Nick Curtis
15.07.10
These remarkable pictures of London, published for the first time in the Evening Standard today, are by Stephen Wiltshire, the artist with autism. The 36-year-old from Maida Vale is famous worldwide for his intricate architectural drawings and city panoramas — often drawn from memory and at great speed — and for his triumph over the neural condition that rendered him incommunicative as a child.
For these pictures Stephen was invited by the City of London Corporation to three locations normally closed to the public: the roof of the 43-storey, residential Cromwell Tower at the Barbican, the Old Bailey and the “battlement†terraces of Tower Bridge.
Stephen is a boyishly handsome, stylish young man with a permanent half-smile on his face. Although some people with autism have problems with social interaction, he is friendly and impeccably polite. From the exposed concrete roof of Cromwell Tower, we can see from Primrose Hill to the Crystal Palace transmitter, Wembley Stadium to the Olympic site. Stephen looks, takes some photographs, then starts sketching at blinding speed with an ordinary HB pencil.
Read in Full:Â http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23856368-views-of-stephen-wiltshires-london.do
Stephen Wiltshire Gallery
The gallery, opposite New Zealand House in Royal Opera Arcade London, shows and sells the works of the autistic savant artist Stephen Wiltshire.
 
MADRID |
(Reuters Life!) – Award-winning Spanish illustrator Miguel Gallardo has overcome the limitations imposed by his daughter’s autism by doing what he does best — drawing.
Gallardo’s sketches over 12 years led to a beautifully etched and very funny comic book, “Maria and I” (Maria y Yo), explaining everyday life with his daughter and its challenges.
That book has now become a documentary film of the same name, which opens in Spain this week.
“You could say I had a debt to pay (to my past) or something like that. The drawings came from a diary I started when Maria was born … but really it took me 13 years to find the right voice to tell a difficult story,” he told Reuters.
Directed by Felix Fernandez de Castro and first shown at the Malaga film festival, the film tracks the relationship between Maria, Miguel and his ex-wife May, and how they have learned to cope with Maria’s disability.
The drawings are blended seamlessly into the film providing it with ironic winks and with no hint of sentimentality. Maria, a 14-year old with an infectious grin and a love of food, is a charming and surprising protagonist.
Miguel Gillardo
Before the book, Gallardo was more famous in Spain as creator of a punk comic book madhouse escapee called Makoki.
But the project has helped lay to rest some of his darker feelings — anger, guilt and frustration — by airing them.
“Maria didn’t just change my life and my scale of values, but the way I draw,” he says, “It’s simpler now.”
The documentary shows his sketchbook when Maria was born, with dimpled baby sketches abruptly becoming blank pages when her developmental progress started to show problems.
But after she was diagnosed, his sketches became a key tool in communicating with her and there are many scenes in the film in which he draws comic versions of people she has met in notebooks which she keeps.
The pictures now form a map of her world, he says.
The project has been a way of transforming years of pitying stares and the indignation it provoked in him into laughter.
“It’s like saying, look at this and compare. This is a normal and everyday life and it is possible,” he said.
(Reporting by Elisabeth O’Leary, Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Paul Casciato)
Source:Â http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66D1TZ20100714?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt
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MADRID |
(Reuters Life!) – Award-winning Spanish illustrator Miguel Gallardo has overcome the limitations imposed by his daughter’s autism by doing what he does best — drawing.
Gallardo’s sketches over 12 years led to a beautifully etched and very funny comic book, “Maria and I” (Maria y Yo), explaining everyday life with his daughter and its challenges.
That book has now become a documentary film of the same name, which opens in Spain this week.
“You could say I had a debt to pay (to my past) or something like that. The drawings came from a diary I started when Maria was born … but really it took me 13 years to find the right voice to tell a difficult story,” he told Reuters.
Directed by Felix Fernandez de Castro and first shown at the Malaga film festival, the film tracks the relationship between Maria, Miguel and his ex-wife May, and how they have learned to cope with Maria’s disability.
The drawings are blended seamlessly into the film providing it with ironic winks and with no hint of sentimentality. Maria, a 14-year old with an infectious grin and a love of food, is a charming and surprising protagonist.
Miguel Gillardo
Before the book, Gallardo was more famous in Spain as creator of a punk comic book madhouse escapee called Makoki.
But the project has helped lay to rest some of his darker feelings — anger, guilt and frustration — by airing them.
“Maria didn’t just change my life and my scale of values, but the way I draw,” he says, “It’s simpler now.”
The documentary shows his sketchbook when Maria was born, with dimpled baby sketches abruptly becoming blank pages when her developmental progress started to show problems.
But after she was diagnosed, his sketches became a key tool in communicating with her and there are many scenes in the film in which he draws comic versions of people she has met in notebooks which she keeps.
The pictures now form a map of her world, he says.
The project has been a way of transforming years of pitying stares and the indignation it provoked in him into laughter.
“It’s like saying, look at this and compare. This is a normal and everyday life and it is possible,” he said.
(Reporting by Elisabeth O’Leary, Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Paul Casciato)
Source:Â http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66D1TZ20100714?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt
 
Clara Claiborne Park
By Dennis Hevesi
Published July 12, 2010
Jessy, the 8-year-old daughter of Clara Claiborne Park, would step around a spot of light on the floor for hours, or incessantly run a chain through her fingers. She would sit and stare through people around her as though they were not there. A word she learned one day would fade from her memory the next.
That was more than 40 years ago, when autism was barely understood, much less recognized, as a standard diagnosis. It was considered schizophrenia, or, to some professionals who embraced the term “refrigerator mother,†a deep-seated decision to closet consciousness from an unbearable family situation, including an emotionally frigid mother.
Mrs. Park, a college English teacher, wanted to tell her daughter’s story, and the book she wrote, “The Siege,†published in 1967, did that and more. It was credited with assuaging the guilt that so many parents of autistic children had assumed, and came to be regarded as an important source of insight for psychiatrists, psychologists, educators and advocates.
Mrs. Park died on July 3 in Williamstown, Mass. She was 86. The cause was complications from a fall, her son, Paul, said.
Clara Claiborne Park, who wrote a deeply personal account of raising an autistic child, and her daughter Jessica in 1992.
Read More …Â http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/health/13park.html?_r=2&ref=obituaries
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Clara Claiborne Park
By Dennis Hevesi
Published July 12, 2010
Jessy, the 8-year-old daughter of Clara Claiborne Park, would step around a spot of light on the floor for hours, or incessantly run a chain through her fingers. She would sit and stare through people around her as though they were not there. A word she learned one day would fade from her memory the next.
That was more than 40 years ago, when autism was barely understood, much less recognized, as a standard diagnosis. It was considered schizophrenia, or, to some professionals who embraced the term “refrigerator mother,†a deep-seated decision to closet consciousness from an unbearable family situation, including an emotionally frigid mother.
Mrs. Park, a college English teacher, wanted to tell her daughter’s story, and the book she wrote, “The Siege,†published in 1967, did that and more. It was credited with assuaging the guilt that so many parents of autistic children had assumed, and came to be regarded as an important source of insight for psychiatrists, psychologists, educators and advocates.
Mrs. Park died on July 3 in Williamstown, Mass. She was 86. The cause was complications from a fall, her son, Paul, said.
Clara Claiborne Park, who wrote a deeply personal account of raising an autistic child, and her daughter Jessica in 1992.
Read More …Â http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/health/13park.html?_r=2&ref=obituaries
 
Danger zone: The switch box is located just five feet away from the slide and is dangerous especially for young children.
By PRIYA MENON
priya@thestar.com.my
July 15, 2010
A 10-year-old boy was almost electrocuted to death at a playground opposite his house in Taman Bukit Anggerik due to a faulty switch box.
The switch box located less than two metres from the slide poses danger to the young children who are unaware of the danger.
Christopher Arnold, who is autistic, suffered a jolt on July 5 when he ran into the switch box after coming down the slide.
According to his father, Ananthan Edward, Christopher lay motionless for several minutes before waking up disorientated and running towards a nearby bench.
“He cannot talk much but he woke up the next day and was crying due to a pain in the neck.
“I took him to the clinic to get some medications and have not sent him to school for three days,†he added.
The damage to Christopher’s neck is still evident, as the vivacious boy tries to turn his head but fails.
Ananthan then called the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) but failed to get through to anyone.
Read More …Â http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/7/15/central/6639506&sec=central
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Danger zone: The switch box is located just five feet away from the slide and is dangerous especially for young children.
By PRIYA MENON
priya@thestar.com.my
July 15, 2010
A 10-year-old boy was almost electrocuted to death at a playground opposite his house in Taman Bukit Anggerik due to a faulty switch box.
The switch box located less than two metres from the slide poses danger to the young children who are unaware of the danger.
Christopher Arnold, who is autistic, suffered a jolt on July 5 when he ran into the switch box after coming down the slide.
According to his father, Ananthan Edward, Christopher lay motionless for several minutes before waking up disorientated and running towards a nearby bench.
“He cannot talk much but he woke up the next day and was crying due to a pain in the neck.
“I took him to the clinic to get some medications and have not sent him to school for three days,†he added.
The damage to Christopher’s neck is still evident, as the vivacious boy tries to turn his head but fails.
Ananthan then called the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) but failed to get through to anyone.
Read More …Â http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/7/15/central/6639506&sec=central
AMs focused on the Enterprise and Learning Committee’s report on specialist provision for young people with autism in further education, on 14 July 2010.
The report highlights that 58% of schools who responded to the inquiry did not feel there was “adequate further education provision” for young people with autism in Wales.
It also suggests that half of the schools have experienced problems with young people with autism moving onto further education.
44% of colleges agreed that there is a “lack of staff awareness and training”, according to the committee’s findings.
During the inquiry, the committee listened to evidence from a number of witnesses including the education minister, National Autistic Society Cymru and the mothers of young people with autism.
There are 19 recommendations in the report including a suggestion that all senior transition workers should have “detailed knowledge and experience” of autism.
The report also suggests that the parents of young people with autism should be enabled to make applications for funding for placements 12 months before the start of the college term.
It also recommends that there should be more consistent levels of support for young people with autism and their families outside of college, during holidays and weekends.
Assembly Government data suggest there were 80 students with autism in further education in 2007/08, which is about 0.5% of all disabled learners; more recent data is due to be published.
Source(Includes Video): http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/wales/newsid_8810000/8810866.stm
 
 Patchy provision for autistic children
14/7/2010
The National Assembly will today debate a committee report which highlighted patchy provision in further education for young people with autism.
The Enterprise and Learning Committee inquiry found there was a major gap between strategy for provision in Wales and delivery on the ground.
One of the Committee’s main concerns was the unnecessary stress caused to families during the transition period between school and college by delays in the decision-making process.
It also heard evidence of people having to travel great distances to attend specialist colleges in England when there are suitable facilities already in place in Wales.
“One of the most important things that a young person with autism needs is time; time to adjust, time to acclimatise and time to accept a change in routine and environment,†said Gareth Jones AM, Chair of the Enterprise and Learning Committee.
“In many cases young people and their families simply aren’t informed early enough in the year about whether they will have placements in further education, which can cause distress for all concerned.
Read in Full:Â http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Health&F=1&id=19471
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AMs focused on the Enterprise and Learning Committee’s report on specialist provision for young people with autism in further education, on 14 July 2010.
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The report highlights that 58% of schools who responded to the inquiry did not feel there was “adequate further education provision” for young people with autism in Wales.
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It also suggests that half of the schools have experienced problems with young people with autism moving onto further education.
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44% of colleges agreed that there is a “lack of staff awareness and training”, according to the committee’s findings.
Â
During the inquiry, the committee listened to evidence from a number of witnesses including the education minister, National Autistic Society Cymru and the mothers of young people with autism.
Â
There are 19 recommendations in the report including a suggestion that all senior transition workers should have “detailed knowledge and experience” of autism.
Â
The report also suggests that the parents of young people with autism should be enabled to make applications for funding for placements 12 months before the start of the college term.
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It also recommends that there should be more consistent levels of support for young people with autism and their families outside of college, during holidays and weekends.
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Assembly Government data suggest there were 80 students with autism in further education in 2007/08, which is about 0.5% of all disabled learners; more recent data is due to be published.
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Source(Includes Video):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/wales/newsid_8810000/8810866.stm
Â
 Patchy provision for autistic children
Â
14/7/2010
Â
The National Assembly will today debate a committee report which highlighted patchy provision in further education for young people with autism.
Â
The Enterprise and Learning Committee inquiry found there was a major gap between strategy for provision in Wales and delivery on the ground.
Â
One of the Committee’s main concerns was the unnecessary stress caused to families during the transition period between school and college by delays in the decision-making process.
Â
It also heard evidence of people having to travel great distances to attend specialist colleges in England when there are suitable facilities already in place in Wales.
Â
“One of the most important things that a young person with autism needs is time; time to adjust, time to acclimatise and time to accept a change in routine and environment,†said Gareth Jones AM, Chair of the Enterprise and Learning Committee.
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“In many cases young people and their families simply aren’t informed early enough in the year about whether they will have placements in further education, which can cause distress for all concerned.
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Read in Full:Â
 
 We trawl the world’s journals so you don’t have to:
Video games (Review of General Psychology).
Emotional intelligence (Industrial and Organisational Psychology).
Do I see us like you see us? Consensus, agreement and the context of leadership relationships (European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology).
Culture-sensitive evidence-based practices (Journal of Clinical Psychology).
Child sexual abuse and the internet: Offenders, victims and managing the risk.
An attachment perspective on incarcerated parents and their children (Attachment and Human Development).
Current research in Cattell-Horn-Carroll-based assessment (Psychology in the Schools).Â