asd

20 Comments Posted on Autism, Patient Talk

Autism and Service Dogs. Can you help please? My family need some advice from you! – Updated

Autism and dogs

Autism and dogs

Can you help please?

You are good kindly souls who have my best interest at heart and , without doubt, are much more expert than me.

A few weeks ago we (my wife and I) decided to throw caution to the wind and get a dog. Mainly because our children want one and we have been told that animals are great for children with autism. For those of you reading this blog for the first time I should mention we have a seven year old boy with ASD.

Now so far so good. However we are now stuck with a problem what sort of dog works well in our circumstance?

I’m not a dog person so I’ll confess I’m utterly ignorant about breeds or so forth. So my first question to you is what sort of breeds are suitable to children with autism.

Secondly we live in a small house in London. Our garden is about 180 sq yards. But we do have lots of parks near by. Does this change matters at all?

Thirdly what do you do when you go on holiday?

Please can you share your advice, tips and knowledge in the comments section below?

Many thanks in advance.

PS I think the picture which illustrates this blog show how much our children would love a dog. Don’t you?

Leave a comment Posted on Autism, Patient Talk

“Who do you think made the first stone spears? The Asperger guy. If you were to get rid of all the autism genetics, there would be no more Silicon Valley. ” Please like and share this brilliant Autism Quote from Temple Grandin


“Who do you think made the first stone spears? The Asperger guy. If you were to get rid of all the autism genetics, there would be no more Silicon Valley. ” Please like and share this brilliant Autism Quote from Temple Grandin

Great quotes from Temple Grandin

Great quotes from Temple Grandin


Leave a comment Posted on Autism, Patient Talk

The Autism Show 2014 – Tell us what’s on and what to see!

The Autism Show

The Autism Show

I should start with a confession. I can’t get to the show this year as I’m away this weekend but I still felt it was well worth a post.

As you may know The Autism Show is the UK’s premier event for the ASD community. Last year, say the organisers, more than 7,000 people attended. This years speakers include Professor Simon Baron-Cohen as well as writer Kathy Lette and numerous campaigners and activists..

From her tweets Anna Kennedy is running some Autism’s Got Talent Sessions

Not just that but there is a huge exhibition as well.

So that’s the information I have so over to you.

Are you running a stand? Giving a talk? If so please use the comments box below to tell us more.

Have you attended? What should other please check out. Again please do share below.

So thanks very much and have a great show!

PS I forgot to mention that the show is in London and takes place at ExCeL London

The show is open today and tomorrow!

1 Comment Posted on Autism, Patient Talk

“Autism at Work” – find out why SAP are recruiting people on the autistic spectrum.


Autism Spectrum Condition

Autism Spectrum Condition

I think I keep on mentioning this everytime I write a blog post about autism. Like every parent of child with autism I’m scared for their future. At times there seem to be more snakes than ladders out there. Relationships, living independently, healthy living and , of course, earning money to do any of these.

So I was fascinated then I read an article on the CDS website this morning by Michelle Miller entitled “Software company hires autistic adults for specialized skills”. The company in question is SAP who describe themselves on their web site as “the world leader in enterprise software and software-related services”. Now I have no idea what that means but it does sound, well, very grown up.

She writes that the idea of recruiting people with ASD “is the brainchild of Thorkil Sonne whose 17-year-old son Lars is autistic. He realized that while those with autism might lack the social skills recruiters are looking for, they possess many attributes high on their radar as well: intelligence and memory, the ability to see patterns and attention to detail on repetitive tasks.

“If we could use skills like I saw among people with autism in software testing, data analysis, quality control, that would be phenomenal,” Sonne said. “There is no reason why we should leave these people unemployed when they have so much talent and there are so many vacant jobs in the high tech sector.”

Interestingly the project has been rolled out at SAP Labs in Bangalore in India. SAP have put this fascinating video up on their website which includes an interview with a web browser testing who has been diagnosed with autism. You can watch it here.

From watching the video I had two big takeaways. Firstly the importance of both mentoring by the employer and the need for support from parents and other family members. Secondly the SAP are hoping that by 2020 1% of their global workforce with be on the autistic spectrum.

For SAP and its staff with autism it seems to be a win win. SAP get the untapped talents of the ASD community and the staff get rewarding (and paid) employment.

What is there not to like?

I’d like to throw the discussion open if I may and focus on ASD in the workplace. Please use the comments box to share your experience of “Autism at Work”. In particular it would be interesting if you thought about some of the following questions:-

a) What barriers do you think exist for people with autism to enter the workplace?
b) What support should companies provide specifically for people with ASD?
c) Have you had any experience of mentoring either giving or receiving?
d) Once employed is their a “glass ceiling” for people on the autistic spectrum at work?
e) What are your overall impressions of the SAP programme “Autism at Work”?

These are of course just a guide and I’m sure our readers are interested in any of your thoughts on the subject of “Autism at work”

Thanks very much in advance!

PS. A message for Thorkil Sonne. If you are in london I would be very happy to buy you a drink to say thanks for thinking up the programme.


Leave a comment Posted on Autism, Patient Talk

Who coined the term Asperger’s Syndrome? Tributes to Lorna Wing RIP


Dr Lorna Wing who coined the term Asperger's Syndrome

Dr Lorna Wing who coined the term Asperger’s Syndrome

In fact I’ve seen Lorna Wing, the woman who coined the phrase Asperger’s Syndrome, a few times on TV but was unaware of her contribution to the lexicon of the autism community.

Not just that she was also a co-founder of the National Autistic Society (NAS) here in the UK in 1962.

Indeed so important was she that her death a couple of days ago made the new headlines.

Like so many of us in the ASD community it was having a child diagnosed with autism which sparked her interest the subject. I knew nothing about ASD until our son John was diagnosed in 2009.

Not just was Lorna a physician and a psychiatrist she was also a pioneering researcher in the field of autism. While her own daughter could be described has having “classic autism” she took up Has Asperger’s research into autistic children who do not have typical speech disorders as part of their ASD. So giving the now commonly used term Asperger’s Syndrome. She also saw that autism was a spectrum rather than a fixed set of diagnostic criteria.

The aim of this blog post is to collect in one spot a few of the obituaries and tributes to Dr Lorna Wing. For me, at least, she represents the tenacity that it see in so many parents of children with autism.

If you have written a tribute or know of a an obituary please feel free to put a link in the comments box below.

To start the process I’d like to share the UK’s Daily Telegraph obituary which will give you a great overview of Dr Wing’s life and the importance of her work. You can read NAS’s tribute here.

Thanks very much in advance. And thanks Dr Wing!