Parents of autistic boy awarded €61,000
Irish Autism Action has welcomed today's award by the High Court of almost €61,000 to the parents of a six-year-old boy with autism because of delays by the Health Service Executive in treating him.
Mr Justice Michael Peart ruled there had been a breach in the HSE's duty of care towards Seán Ó Cuanacháin due to delays in providing him with therapy and intervention.
However, Justice Peart said that Seán had since made very good progress and awarded damages in line with that finding.
Justice Peart also delivered a 270-page judgment in which he outlined his reasons for refusing to compel the State to provide a certain type of education for Seán.
full story here
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
You and Yours: Interesting ASD series BBC radio 4 programmes
Here's a link to a comprehensive series of radio programmes on Autism and Asperger's syndrome that ran on BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/features/autism.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/features/autism.shtml
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A few new writing ideas
The first and last, I can lay no claim to, they were entirely prompted by my child, but in the aftermath of them I realized what an excellent fine motor activity took place.
Writing your own music
Basically get a piece of manuscript paper and the child writes their own music. You can either print a piece up online or buy a pad of it at the music shop. If you wish you can introduce the child to the concepts of whole notes, single, quavers or minims, but again not really necessary. We simply figured out what the notes were after he'd filled up the page. Then we tried to pick it out on the piano with difficulty until we received assistance from a more musical friend and voila! What a pretty piece of music it turned out to be.
Messaging
Sort of like the concept of instant messaging. Instead of having a conversation take a notebook (this also works very well with the NEO keyboard) write a comment down about anything (could be something happening in the room, outside the window, or a bunch of compliments like "I think you're great" which will usually elict a smile) and hand it to the child to write a response. If the child resists writing then scribe for them or reply to what they verbalise. Eventually they tend to become curious and grab the pen. It helps to keep it humorous. If the child is more visual depict a cartoon instead. Draw a picture and pass the book over and let them draw the next one.
Maps
Take an atlas and photocopy several pages of various maps which depict oceans in between the continents. Give the child a pencil, coloured pencils or pens and encourage them to create shipping routes between the countries or simply doodle on the photocopied map. Maps are fascinating and it's a engaging activity where the fine motor activity is incidental to something that's more interesting going on.
Writing your own music
Basically get a piece of manuscript paper and the child writes their own music. You can either print a piece up online or buy a pad of it at the music shop. If you wish you can introduce the child to the concepts of whole notes, single, quavers or minims, but again not really necessary. We simply figured out what the notes were after he'd filled up the page. Then we tried to pick it out on the piano with difficulty until we received assistance from a more musical friend and voila! What a pretty piece of music it turned out to be.
Messaging
Sort of like the concept of instant messaging. Instead of having a conversation take a notebook (this also works very well with the NEO keyboard) write a comment down about anything (could be something happening in the room, outside the window, or a bunch of compliments like "I think you're great" which will usually elict a smile) and hand it to the child to write a response. If the child resists writing then scribe for them or reply to what they verbalise. Eventually they tend to become curious and grab the pen. It helps to keep it humorous. If the child is more visual depict a cartoon instead. Draw a picture and pass the book over and let them draw the next one.
Maps
Take an atlas and photocopy several pages of various maps which depict oceans in between the continents. Give the child a pencil, coloured pencils or pens and encourage them to create shipping routes between the countries or simply doodle on the photocopied map. Maps are fascinating and it's a engaging activity where the fine motor activity is incidental to something that's more interesting going on.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Music links
Here are a couple of useful music links that have online composing opportunities for children to create with.
San Francisco Symphony kids pages
http://www.sfskids.org/templates/splash.asp
BBC Schools also have some fun interactive pages.
San Francisco Symphony kids pages
http://www.sfskids.org/templates/splash.asp
BBC Schools also have some fun interactive pages.
Study shows omega-3 helps ADHD sufferers
Study shows omega-3 helps ADHD sufferers
Omega-3 fish oil can help children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study suggests.
Results from "the largest, clinical-based omega-3 and omega-6 trial of its kind" bolstered views that fatty acids relieved aspects of ADHD.
The tests were undertaken by the University of South Australia and an Australian government research body. They involved 132 children aged between seven and 12 with ADHD symptoms and the active fatty acid used was Equazen's eye q supplement.
To read full article click here
Omega-3 fish oil can help children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study suggests.
Results from "the largest, clinical-based omega-3 and omega-6 trial of its kind" bolstered views that fatty acids relieved aspects of ADHD.
The tests were undertaken by the University of South Australia and an Australian government research body. They involved 132 children aged between seven and 12 with ADHD symptoms and the active fatty acid used was Equazen's eye q supplement.
To read full article click here
Monday, April 9, 2007
Progress on writing materials: Indispensable Staedtler products
My earlier post about the Dixon pencil has now been well and truly usurped by discovering the wonderful and frankly indispensable range of products that Staedtler offer. If your child has writing struggles they will find these pencils, pens, markers are designed to aide the fatigue factor.
My child initially tested a bunch of different writing materials in a specific writing class at school. The Staedtler triplus fineliner was the pen that he found most assisted him and the teacher encouraged me to seek the pens for him. We bought a packet of them from a local art shop for about 12-14 dollars and subsequently discovered Staedtler offer a bunch of other products that have generally made writing and colouring and drawing less onerous and plenty more joyful.
Can't recommend them enough. The quality of the products is represented in the slightly higher cost, but they are actually are good value overall because they are durable and well made. The most significant impact is the ink seems to come out faster and easier, thus relieving the need for heavy pressing and manipulation of the pens.
The ergosoft range of jumbo pencils have a lovely, rich tone to them. They are triangular in shape, easier to grasp and are packaged in a neat blue plastic box, which turns into a pen stand and means they do not end up rolling away under the couch never to be retrieved again.
They also offer triangular jumbo wooden pencils which have a softer colouring tone, and again nice ergonomic feel to them.
The MARS ERGOSOFT (again a jumbo triangular pencil) graphite pencil will help children with writing tasks. It has a soft, rubbery casing. If your child does not care for the rubber covered one there's a sister pencil which is identical in triangular shape, but has the ordinary casing on it.
I will be uploading links and pictures of these products when I find time. Please post comments if your child finds them useful. Also, if you're having trouble locating these pens and pencils drop me an email and I will try to point you in the right direction of suppliers etc.
To begin with you can read further about these pencils etc on their international website http://www.staedtler.com/home_gb.Staedtler?ActiveID=2131
The Canadian website is here
I hope your child enjoys as much joy as we have with these pens and pencils. The big progress has been that as soon as the child sees an improvement in representing their ideas on the page, some of the frustration can abate and hopefully a sense of achievement takes over.
My child initially tested a bunch of different writing materials in a specific writing class at school. The Staedtler triplus fineliner was the pen that he found most assisted him and the teacher encouraged me to seek the pens for him. We bought a packet of them from a local art shop for about 12-14 dollars and subsequently discovered Staedtler offer a bunch of other products that have generally made writing and colouring and drawing less onerous and plenty more joyful.
Can't recommend them enough. The quality of the products is represented in the slightly higher cost, but they are actually are good value overall because they are durable and well made. The most significant impact is the ink seems to come out faster and easier, thus relieving the need for heavy pressing and manipulation of the pens.
The ergosoft range of jumbo pencils have a lovely, rich tone to them. They are triangular in shape, easier to grasp and are packaged in a neat blue plastic box, which turns into a pen stand and means they do not end up rolling away under the couch never to be retrieved again.
They also offer triangular jumbo wooden pencils which have a softer colouring tone, and again nice ergonomic feel to them.
The MARS ERGOSOFT (again a jumbo triangular pencil) graphite pencil will help children with writing tasks. It has a soft, rubbery casing. If your child does not care for the rubber covered one there's a sister pencil which is identical in triangular shape, but has the ordinary casing on it.
I will be uploading links and pictures of these products when I find time. Please post comments if your child finds them useful. Also, if you're having trouble locating these pens and pencils drop me an email and I will try to point you in the right direction of suppliers etc.
To begin with you can read further about these pencils etc on their international website http://www.staedtler.com/home_gb.Staedtler?ActiveID=2131
The Canadian website is here
I hope your child enjoys as much joy as we have with these pens and pencils. The big progress has been that as soon as the child sees an improvement in representing their ideas on the page, some of the frustration can abate and hopefully a sense of achievement takes over.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Features of Written Output Disorder
At last here are a list of some of the features or indicators of Written Output Disorder. A big thank you to Sarah Howard, the assessment manager, of The Eaton Learning Centre, who graciously provided this helpful information. I know this information will be valuable to parents worried about their children and considering educational testing. I will create a permanent link to it in the links section, so it will be easily available.
1)Resistance to writing tasks that goes above and beyond the “norm” for that child – this can include a refusal to show math work.
2)Anxiety around writing tasks or opposition
3)Poorly formed printing, difficulty learning to write cursively
4)Forgetting to use capitals and punctuation correctly despite knowing the “rules”
5)Writing all the way up to the edge of a page – seeming not to understand the physical limitations of the page space
6)Very large letters or very small letters or what looks like trying to drive the pencil right through the page – all symptoms of “finger agnosia” where the student cannot get enough feedback from their fingers about the pencil and so they grip tighter and tighter, losing control
7)Aversion towards artwork – not all students are like this – or a hatred of colouring tasks
8)Notable difference between a child’s verbal skills/oral expression and their written work – an example of this would be a student who could tell you everything you wanted to know about the atom but when asked to make a poster outlining the parts of an atom, might write the following: Neutron = part of an atom, Proton = part of an atom, Electron = part of an atom.
1)Resistance to writing tasks that goes above and beyond the “norm” for that child – this can include a refusal to show math work.
2)Anxiety around writing tasks or opposition
3)Poorly formed printing, difficulty learning to write cursively
4)Forgetting to use capitals and punctuation correctly despite knowing the “rules”
5)Writing all the way up to the edge of a page – seeming not to understand the physical limitations of the page space
6)Very large letters or very small letters or what looks like trying to drive the pencil right through the page – all symptoms of “finger agnosia” where the student cannot get enough feedback from their fingers about the pencil and so they grip tighter and tighter, losing control
7)Aversion towards artwork – not all students are like this – or a hatred of colouring tasks
8)Notable difference between a child’s verbal skills/oral expression and their written work – an example of this would be a student who could tell you everything you wanted to know about the atom but when asked to make a poster outlining the parts of an atom, might write the following: Neutron = part of an atom, Proton = part of an atom, Electron = part of an atom.
In testing, we look primarily at visual processing speed, visual motor integration, and fine motor coordination but working memory and expressive language difficulties as well as problems with attention can also wreck havoc on a child’s ability to write.
Study: Learning disorders might be genetic
Here is the link to the journal where you can read the article discussed in this article below: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1751-228X.2007.00002.x
LONDON, March 14 (UPI) -- A British researcher suggests a wide variety of learning disabilities might be caused by "generalist" genes.
"Old studies tend to focus on finding the genes responsible for single disorders," said review author Robert Plomin, "but with the new analysis techniques available, new studies are providing evidence that genes can be responsible for a wide range of learning disorders."
LONDON, March 14 (UPI) -- A British researcher suggests a wide variety of learning disabilities might be caused by "generalist" genes.
"Old studies tend to focus on finding the genes responsible for single disorders," said review author Robert Plomin, "but with the new analysis techniques available, new studies are providing evidence that genes can be responsible for a wide range of learning disorders."
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Recommended Reading: Not Even Wrong by Paul Collins
I believe in reading widely on the topic of different learning styles and one of the advantages of this approach is occasionally you alight of a treat on a book like Paul Collins: Not Even Wrong: A father's journey into the long history of autism. (published by Bloomsbury USA in 2005). While I am not personally dealing with autism, there are always parallels in these kinds of journeys, (also it's a very wide spectrum, I would guess most artists fall somewhere along it) so I read voraciously on the topic regardless. Not Even Wrong takes the form of a hybrid of memoir and history. Collins depicts his own experience as his young son Morgan is diagnosed autistic, while he concurrently researches this book, which at times feels pleasingly like a travelogue because he crosses back and forth to England and Europe to complete his research. It's to Collins credit that his writing style is so engaging, he possesses this handy knack of putting these precise, additional details that absolutely put the reader where-ever he's describing. So whether it's the school, doctor's office, the house of eminent autism expert Dr Simon Baron-Cohen or the graveyard, where he's trying to locate the grave of a historic feral child The Wild Boy, it's all very immediate.
This is the kind of book that reminded me of how important it is to remain flexible with whatever life hurls your way. It's a very uplifting book and many parents will take courage from his experience. There are also important historical perspectives and experiences of autistics in the book reminding us that autism has a long history, perhaps one that has yet to documented extensively. A brave and intelligent book -- highly recommended.
This is the kind of book that reminded me of how important it is to remain flexible with whatever life hurls your way. It's a very uplifting book and many parents will take courage from his experience. There are also important historical perspectives and experiences of autistics in the book reminding us that autism has a long history, perhaps one that has yet to documented extensively. A brave and intelligent book -- highly recommended.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Special pencil: Dixon TRI-CONDEROGA HB 2
Victory! We have found a pencil that helps my child. I quote him directly: "it feels triangular not like those pencils at school. It doesn't hurt your fingers because it's softer. It's made my writing look beautiful"
I will upload a picture as soon as I have time. Basically it's triangular shape and is fatter than a regular pencil and is black with some kind of soft coating.
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