academies, he said.
‘Politically explosive’
Dr Hunter’s warning comes as more than half a million children are about to find out whether they have got their first choice of secondary school.
He said: “It’s a myth to say there’s a system where everybody is achieving their first choice school.”
But he added that the current system was letting too many disadvantaged pupils down.
“It leads to a position where some schools have got such a high proportion of children from difficult backgrounds that there’s no chance at all.”
This was because schools that lacked enough pupils from backgrounds with high expectations for them found it very hard to succeed.
The issue was a “hugely politically explosive one”, but it had to be addressed in the interests of social cohesion, he said.
There needed to be more regulation of school choice and this would mean bad news for families who had bought their way into a good school’s catchment area.
“What we are doing is saying to one group of parents, I know you paid £20,000 more for this house than you wanted to in order that your children can go to the local school, but we are saying that some of you can’t get in – in order to make room for some child from that difficult estate.”
Various solutions were possible, said the chief school adjudicator. These included:
Closing down schools and re-opening them as academies
Dispersing pupils on free school meals to a wider number of schools
Altering admissions arrangements and introducing systems such as lotteries
Dr Hunter said it would never be possible to ensure every school has the same number of pupils on free school meals.
But that current admissions code gives clear instructions that local authorities and local schools should monitor what is going on.
They should be intervening when some schools are put at a disadvantage because they have too many pupils from difficult backgrounds.
However, he added: “We are not going to see kids bussed from Harpenden to Hackney and back again.
“But there are going to be some areas where they move away from the distance criteria for deciding who gets priority and moving more to ensuring that very high achieving schools do get their share of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Academies programme
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said it was his government’s policy to make all schools good schools.
“Those who use poverty and deprivation as an excuse for poor performance are letting children down,” he added
Academies – independently run but publicly funded state schools – were improving results in disadvantaged areas faster than those with a comparable intake, he said.
This was why the government was announcing an acceleration of the scheme by five a year. This means some 243 academies would be built by 2010 instead of the planned 233.
Mr Balls made the announcement at Labour’s spring conference, adding that £500,000 would be cut from the set-up costs.

“Teachers stressed by behaviour”:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7316505.stm

By Angela Harrison
BBC News at the NASUWT comference in Birmingham

Bad behaviour from pupils is the biggest cause of stress for teachers and the main reason for poor standards, a teaching union has said.
Teachers at the NASUWT conference complained that some school leaders were not dealing with the problem.
Delegates passed a motion at the Birmingham meeting listing many factors contributing to the problem, including councils’ drives to cut exclusions.
Teachers also complained about a lack of training in behaviour management.
Susan Jones, from Derbyshire, told delegates local authorities were nowhere to be seen when a child was disrupting a class, but stepped in fast if a school tried to exclude one.
She complained about the use of “managed moves” where a child is transferred to another school rather than being excluded.
It is a policy advocated by the government’s behaviour adviser Sir Alan Steer as a way of giving a child a fresh start without them reaching the crisis of expulsion.
Ms Jones said councils liked this approach too because it helped to reduce exclusions.
But she knew of a case where one child had been moved several times and eventually came back to the original school.
And she said some schools were lowering their standards for acceptable behaviour for children with special needs.
‘Extremes’
“ADHD is being used as a reason not to give a student an exclusion,” she told delegates.
“Excuses are being made all the time for the behaviour of some students. They are being given a free reign.”
Teachers at the conference are also critical of the way moves to give pupils a say in their school lives are being handled in some places.
Jake Cosford, from Derby, told the conference about a job interview he had been to a school in Sheffield some years ago.
The child who was his guide through the school showed him a corridor down which teachers were not allowed to go, he said.
“I was then interviewed by a panel of three students with no adults present. At the end I was asked what I would give them if they gave me the job.”
He then withdrew from the process, he said.
The union’s leaders say they support the policy of pupil involvement, known as “Student Voice”, but believe it is being taken to extremes in some cases.
‘Not practical’
NASUWT delegates also discussed behaviour at their conference on Tuesday. Many feel that persistent “low-level disruption” is the worst problem.
Tim Cox, from the union’s national executive, said: “It’s the tap tap of the pen on the desk, the swinging on the back of chairs, the inability to comply with the simplest request, the mobile phones that wear us down.
“We all know the negative impact this can have on teachers and pupils.”
Mr Cox complained about the quality of training in behaviour management available for teachers and trainees.
The union’s general secretary Chris Keates said: “It’s the quality of training provided that we are concerned about.”
The Training and Development Agency for Schools, which is responsible for teacher training a survey of teachers in 2007said the majority found their training was good or very good in helping them maintain behaviour in classroom. “Nonetheless, behaviour continues to be a high priority for us and we are supporting initiatives such as Behaviour4Learning to help ensure that new teachers are well prepared to establish and maintain standards of behaviour in the classroom,” a spokesperson added.
At the conference on Wednesday, Schools Secretary Ed Balls paid tribute to teachers’ work in this area.
“As teachers on the front line, you face continual challenges in maintaining good standards of pupil behaviour – both in dealing with general low level disruption and with the minority of badly behaved pupils,” he said.
Mr Balls announced several measures aimed at improving behaviour and discipline, including more parent support advisors in schools and legal changes to make all schools take their share of excluded pupils.

“Changes ahead for excluded pupils”:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7314454.stm


By Angela Harrison
BBC News, at the NASUWT conference in Birmingham

The government intends to improve the handling of children excluded from school in England, Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said.
All schools – as 97% already do – will have to work in partnership with others and to take in expelled students.
A white paper will set out alternatives to the pupil referral units to which the most disruptive students are sent, including work-related study.
Mr Balls said more needed to be done to tackle bad behaviour in schools.
He had asked Sir Alan Steer – who produced a report on misbehaviour for the government in autumn 2005 – to review progress since then.
Sir Alan’s findings – just released – have been used to frame the government’s latest plans.
‘Unfair’
Sir Alan, who is the head teacher of Seven Kings High School in Redbridge, Essex, said it was essential all schools were involved in behaviour partnerships and the government should legislate for this.
“A school that permanently excludes a child should expect to receive a permanently excluded child on the principle of ‘one out, one in’,” his report said.
But a minority of schools were operating “unfair practices” in admissions and exclusions.
The government says 97% of schools are in such partnerships – including all but six of the new academies.
But Sir Alan’s report cast doubt on how well some of these were operating.
“Informal soundings make me sceptical that all these schools are actually engaged in meaningful partnership working,” it says.
“Outside the early pathfinder partnerships, credible evidence is lacking on the impact partnerships are making where they do exist.”
‘Hard work’
Mr Balls said: “We know that standards of behaviour continue to be a matter for concern for parents and teachers, as well as well as children and young people themselves.
“Sir Alan’s assessment is that we have made considerable progress in implementing his recommendations. I am pleased with this, and am clear we are prepared to go further so behaviour is good in all schools.”
He paid tribute to the “hard work of school staff in maintaining good discipline”.
“But it is a tough job dealing with general low level disruption in the classroom and with the challenges presented by a minority of badly behaved pupils.”
Speaking at the NASUWT union’s annual conference, in Birmingham, he outlined the government’s plans to improve co-operation between schools on behaviour.
All schools should form partnerships with others and one of their key objectives, he said, would be to identify children at risk of exclusion or truancy and to intervene to help them get back on track.
Academies would also have to do this. At the moment, 97% of schools are involved in such a partnership.
When children are excluded, they can be taken in by other schools or can be sent to pupil referral units (PRUs).
It is estimated 24,000 secondary school age children were in PRUs in England in 2007.
Mr Balls told teachers he was determined to improve the quality of PRUs – and to offer alternatives, including vocational centres.
For the first time, detailed data would be published on the performance of students in PRUs.
The general secretary of the NASUWT, Chris Keates, welcomed the announcements.
“It’s a really good step forward and it’s what we have been campaigning for: quality off-site provision so that children with behaviour problems can get the support and help they need while children in mainstream schools can get on with learning,” she said.

“Failing teachers warning”:

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/watchdog+failing+teachers+warning/2121667


Last Modified: 02 May 2008
Source: PA News
Urgent action is needed to retrain more than 20,000 incompetent teachers, according to the head of the body responsible for upholding professional standards.
Keith Bartley, head of the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE), said that up to 24,000 underperforming teachers should be removed from their classrooms and put to work in neighbouring schools.
And he warns some teachers felt “oppressed” by continually-changing educational policy.

“IT boy with a head for business”:
http://www.bridportnews.co.uk/display.var.2251446.0.it_boy_with_a_head_for_business.php

By Rene Gerryts

NOT going to school and having ADHD has never held back 14-year-old Joel Drapper from Ryall and now he has started his own business.
Last year he was busy getting to sail on the tall ship the Prince William and winning money in the Make Your Mark Challenge.
Make Your Mark is an organisation that encourages young enterprising people to make their ideas happen while at school and even though he is home schooled Joel has done just that and used his prize money to start up his own website design business at 1stclasswebsites.com Joel, will be 15 on Monday and plans to launch his business on his birthday.
Like his 10 siblings Joel is home educated, and is now a self-taught computer expert.
He said: “There aren’t very many jobs for teenagers around except washing-up at hotels or chopping chips for a chippy.
“I wanted to start up my own business doing something that I really enjoyed, was good at, and that I could fit into my free time, at home – and hopefully I will be able to earn some money at the same time.”


Joel says his goal is to provide first class, high performance websites at competitive prices so that small businesses, charities, churches, or even families, can have a professional presence on the internet where they can advertise their products or services.
He charges £250 for his custom designed websites, plus £95 per year to cover hosting and domain name registration if required. He is also happy to modernise or update people’s existing websites.
He added: “Many local small businesses just cannot afford to have a website built by these big design firms. Small B&Bs or hotels need to advertise where the people are looking, and now-a-days that’s on the internet.”
“It’s really exciting running a real business! I am learning so much about being self-employed, time management, and business skills. When I’m old enough to work full-time I should be well equipped. Until then I still have to continue with my studies and so my business fits into my spare time.”
So far Joel has been commissioned to provide a new website for LymeNet, Lyme Regis’ local community college; for Stuckton Church near Christchurch; and for a Life Coaching business, Total Liberty International.
Irene Benson from LymeNet was full of praise for the teenager.
She said: “Joel Drapper has designed our new website for us and I am delighted with the result. It will help to give LymeNet a fresh new look. It has been good to work with him; he is a very helpful and conscientious young man. He deserves to succeed and I’m sure his new venture will go far.”
Joel got the idea after realising he already knew more than some universities could teach.
He said: “I was looking for some kind of qualifications or certificate that I could gain for my web design skills.
“I looked at doing a university distance learning computer certificate with Exeter University, but they were very unhelpful. First I was too young, but then I realised that I already knew all the things they were teaching and I didn’t want to waste my time or money repeating lessons I already knew. I asked if I could just complete the work required to validate the certificate but they said that I would have to do all the lessons.
“Irene Benson at LymeNet said that if I ran my own business and built up a portfolio then that would be even better on my CV than a university certificate. So that is what I decided to do.”
Joel is prepared to give a 10 per cent discount to Bridport News readers if they quote bridport10′ on the quote form in the voucher code box of his website.
Further enquires via his email: joel @1stclasswebsites.com
8:35am Wednesday 7th May 2008

“UK University opens in Australia”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7427378.stm

“UK university lectures on iTunes”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7431918.stm

“Diplomas could spell disaster”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7438373.stm

“Most maths teachers not experts”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7433339.stm

“Have school standards ‘stalled’?”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7417579.stm

“Do parents want to go private?”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7440022.stm

“Ceremony marks Hindu school work”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7441561.stm

“Scots pupils offered new awards”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7437837.stm

The Fiddler

“Journal of Home Education”
Published 4 times a year by Cinnamon Press. 64 large format pages (246mm by 189mm crown format) perfect bound with a full colour cover (bound and finished as laminate paperback book). We intend the journal to become the highest quality source of news and information available on the subject. A publication that can be kept and referred back to for years to come.
http://www.home-education.org.uk/journal.htm


French Home Ed Site
Les enfants d’abord:
http://www.lesenfantsdabord.org/eindex.html


“Project Happy Child” – (contains worksheets):
http://www.happychild.org.uk/

“The Tutor’s Association” (contains print-outs on all subjects.  Click on Resource button at top for choices of primary or senior level):
http://www.thetutorsassociation.co.uk/

“Daisy Maths”(from the basics upwards):
http://daisymaths.com.au/

“Listening Books”:
http://www.listening-books.org.uk/

“Midnight Tutor”:
http://midnighttutor.com/


“Spark Notes”:
http://www.sparknotes.com/


“Internet 4 Classroom” (for virtual field trips to NASA etc):
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/vft.htm


BOOK  “Games for Mathematics:  Playful ways to help your child learn maths” by Peggy Kaye
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Games-Math-Playful-Child-Kindergarten/dp/0394542819

history
A Kind of Treason…?
by Roland Meighan


You can get tired of people voicing their ill-considered views on home-based education with no apparent knowledge of the research in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.  They are also forgetful of the dire effects of ‘compulsory miseducation’, as Goodman put it, in the day-prison system of learning called schools.

One response is to point out that their comments on home-based education might be construed as a kind of treason.  After all, the Queen is a home-based education graduate, so accusations of ‘missing out on socialisation’, ‘no exposure to approved forms of knowledge’, etc., must apply to the monarch.  The response to this line of argument is usually an uncomfortable silence.

Those who prefer democratically elected presidents to unelected monarchs can look at the USA situation, where of the 42 or so past presidents, 17 were home-based education graduates.  Moreover, the various studies trying to rank them in order of success consistently put the first five as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt.  Yes, you have guessed it – they are all home-based education graduates.

There is a second kind of treason, to the evidence of other well-known people who were home-educated.  Thus, Yehudi Menuhin went to school for only one half day.  ‘When I came back from the morning, my mother asked me what I had learnt.  I said, “I really didn’t learn anything.  I sat at the back of the class, and there was a little window high upon the wall, through which I could see branches.  I hoped that a bird would alight.  No bird alighted, but I kept hoping”, and that’s about all I could report.  So my mother promptly said, “Well, we’ll educate you at home.”  He got on well enough without school to become a world-class violinist.

Patrick Moore

Patrick Moore, the astronomer and broadcaster, was educated at home and did not go to university.  He tells us that he chose his curriculum at the age of seven as learning to type, which he thought would be useful, by copy typing some tomes in astronomy.  This, he thought, would inform him about the subject that interested him and would also serve as a course in improving his English.  He would also spend some time on his xylophone and later the piano, developing his musical skills.  This ‘unbalanced curriculum’ served him well, he explains, since the central activities of his life have been astronomy, journalism and music.  All other knowledge and skills that he needed were gained incidentally on a ‘need to know’ basis.

Then there was the Head teacher of Wolverhampton Grammar School who was a party to educating his two daughters at home until they were eleven because the local primary school was not able to facilitate a personalized learning system to take into account their own keen learning interests in gymnastics and music.

Bertrand Russell was another home-based education graduate.  He observed that:  “I was glad I did not go to school.  I would have had no time for original thought, which has been my chief stay and support in troubles.’

Thomas Edison

The roll-call of well-known people can take up a whole book – see An “A” in Life:  Famous Home Schoolers by Mac and Nancy Plent (1999) Unschoolers Network.  It includes George Bernard Shaw, Charlie Chaplin, Claude Monet, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, The Wright brothers (the aeroplane inventors), Agatha Christie, Noel Coward, Margaret Mead, Pearl Buck, C.S. Lewis, John Stuart Mill, two Wimbledon tennis champions, and several contemporary film actors.
There is also a third kind of treason, to the respect for research evidence, which shows that the bad news about home-based education is very hard to find and confined to a few odd cases – reported in the press, for I have never come across any myself and I have encountered thousands of home-based educating families in the years I have been researching the subject.  The Home Education Research Journal has been publishing systematic studies on home-based education for over 30 years in the USA.  The research shows that, in the vast majority of cases, home-based education is a good news story.  Mike Fortune-Wood’s two books, The Face of Home-based Education 1:  Who, Why and How, and The Face of Home-based Education 2:  Numbers, Support, Special Needs, are two recent surveys of the scene in UK showing the same outcome.

Chaplin

Members of the establishment, despite themselves showing signs of being damaged by their mis-education at school, can be won over in time.  Thus, a school inspector, quoted in D. Smith, Parent Generated Home Study in Canada, 1993, said:  ‘I so wish I’d given my daughter the opportunity you’re giving your sons.’

Quote:
‘My schooling not only failed to teach me what it professed to be teaching, but prevented me from being educated to an extent which infuriates me when I think of all I might have learned at home by myself.’   George Bernard Shaw

support
Support Listings


For a comprehensive listing of online support see:
www.home-education.org.uk/support.htm

HOME EDUCATION SUPPORT

Home Education UK
England and Wales support and legal info mailing lists
www.home-education.org.uk
support@home-education.org.uk

AHEd
England, Wales & N. Ireland
www.ahed.org.uk
www.ahed.pbwiki.com

enquiries@ahed.org.uk

Education Otherwise
Support charity covering all of the UK
www.education-otherwise.org
PO Box 325, Kings Lynn, PE343XW
ph. 0845 478 6345
www.eoemailhelpline@education-otherwise.org

Schoolhouse
Support charity for Scotland
www.schoolhouse.org.uk
Schoolhouse association,
PO Box 18044 Glenrothes, Fife, KY 9AD
ph 01307 463120 (24/7 support line)
enquiries@schoolhouse.org.uk

Learning Unlimited
A support network for continental Europe
www.learning-unlimited.org

Free Range Education
www.free-range-education.co.uk

Choice in Education
Alternative education newsletter
www.choiceineducation.org.uk
PO Box 20284, London, NW1 3AA
ph. 0208 969 8935
info@choiceineducation.org.uk

IHSAN
Islamic Home Schooling Advisory Network
PO Box 30671, London, E1 OTG

Personalised Education Now
Promotes learner-managed learning
www.c.person.ed.gn.apc.org
113 Arundel Drive, Bramcote,
Nottingham, NG9 3FQ
ph/Fax:  0115 925 7261

BLOGS with content relevant to home educators:

www.wheretruthgrows.blogspot.com
www.daretoknowblog.blogspot.com
www.hsblog.org
www.henireland.org/blog
www.gfoh.blogspot.com
www.aspiehomeeducation.blogspot.com
www.sometimesitspeaceful.blogspot.com
www.anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com
www.cypruslife.blogspot.com
www.byothermeans.co.uk
www.eclecticlearnings.blogspot.com/
www.tworedboots.co.uk/blog/
www.ellesfuntimes.blogspot.com

Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA)
www.ipsea.org.uk

Enquire (SEN Helpline)
www.enquire.org.uk

Disability Rights Commission
Promoting the rights of disabled persons
www.drc-gb.org/

Disability Law Service
ph.  020 77919800

Family Law Association
help finding lawyers
0207 797 7837

Arch Ed
Action on the Rights of the child
www.arch-ed.org

Childline
ph 0800 1111

Parentline
ph 0808 800 2222

Abstract Collage Bird Tree Painting