IM IN HERE

The conference was fantastic - lots learnt, lovely new contacts made, tears shed, laughter shared, stories compared, notes made and swapped - it was a very busy two days, but so worth while.

The majority of the delegates where therapists, teachers, principals, students, different memebers of the autism associations around South Africa and beyond, and only a hand few of parents wanting to absorb every possible bit of information we could lay our ears and eyes and hands on!


Highlights include Dr Louise Lindenberg, Deqlans DAN ( Defeat Austim Now) Doctor , giving two different talks on the biomedical approach to healing autism - which had many hands in the air and not enough time to ask all the questions we had for her.

We had talks on how important correct sensory integration therapy is for kids on the spectrum , and almost 100% of our asd kids, have sensory issues, so this area is so important to address and work on to help them reach their very full potential and to teach them how to cope in the world around them. An example that springs to mind immediately is Temple Grandin - for those of you have seen the movie you will remember that doors that open automatically where terrifying for her -they reminded her of a guilatine ! Another is the horrific sound of the cafeteria at lunch time with all the hussle and bussle of kids and all the knives and forks and plates! Deqlan's sensory issues have dramatically improved , but they are still there some of the time. At the moment, the sound of Stuffy, our staffy cross, barking , is very upsetting for Deqlan . His sensory issues seem to flare with his Candida does, thats the biggest sign that Candida is brewing -we have just actually gotten over a round of candida again - that story for another post!

Back to the conference - other talks where on, employment for adults with autsim and the statistics are shocking for South Africa - in Belgium , they have an amazing programme that include people on the spectrum in so many ways, including life skills training, social training and guidance into the field that they are passionate about . Here in South Africa, i was surprised to hear that we actually have an agency that helps those with autism , find the perfect job - well as perfect as possible, and when the jobs are available - for example someone who battles to be around people but has excellent computer skills, would try to be placed in a call centre for example on night duty so they can cope with less people . But there is still not nearly enough being done for adults who have finished school and want to study or work , and a call has been made on us as the parents, teachers, loved ones to do something about this in the year to come and create awareness around this area specifically!

There was also a singer who created a song especially for the conference called IM IN HERE - of course there was not a dry eye in the house while this was being sung, and pictures being shown - very touching.

The best part of the two days was Shellique, a 27 year old with Aspergers talk to us about her journey and most importantly why its so important to get a diagnoses. She was bullied mercilessly in school and couldnt understand why she did things that were different to her peers. She was eventually diagnosed with Aspergers at 16 and could start understanding her differences and embrace them. She went through hell in school and university and sadly, even with her very own parents. Do you know where she is today, after getting herself through all of that - she has a degree in anthropology and journalism , she is an activist for autism and other causes - she has made it , and on her own! She got a standing ovation and the respect and admiration of all 300 or so of us at the conference - what an example of hope and perserverance! Shellique knows she will always be different but she has accepted and loves herself for who she is and in her words, if people dont like it , tough - she would rather of 2 or 3 good friends , then fake people surrounding her. Good on you Shellique! You should come and speak to all the neuro typical schools and explain to the students what their bullying can do to a completely innocent person and how it can affect their entire lives!

It was also interesting to see resuls and many studies including affects of autism on marraige, ow many peadiatricians diagnose autism correctly etc.

I got lots of ideas and books id like to get Deqlan, lots of ideas on juice and food id like to try with Deqlan - more on the results of these in the posts to come !

Cant wait for 2012 autism towards the future!!!