Yesterday, I celebrated six months of awareness of my true nature: I am autistic (Asperger’s).
This does not make me an expert (at least, not in the academic sense). It doesn’t grant me a magical power to speak for anyone else.
In the last six months, I’ve investigated this topic–and indeed this “alternate world” (at least, for me) with abnormal intensity.
But really, all I was doing was searching for terms and ideas that more-eloquently described what I had already been experiencing throughout my entire life. I had already felt those feelings, thought those thoughts, and struggled with those invisible differences; what I learned during my searching merely helped me identify and articulate them.
During this search, however, I noticed some patterns (ha) that struck me. The official diagnostic criteria and other conventional authoritative sources of information focused on what they observed through their own perspective lens; specifically, what they…
Setting the stall out for today and some stuff about autism. Read, enjoy and please share.
INTRODUCTION
This is my first of what will be a number of posts today. I have come across a variety of interesting and important stuff over the last couple of days, and have decided that I have too much to share in one post, so I am attempting to group my links into categories. Thus a title the three main words of which begin with A, B and C – this is the first of a series of posts I shall be producing through the day, and as it is the first I shall start near the beginning of the alphabet, with some autism related stuff.
THE AUTISM AWARENESS CUP 2017
I am starting with a reminder that following its successful launch last year the second Autism Awareness Cup football tournament will be taking place at Ingoldisthorpe Social Club on June 4th. There are three links relating to this, accessible by clicking the images below: the first image will take to you to the Autism Awareness Cup homepage, the second to the Autism Awareness Cup facebook page, and the third to NAS West Norfolk Sports Co-ordinator Grant Cotton’s own facebook page:
STOP THE BAD BEHAVIOUR
This relates to a petition created by an autistic parent and aimed at Brighton & Hove Council. As well as the petition itself, which I urge you to sign and share by clicking on the screenshot that ends this section, there are two other links that go with it:
This article about social workers at Brighton & Hove being criticised for what a judge called “reprehensible behaviour”.
Although this petition is not about autism specifically I am including it in this post because autistic people are disproportionately likely to be among those confined to institutions. As with the other petition I urge you to sign and share it.
A COFFEE MORNING
This Wednesday just gone there was an NAS West Norfolk coffee morning at the Willow Tree cafe in central King’s Lynn. I was able to get there, and enjoyed it. Here are some pictures from that morning:
Making sure that everyone knew who we were.For the record the tea towels are priced £4.95 each
AN UPCOMING EVENT
On Tuesday I will be in Dereham for an event organised by Autism Anglia and ASD Helping Hands under the catchline “Help to shape Norfolk for autism”. I booked the day off work for this some time ago, because I considered that as someone is both NAS West Norfolk branch secretary and #actuallyautistic it was an absolute necessity that I be in attendance.
The launch of a new facebook page with NAS West Norfolk connections, a bit about yesterday at work and some very interesting links.
INTRODUCTION
For the benefit of new readers it is worth reminding people that I am both NAS West Norfolk branch secretary and #actuallyautistic. Although the the National Autistic Society (NAS) has some paid staff at its London HQ branches are run by volunteers and branch money comes exclusively from fund-raising. This post therefore starts with some news from NAS West Norfolk that I consider worth sharing before continuing with a bit about yesterday at work which will include pictures and ending with some interesting links.
THE LAUNCH OF A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
NAS West Norfolk’s Sports Co-ordinator, Grant Cotton, creator of the Autism Awareness Cup, has created a new facebook page to link all his activities. It can be viewed by clicking the image below:
YESTERDAY AT JAMES AND SONS
Yesterday was devoted to imaging as many of those lots for the March auction that were not yet images as possible (a catalogue for this auction, taking place on the 27th, 28th and 29th of March, can be viewed here). Most of the imaging I was doing yesterday was of coin lots. Here some pictures…
This is lot 248 – a seven image gallery for you to look at
This is lot 249 – a four image gallery.
From here until lot 124 we are looking at hi-res scans. Although I produced my usual three-image galleries for these coins with on exception I am sharing only the main image.
The exception – this New Zealand florin from 1934, where I choose to show the close-ups as well.
Lot 124 – the last of the scansLot 108 – the packaging indicated that three of these coins were special, so I did close ups as well as the main images
The close ups
Lot 107 – this time the packaging suggested that two of the coins deserved special attention, so they got it.
The close ups.
Lot 222Lot 223. This horrible plastic tub did not have a lid, so I rehoused the lot in a nice wooden box with a fully functioning lid (I did a ‘meringue’ style test on it, turning it upside down with the coins inside, making sure that it was not too high above a flat, clear surface when I did so).Lot 224.
LINKS
Most of these links are science related, so to clear the decks I shall start with the exception. This comes courtesy of Skwawkbox, and is a devastating indictment of Theresa May and her ‘sweetheart deal’ with Surrey County Council. I agree with the Skwawkbox assessment that this should be considered as resignation matter. As another blogger, Mike Sivier, put it when commenting on this same issue: “a turd by any other name would smell as faecal and this one sgtinks of big fat lie”. To read the Skwawbox piece click here.
SCIENCE 1: FROM LIVESCIENCE
Two very different pieces from the same source here. The first deals with small things (specifically spiders), the second with something very large (a nebula).
Wolf spiders having threesomes (yes, you read that right). Female wolf spiders are noted for eating their mates after copulation, and it may be that if two males tackle the same female there is more chance of one of them not being cannibalised. For the full story please click on the image below:
This piece is about the discovery of a huge new nebula and the attendant mystery of what its light source might be. For the full story click on the image below:
SCIENCE 2: WEIT (WITH AN ASSIST FROM YOU TUBE)
It is no great secret that I am a huge fan both of Jerry Coyne’s books (Why Evolution is True and Faith Versus Fact) and of the associated blog, whyevolutionistrue. Thus I am delighted to share with you the fact that a video series on chapter one of Why Evolution Is True is now being created. Episodes 1-3 are available to watch (and highly recommended by this blogger!), and according to WEIT’s own pieceabout the series there are two more episodes to come (yay!). I have embedded the videos below (they run in sequence) – enjoy!
A personal account of yesterday’s Musical Keys at the scout hut on Beulah Street and a walk on either side of the session.
INTRODUCTION
Musical Keys sessions happened at the scout hut on Beulah Street yesterday. I was there both as NAS West Norfolk branch secretary and someone who enjoys the session. With it staying light later in the evening and yesterday being pretty benign for an early March day in England I got two good walks in on either side of my session.
GETTING THERE
I made a quick visit to King’s Lynn library before heading for the scout hut by way of the Broad Walk and the Sandringham Railway Path. I had sufficient spare time to take some photographs en route…
This town centre cafe is the venue for an NAS West Norfolk coffee morning on WednesdayHere are some of the trees from which it takes its name, on the bank of the highly sculpted stretch of the Gaywood river that passes through The Walks.The library, fresh from recent repair works.The first of four flower pictures – all featuring crocuses.
AT THE SCOUT HUT
I arrived with the youngsters session still in progress – here are some pictures I took before my session started.
Before getting into details of what I did, I have a short subsection about…
A SPEAKER SYSTEM FROM Q BRANCH
This is best shown in a series of photographs…
The speaker system in usePartially closed up – machine and bag of cables in the centre, the two speakers forming the sides of the case.And fully closed – a stout black plastic suitcase.
MY SESSION
I was on the computer, using Scratch 2. Once again I consider a series of photographs to do a better job than words…
A modest but sufficient set up – I have eight notes on my chosen instrument (Cello) set to be played by pressing a, s, d, f, h, j, k, and l respectively, and various extras, including getting the cat avatar to move and draw, with the pen size increasing each time I pressed one particular key.
THE JOURNEY HOME
Once the session finished, and the clearing up and locking up was done it was time for the walk back. I journeyed back by a different route, heading for Bawsey Drain, the Tuesday Market Place and King Street. Here are some photographs from this walk.
Announcing NAS West Norfolk’s Just Giving page, and sharing a few other interesting and important bits.
INTRODUCTION
I have a few other links to share as well, but this will be one of my rare posts not to feature any photographs.
THE NAS WEST NORFOLK
JUST GIVING PAGE
This was discussed and agreed on at our branch committee meeting yesterday, and is now ready for viewing. To see the page itself please click on the screenshot below:
TWO PIECES WITH TRANSPORT LINKS
The first of these two pieces is a campaign run by We Own Ittitled We Want Buses for People not Profit. For more please click the screenshot below:
My second piece with transport connections is an article by Patrick Barkham, a well known writer on nature, published in The Guardian, about a piece of road-building that is in the pipeline and if allowed to go ahead will be incredibly damaging to the environment. The development is planned because the road in question struggles to cope with the traffic that uses it. However, extending roads (as is planned in this case) or building new roads is proven not to alleviate this type of problem – it just generates even more road traffic, with attendant problems of noise, pollution and the destruction of sometimes priceless nature and habitats. Why is there so much traffic on Britain’s roads? Because our public transport system is a complete joke – and that is where attention should be devoted. To read Barkham’s article please click on the image below:
FOR AN ELECTED UPPER HOUSE
There have been recent damning revelations about the conduct of certain members of the House of Lords. The single most damning incident caught be a fly-on-the-wall documentary was of a certain peer who arrived by taxi, told the driver to keep the engine running, went into the house to trouser his £300 daily attendance allowance and then got back in the taxi. This has prompted the Electoral Reform Society to launch a petition calling for an elected upper house to replace the Lords. To view and if so inclined sign and share the petition click on the screenshot below:
ALWAYS #HELP TO GET HOME
This is a campaign launched by the NAS nationally. Full detail about the campaign is available here.There is a petition running as part of this campaign which you can access by clicking on the image below:
A brief post about last nights autism friendly performance of Cinderella at the Corn Exchange, King’s Lynn.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to this post about last night’s autism friendly production of Cinderella at the Corn Exchange, King’s Lynn last night. I was there because NAS West Norfolk, of which I am branch secretary, had lavished some of its money on tickets for the evening – in total some 120 people who are either autistic themselves or were accompanying autistic family members took advantage of the opportunity. No photographs today, because the Corn Exchange forbids photography in the auditorium.
GETTING THERE
Yesterday was a working day for me, and heavy traffic on the way into King’s Lynn in the evening left me with less turnaround time than I would have liked. Nevertheless, I got to the venue, which is very close to my flat, in time to take my seat, although entering the building at 6:25 for a show starting at 6:30 is not the sort of timing I generally aim for!
WHAT IS AN AUTISM FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE?
An autism friendly performance means that the lights in the auditorium go down rather than right off for the show, that there are no sudden loud bangs or other noises etc. For more about autism friendly performances and how they can lead people to enjoy regular performances please visit this post.
THE SHOW ITSELF
The autism friendly aspect of the show was not the only adaptation the cast had made – they infused this fairy tale with some local colour which was extremely well received. The ugly sisters had us all laughing with their moaning about the inadequacy of King’s Lynn shops. Another good locally themed joke was in a journey scene when mention was made of “making up time once we hit the A47” – anyone who has travelled along said road, which was most of the audience, realised that this was the single most fictional line of the night!
Some of the special effects were superb, the acting was excellent, and it was an excellent evening.
Welcome to my fourth post about Marxism 2016 (see here, hereand here), focussing on Sunday. Like the previous post, this one will be formatted slightly differently from my usual Marxism posts, again because I wish to focus on two particular meetings.
GETTING THERE AND THE DAY’S PLAN
It being Sunday I was even more generous than usual in allowing for transport problems. In keeping with Sutcliffe’s Second Law of Travelling by Public Transport I therefore had my best journey of the week.
A sculpture outside Euston station.
A neoclassical folly, Euston Road
To help explain both my schedule for the day and the rest of this post here is the timetable for Sunday, with my choices marked…
What I am going to do now is write briefly about meetings 1,2 and 5 before covering the two disability meetings in a bit more detail.
MEETINGS 1, 2 AND 5
My first meeting, Kate Hurford on White supremacy and the creation of “race” – where does racism come from? took place in Clarke Hall, which is on level three of the institute. The speaker was not well but still managed to deliver a very good introduction after which there was a lively debate.
For the second meeting I had chosen Shahrar Ali on How left is green politics? Although I am grateful that both he and Natalie Bennett were speaking at this event, and regret that a timetable clash prevented me from hearing Natalie speak I felt that there were important questions not dealt with, such as the roles of greens in office in various parts of the world (like the Aussie green party doing deals with the Liberal National Party, that country’s equivalent of the Tories). However, this caveat aside I enjoyed this meeting, and have no regrets about attending.
I will be covering meetings 3 and 4 in the next section. Meeting 5, for which I had chosen religion was an interesting meeting.
Kate Hurford and the chair just before the start of their meeting
Shahrar Ali and the chair of his meeting.Anna Gluckstein (right as you look) and the chair of her meeting on religion.
TWO MEETINGS ABOUT DISABILITY
Both of these two meetings, the first a panel meeting and the second the official launch of Roddy Slorach’s book “A Very Capitalist Condition” were excellent and in their different ways inspiring.
The first meeting started with a number of speakers talking about what they are doing, and about various campaigns before then being opened up for discussion.
Roddy’s meeting (we have previously shared a platform at a public meeting in Norwich) began with him introducing ideas that are contained within his book, which I have since read and enjoyed.
I suffered a double frustration because I had carefully planned contributions for both meetings (there are as yet no meetings at Marxism focussing specifically on autism, although this year the Silberman book was on display – if anyone involved in the organisation the event is reading this please take this as a hint) and did not get to make either although I indicated clearly on both occasions.
AN OUTLINE OF THE UNMADE CONTRIBUTIONS
I had planned two different but linked contributions, each tailored to the specific meeting in question. For the first meeting, which focussed exclusively on campaigns My contribution would have covered the following:
A full introduction mentioning my role at NAS West Norfolk and the fact that I am #actuallyautistic and giving details of this blog
A skate through some of NAS West Norfolk’s activities including a brief mention of the Positive Autism Awareness Conference and the upcoming launch of adult activities and the inaugural Autism Awareness Cup.
Finishing with an account of the campaign around the Fermoy unit and our role in it, emphasisng that the Fermoy remains open.
For Roddy’s meeting I would again have given a full introduction before going on to cover:
The envisaged but not yet fully realized sequence of: Awareness – Understanding – Acceptance.
Emphasised that autism is a condition not a disorder – it is not a malfunctiion, it is a different operating system .
Might have produced the line ‘nothing about us without us’
Planned to finish by emphasising that different is not a synonym for lesser.
I finish this section by re-emphasising that these were two excellent meetings.
THE LAST EVENING
I stayed fairly late after the end of the final meeting, and was delighted to make the acquaintance of several people involved in disability activism during this period.
Official posters for three important NAS West Norfolk events, with some accompanying text.
INTRODUCTION
This is a ‘pure autism’ post, prompted by me receiving an email containing official posters for three of NAS West Norfolk’s upcoming events.
EVENT 1: OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF ADULT ACTIVITIES
Like many other NAS branches West Norfolk was originally set up by parents of autistic children, and it was only with the arrival on the scene of two autistic adults that the branch started thinking about adult activities. In an effort to take things beyond the thinking stage we have organised an official launch, the poster for which I reproduce below (with apologies for its small size – it is as big as I could make it without iy being blurry):
EVENT 2: AN INFORMAL COFFEE MORNING
Unfortunately I will be otherwise engaged for this one as it clashes with an auction at which my attendance is non-negotiable. Nevertheless I advertise it as an opportunity for discussion:
EVENT 3: THE AUTISM AWARENESS CUP
This will be taking place the day after the official launch of adult activities, and I have mentioned it in previous posts (here and here):
An introduction to the Autism Awareness Cup, a couple of important links (please follow up on both), and a classic infographic with a link to the original post in which I found it.
INTRODUCTION
This post is about an event that has been organised by a young man named Grant Cotton as a fund-raising autism awareness event. I have also included one of the finest autism related infographics I have yet come across.
A SIX A SIDE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT IN KING’S LYNN
The tournament will take place on July 10th, using the artificial pitch at Lynnsport, 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) from the centre of King’s Lynn, and each team will have the name of a country (England, Holland and the Republic of Ireland have all been bagged already). Reproduced below is Grant Cotton’s poster for the event, which can be seen in its original setting by clicking here:
A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT LINKS
My first link, courtesy of my friends at DPAC, is to details of a court case which will impact on the enforcement of the law regarding wheelchair bays on buses (this law is not open to misinterpretation – it states clearly that if a wheelchair bay is not in use the driver has discretion to allow a non-wheelchair user to use it, but the needs of wheelchair users come first – a non-wheelchair user in a wheelchair bay is legally obliged to move for a wheelchair user). I urge anyone who lives in London or who can travel there on Wednesday to be at the court to make our presence felt. I have already shared this story on facebook and twitter and pressed a link on my London transport themed website www.londontu.be.
My other link comes courtesy of NAS, and concerns a new Too Much Information film which will be showing at various shopping centres over the next few months. Of reasonably local interest are the showings that will be happening at Chapelfield, Norwich on August 27 and 28.
A GREAT INFOGRAPHIC
I spotted this on blondemomsense this morning and had to include it. The original blog post from which I extracted it can be viewed here:
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