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Autism, AS and related conditions newsletter - February 2009. Go to the newsletter archive.

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JKP Autism Newsletter

Autism, Asperger Syndrome and related conditions newsletter

Welcome to the JKP Autism, Asperger Syndrome and related conditions newsletter, a monthly update of relevant news and events, entertaining interviews and articles.

You can find details on how to contribute or give feedback, as well as opt out of these emails, further down the newsletter.

Exclusive Interview with Brenda Boyd

Brenda Boyd is the author of Appreciating Asperger Syndrome: Looking at the Upside - with 300 Positive Points, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. When Brenda's youngest child, Kenneth, was eight, he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and since then she has become increasingly involved with autism.

How old was your son when he received his diagnosis and how did you react?

Kenneth was diagnosed at nine years old and before that I had never heard of Asperger Syndrome. I was worn out, confused and frustrated, because there seemed to be nothing but problems with him, and I had no idea how to deal with them. That made me feel inadequate as a Mum. Then when he was diagnosed, I began trawling the internet, reading books and going to courses and workshops to find out all I could.

I had a mixture of feelings about the diagnosis really. In one way it didn't change anything. Kenneth was still Kenneth - he was the same person the day before his diagnosis as he was the day after. But in another way something had changed. Because once you find the correct name for something, you can start to get to know it, accept it and deal with it in a new way.

When did you realise that you also have Asperger syndrome and how has the diagnosis changed your life?

For a long time I suspected it, but I didn't want to think about it too much. I always knew there was something 'different' about me, but the way I handled life was the very opposite way from Kenneth. You could probably sum it up as simply as this - Kenneth was always true to himself, whereas I was not. I had spent my life trying to figure out what it was that people expected of me and then doing all I could to deliver it. It is an approach to life that I am not proud of, but I have a feeling it is more common than we realise (especially among females perhaps)

For years, in order to try and fit in, I had cut off what you might call the AS part of myself. But in doing so I was cutting off more than I realised. The most important thing that diagnosis has done for me is to help me accept and be true to who I really am. Over the last few years I have found great fulfillment through a creative part of myself - pastel painting and song-writing in particular - and probably none of this would have ever come to light if I had not embraced my AS.

Then a few years ago, not long after my diagnosis, I met my husband, singer-songwriter and producer Bap Kennedy. We got to know each other when he 'discovered' my songs and recorded them. I then went on to record an album of my own songs, called 'Banish the Blue Days' which was produced by him. It has not been an easy journey, but today I would say I am happier and more true to myself than I have ever been.

In your book you talk about the positive points of Asperger syndrome, can you tell us a bit more?

It is very easy to be negative about Asperger Syndrome for it can be a very difficult condition to live with - and I have been be as guilty of this as anyone else. But there is another side to the story, for there are many significant advantages to Asperger Syndrome - for the individuals, those around them and for society in general. There are already plenty of AS books about which focus on the downside. In this book while I didn't want to deny the negatives, I wanted to present an alternative view point - the other side of the coin so to speak.

People with AS can be like a breath of fresh air in a world which contains so much pretence and artifice, simply because they are often true to themselves in a way that typical people are not. And even though the characteristic traits of AS can make life difficult and uncomfortable, they have been responsible for some of the world's greatest achievements throughout history - for example the typical AS originality, intense focus and potential to become leaders rather than followers.

Who or what most inspires you?

In general the people who inspire me most are those who are genuine and true to themselves no matter what. And if I had to pick out just one person who inspires me it would be my husband Bap, for that very reason. The way he lives his life is a real eye-opener to me. Yes, he has done a lot of crazy things over the years, but it never seems to have seriously occurred to him to follow the herd or do things in the usual way, solely because that was expected of him. Like me, he loves music and writes songs, but unlike me he has never turned his back on his art. He has devoted his whole adult life to expressing himself through his music and bringing that to the world. Music is a very difficult business, but Bap has managed to make a niche for himself and he has stuck with it through thick and thin - not for money, glory or fame, but essentially to be true to himself.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Over the last few months since we have been married I have been completely immersed in the music of my husband Bap Kennedy - not surprisingly perhaps! He has an amazing back catologue of songs going back over twenty years or so, which I have been getting to know. One of his songs in particular, which is called Lonely Street evokes such a raw feeling of alienation and bewilderment that it could easily be an Asperger anthem! (check it out on www.bapkennedy.com)

Perhaps it will always be true that people who are true themselves have a lot to offer us - whether they have AS or not - because at the end of the day we all have a great deal in common.

Appreciating Asperger Syndrome: Looking at the Upside - with 300 Positive Points was released this month and is now available for purchase. See the below link for more details.

More details of the book

JKP News

BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour live will be having an interview and discussion with Jill Harrison on 27th March for her book Different Dads: Fathers' Stories of Parenting Disabled Children.

BBC London Sunday Programme on 1st March will be interviewing Keith Park for his book Bible Stories in Cockney Rhyming Slang..

An article on Different Dads: Fathers' Stories of Parenting Disabled Children, will be featuring this month in Foreword Magazine.

Autism in the news - some of the articles in the media this month

BBC - UK researchers have found that many children have mild autistic symptoms which fail to attract specialist attention.

A unique collection of work by adults with autism will be displayed from 24th-28th February 2009 at The Galleria Pall Mall.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope, announces a new national autism strategy.

A Review of Learning Without School, an article by JKP author Ross Mountney

An increasing number of parents are finding that home education has huge advantages for their autistic child.

Most of these advantages are based around the fact that home education can be completely tailor-made to suit the needs of the individual. This means that, rather than teaching for a whole mass of children, parents can approach their own child’s learning in a way that suits them specifically. It also means that many of the environmental factors which some children find so distressing, like hubbub, noise and confusion are eradicated.

Contrary to what most parents think you do not need to be a qualified teacher to home educate, you do not need to do ‘school’ at home or stick to the National Curriculum, and you do not need to approach learning in the traditional way – there are many, many ways that children learn. The beauty of home education is that it is completely flexible and it is this flexibility which offers so many advantages:

1) Home educating relieves time constraints so a child can learn in short sessions or equally stick with an activity obsessively all day if they prefer!

2) It takes away age restrictions so that a subject can be approached when the child is ready at whatever age they are.

3) There is no need for continued testing or taking exams if they are not appropriate to the individual.

4) There is no need to stick to the traditional ways of learning as in teaching and listening, through books and courses. Although these methods may well be part of an approach children can learn equally well through finding out themselves, through explorative play, talking, experimentation and creativity, through watching programmes, through their own interests, etc. Home education provides the opportunity to maintain a better balance between activities.

5) Parents can introduce their own boundaries and structures to make their child feel secure. Or equally remove rules which the child finds hard to cope with.

6) Learning need not be restricted to specific behaviours we normally associate with the classroom like sitting at desks, focussing, being still, or producing specific outcomes. Learning can still happen without silence, despite fidgeting and sometimes because of it, without SATs or targets, and even by lying on the bedroom floor if it suits!

7) Any curriculum can be tailored to the individual’s interests, or equally there is no need to use a specific curriculum at all.

8) Parents can control the climate in which the child learns, for example some like silence, others like music or chatter, some like company, others need to be solitary, some like to interact with groups, others prefer one-to-one relationships.

9) There is no need to ‘fit in’ or adhere to a norm for fear of ridicule.

10) There need not be a heavy emphasis on producing written work or learning through the printed word. Computers, television, practical activities and discussion are all valuable learning activities which contribute just as greatly to a child’s education as doing masses of written exercises.

11) The physical needs of the child for exercise and movement can be satisfied as and when required.

12) The flexibility of home education means that parents can take advantages of the times when the child is particularly switched on, and equally understand that some days are not good learning days or the child may be ill and it is better to ‘pass’ on a day without worrying about school attendance. ‘Passing’ on days does not scar a child’s education for life as schools would have us believe! In fact most children tend to learn in bursts and fallow periods.

13) There is a greater understanding and respect for the differences between individuals among home educators than there is among school children making it a happier and more supportive community.

It is through the opportunity to be flexible and remain in tune with the child’s individual needs that home education really works for children who have learning differences that would be made out to be difficulties in school. Home education gives children, who are sometimes written off in the educational system, an opportunity to thrive and achieve and above all have a happy experience with learning.

There are further details on home education, how to go about it and how to find approaches which suit the individual in my book ‘Learning Without School Home Education’, available through Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Ross Mountney is the author of Learning without School: Home Education ®. See the below link for more details.

More details of the book

Content links

Interview: Brenda Boyd
Autism Books
News
Article: A Review of Learning Without School
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JKP Autism books

Appreciating Asperger Syndrome:
Looking at the Upside - with 300 Positive Points
Brenda Boyd