Archive for November 11th, 2011
Budding Duncanrig DJ gets a helping hand from Radio 2. Report by James McSherry
By Kayleigh Mcleod
Second year student Rory Macfadyen got a pleasant surprise when the sound department at Radio 2 provided him with his own professionally produced radio jingle.
Rory, who attends the communication support base at Duncanrig Secondary School in East Kilbride, has been using the school’s radio station to write and present his own show as a means of improving his communication skills.
The team responsible for the Chris Evan’s Breakfast Show created the jingle with the budding DJ in mind.
Teacher Catherine Holmes said: “Rory is a great fan of Radio 2 and, in particular, of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show.
“He has based his own show on The Chris Evans show, calling it ‘The Rory Macfadyen Breakfast Show’.
We contacted the show and sound producer Chris Reay offered not only to send us some of the jingles they use on the show, but to make Rory his own customised jingle based on one of Chris Evans’. Rory is absolutely thrilled with the result.â€
The inspiration behind the radio station is teacher Chris Gerrard who runs the school radio club where students present their own live radio shows at lunchtimes.
Chris said: “I initially discussed with Mrs Holmes about using the equipment in the radio studio to help Rory work on his voice levels.
“Rory has limited functional language due to his Autistic Spectrum Disorder and when asked to speak louder, Rory would shout very loudly and when he was asked to speak more quietly, Rory would whisper.
“We used the radio studio as it is a very visual way in which Rory could gauge how loud or quiet his voice is and Mrs Holmes now refers to the levels used in the radio studio in every day classroom situations such as level 4 voice is perfect, level 2 voice is too quiet.”
Rory’s work for Radio Duncanrig was also recently featured on the Education Showcase Stage at this year’s Scottish Learning Festival.
Chris said: “It’s such a fantastic story and everyone who works with Rory is amazed at how much progress he has made by being a part of Radio Duncanrig.
Read in Full:
http://local.stv.tv/east-kilbride/news/26490-autistic-student-shines-thanks-to-radio-broadcasts/
Jobs allow for involvement, earning competitive wages
Todd Erdes clocks in at the Schwabe North America loading and distribution center every weekday, just like the rest of his coworkers.
He works out at the company gym, goes out after work to play darts or bowl and gets dressed up for the company Halloween party.The main difference between the 31-year-old Green Bay man and the rest of his coworkers is his autism. Erdes’ superiors consider his work ethic second-to-none, and he earns more than $11 per hour.
“He brings a different sense of energy to this company. He’s an individual that wants to be here 24-7 if he could be,” said Isaac Oshefsky, distribution group leader at the manufacturing distributor formerly known as Enzymatic Therapy that produces nutritional supplements. “It opened up my eyes. “But Erdes is an outlier. Most people who spend 10 years in a sheltered workshop, which he did, never find jobs working alongside other nondisabled individuals for competitive wages in the community. Competitive employment is an optimal outcome for many disabled adults and a means to escape poverty and complete dependence, according disability experts. But the extent to which it can be achieved and the role played by sheltered workshops, the largest provider of work and rehabilitation services for the disabled, is a source of contention.
What’s at stake
In Green Bay, Diane Gustin started a gourmet popcorn company called Heart@Work Unlimited, which is focused on employing people with disabilities like her son, Drew Gustin, a 21-year-old with Down syndrome.A longtime business owner, Gustin is convinced that many working-age adults with disabilities have the abilities, work ethic and enthusiasm to contribute to community businesses alongside the rest of the work force just like Drew and others who work with her. She also believes sheltered workshops — her son still works part time at ASPIRO — offer crucial services and training to people with disabilities to help them achieve employment.
Read in Full:
In a shocking revelation, it has been told that the Department of Human Services (DHS) has failed miserably to deal with the case of death of a young autistic boy. The four years old Rory was told to have consumed his father’s medication, an oxycodone tablet, by mistake, and that is what caused the death of the boy.
It was told that the police had done search operation on the bus where the boy was living with his family at that time, and found that parents were taking drugs. It was told by Senior Constable Peter Clayton and Constable Rebecca Creed that the bus was in pathetic condition, and they found a number of spoons with the residue of white powder and several hypodermic needles.
Once the case got registered with the DHS, they started their investigation. It was confirmed that couple of times, the department met the family involved.
To the shock of many, it was told that the DHS has made the decision to shut the case as the family has moved to some other location in December 2003, but when the family approached the department once again, the DHS simply delegated the case to other organizations.
It has shocked Coroner Jennifer Tregent the most, as she told that the DHS showed impatience in dealing with the case and the underlying issue of child abuse.
The deceased boy was told to have two siblings also, and there is similar danger to those ones also. It was told that before closing the case for the first time, the two kids were shifted with a family member in Ballarat, but later when the family moved to the Mildura area, the kids joined them.
“The department’s concern was focused primarily on appropriate housing and they simply ignored the allegations of drug use”, said the Coroner investigating the case, while putting a huge question mark on the DHS.
Source:
http://topnews.us/content/244513-coroner-lashes-out-dhs-over-shutting-case
What it’s like having Aspergers Syndrome
08/11/2011 , 6:42 PM by Penny Marshall
Rudy Simone has Aspergers Syndrome and self diagnosed when she was in her mid 40’s. Her official diagnoses was about three years ago. Since then she’s written six books -Â four directly about the spectrum and two fantasy novels. Rudy was in Launceston today talking with about 130 people about females with the condition, employment options and relationships.
Rudy Simone and Kristen Desmond from Autism Tasmania spoke with Penny Terry on the Drive program.
Call for Stories: ASAN Investigating Use of Personality Tests |
Dear Friends and Allies:
If you live in the United States and have recently been turned down for a job that used personality tests as part of the application process, please contact Samantha Crane at samanthac@bazelon.org and Melody Latimer at mlatimer@autisticadvocacy.org. Please include the name of the employer, the approximate date on which you applied for the job and any additional information you feel may be relevant.
Thank you, |
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) is a non-profit organization run by and for Autistic people, fighting for disability rights in the world of autism. Working in fields such as public policy, media representation, research and systems change, ASAN hopes to empower Autistic people across the world to take control of their own lives and the future of our common community. |