THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM
Autism news and resources: from autistic people, professionals, and parents
Dyspraxia is when you have a lot of trouble with motor planning, which is our ability to learn new movements. So it’s not the practicing part of it, it’s the learning part. When you’re introduced to [a new movement], how smoothly can your brain understand what the demands are and get your body to do that?
M incipientturvy.blogspot.com We want April — Autism Acceptance Month — to matter, to help further acceptance and understanding of autistic experiences, happiness, and rights for autistic people of all ages and abilities. We will be publishing Autism Acceptance posts and pictures all month long. -TPGA Editors 7a.m., Monday morning. I make a rare appearance in the break room at work. I’m sipping coffee, trying to wake up. I’m standing in the corner hoping to avoid people, but a co-worker makes intentional eye contact and starts walking towards me. I think, “Why, god? Why?” I can’t remember his name or which department he’s from. The protective social mimicry kicks in. Co-worker: Dude, can you believe it? Me: Dude, I really can’t. I have no idea what he’s talking about. Co-worker: You know what I’m talking about … right? Me: Of course. You’re talking about … you know, what a surprise it…
Katharine Kroeber Wiley www.meowspawprints.co Imagine a girl sitting in the corner of the gym during PE, her hands over her ears, maybe rocking or making a keening noise: she’s trying to tune out the intolerable chaos of running bodies, echoing noises, glaring lights. She gets blamed for disturbing the other children, and her parents get an angry phone call. Physical exercise is a great thing. It can help autistic kids organize their thoughts, attend to their work, reduce stress. Particularly for autistic kids who are good athletes, these activities can boost confidence and serve as a social ice-breakers. Some manage gym classes without any accommodations, some need a few adaptations, some thrive with specific Adaptive Sports Programs. But many parents, or budding autistic self-advocates, are unaware of the wide range of options they can request, get turned down flat, and don’t know how to fight back. So far too many…
Judy McCrary Koeppen www.septar.org www.sagetherapy.com www.sagetherapy.blogspot.com Dear Parents of the Blue Bombers, Last week my husband attended the team parent meeting. He was confronted in front of the group by a couple of parents about our son. My husband was not at the game he was asked about. I was there and was organizing the team snack when my son evidently hit or pushed a child on the other team after being taunted. I was never aware nor told that this had occurred. Our message to him was, and continues to be, that this type of behavior is never acceptable. At the beginning of the season I told the coach (as I do every coach, camp counselor etc.) that our son has learning and attention deficits and sometimes has difficulty controlling his emotions when in competitive situations. I asked the coach to let us know if he needed assistance, had…