Fred Foundation

I just noticed that the local Carers charity are running a series of events for Carers Week  and nestling  amongst them all i saw…

LAUGH – A – THON   Hosted by laughter facilitator Joe Eadie.  Followed by a cream tea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UqHrRIwlVm4#at=15

Great quote  used well on Radio 4 this morning at  the beginning of the Between Ourselves programme .   Two  men  who have Asperger’s  Syndrome being interviewed - very positive, very interesting .

Listen Again, it’s good.

Always a stressed child but this week it has been far worse than usual and as he cannot tell us what is the matter it is all guess work.  Very difficult and what is most painful to see is that he has developed a nervous tic or involuntary eye blinking because of the stress. 

So, to try and  keep things extra calm for him this weekend i found myself  loading  the dishwasher with clean things as someone unwittingly unloaded the clean stuff  before he was able to do it.  I knew he  desperately wanted to unload it so whilst he was out,  i  hurriedly washed by hand the dirty stuff that had been put  in there  and replaced it with the clean stuff – then let him unload it!! !  It was very difficult to remember what had been  in there and in what order! 

We would normally just unload it and he would have to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ but i just could see how stressed he was and didnt want to add to it.  When i say ‘feel the fear and do it anyway.’ he is worried t hat we will put all the china etc away in the wrong order.

 I sometimes wonder when people trot out “you can never really understand what it’s like to have an autistic child yourself unless you actually have one” is a bit of a get out clause for people who HAVE NO EMPATHY because they it suits them not to have any!!    Or, are they just thick?

Angry today.

Have managed to take 16 Argos catalogues at one time out of our local Argos without being stopped.

His latest thing is tearing books and magazines to alleviate stress – our groaning bookshelves are really suffering and we have had so many of our lovely books ruined but he needs an outlet for his stress so if anyone has any Tesco/Argos catalogues they don’t want, send them this way!

A family supported by The Fred Foundation  have taken on Lambeth  at a Special Educational needs tribunal and WON!

Great news for the worn out family but  how sad they had to go that far to get their child’s needs met.

Cindy Doyle MacRae is a single parent carer to 15-year old Lea who has autism.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bckey=AQ%7E%7E%2CAAAAAEabvr4%7E%2CWtd2HT-p_Vh4qBcIZDrvZlvNCU8nxccG&bclid=0&bctid=792557942001

“It feels like my daughter is being mugged”

link.brightcove.com

Cindy Doyle MacRae is a single

He’s looking terrible today, must go and buy more cheap pillows.  I have to replace them every six weeks at least as he has such a bad dust allergy on top of all the other allergies.   Huge red rings around his eyes and completely blocked up.