Luke, 25, is autistic and lives a sheltered life with his grandparents. But his world is suddenly turned upside down when his grandmother dies and he is forced to live with his dysfunctional relatives who have no patience for him or his senile grandfather, who they quickly force into a nursing home. Luke is left with his grandfather’s final semi-coherent words: “Get a job. Find a girl. Live your own life. Be a man!” For the first time in his life, Luke has a mission. He is about to embark on a quest. [Synopsis from the movie website]
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Neo 2: The No-Frills Portable Word Processor
Some autistic writers find computers more distracting than useful, with the overwhelming number of options and apps available. Enter the Neo 2, a stripped-down portable word processor that cuts out all the bells and whistles. It allows you to focus on writing, without the formatting choices and programs that might get in the way (the plain text can be downloaded later to a proper computer for formatting). The Neo 2 is designed for portability, with a small sturdy body and long battery life. It’s also highly affordable (price valid at time of writing). Video review below is by Brave Luck Books.
Living Independently on the Autism Spectrum: by Lynne Soraya
[Content reblogged]
Living Independently on the Autism Spectrum by Lynne Soraya is described as “What you need to know to move into a place of your own, succeed at work, start a relationship, stay safe.” In fact, it’s a great deal more. Lynne, who writes for Asperger’s Diary in Psychology Today and works for a Fortune 500 company, covers everything from proper conduct and attire at a job interview, what to do when stopped by the police, setting boundaries, career goals, work related issues and self advocacy. My copy is filled with highlighted sections and notations, such as this quote regarding boundaries:
“The unfortunate reality for many on the spectrum is that the training that we receive to help us to “blend in” to the wider world can have the difficult side effect of teaching us to ignore our own boundaries.
“We learn to tolerate pain and discomfort of situations beyond what many…
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The nonPareil Institute: Building on the Skills of People With Autism
The nonPareil Institute in Plano, Texas (USA) is a non-profit that teaches programming skills to adults with autism, and helps them find work making games, apps and other software products. Many of the students are employed by nonPareil itself, through its contracting arm. Some autistics are gifted programmers, but lack the social aptitude to fit into a typical workplace. nonPareil fills the gap by offering both training and an autistic-friendly workplace. Apart from imparting skills, the Institute also allows students to interact with like-minded peers in a supportive environment. nonPareil is planning to expand to other cities in the US, and welcomes donations. The Institute was recently featured on NBC Nightly News, and there are more videos (like the one below) on the nonPareil Youtube channel. BTW, if you’re wondering about the odd spelling of the name, ‘nonpareil’ is a French term meaning ‘none equal’ (apparently, the French don’t capitalise quite like the rest of us!).
Ways to Break the Ice and Start a Conversation
Conversation is a challenge for many on the ASD spectrum, due to problems understanding non-verbal cues and unspoken rules. This video is an excerpt from a longer talk by Don Gabor of The Learning Annex. It gives some quick useful tips on starting and managing a conversation:
1) Ask an easy-to-answer open-ended question (without a “yes” or “no” possible answer).
2) Make a positive comment.
3) Offer sincere compliments.
4) Refer to something the person’s said to make a connection.
5) Stop focusing on yourself and your inner monologue, instead, LISTEN![Quoted from the YouTube page]
Musical Interlude: Elizabethan Serenade
This is a recording from the dress rehearsal preceding the “Vánoční koncert ze Senátu” (Christmas concert) that QUATTRO Chamber Orchestra gave on 15th December 2009. You are present in the Main Hall of the Wallenstein Palace (Hlavní sál Valdštejnského paláce) at The Lesser Quarter of Prague (Malá Strana). This palace is the seat of the Czech Senate, the upper chamber of the Czech Parliament. [From the YouTube page]
Autism and Design: A Presentation by the American Institute of Architects
Learning to Live With My Son’s Autism – David Mitchell
Novelist David Mitchell looks back on the heartbreak – and joy – of learning that his son had autism. Plus, below, an extract from the book by a young Japanese boy that helped him. [Quote from The Guardian]
“When I was small, I didn’t even know I had special needs. How did I find out? By other people telling me I was different and that this was a problem. True enough. It was very hard for me to act like a normal person, and even now I still can’t “do” a real conversation. I have no problem reading books aloud and singing, but as soon as I try to speak with someone, my words just vanish. I can’t respond appropriately when I’m told to do something, and whenever I get nervous I run off from wherever I happen to be. So even a straightforward activity like shopping can be really challenging if I’m tackling it on my own.” [Extract from The Reason I Jump]
The Reason I Jump: One Boy’s Voice From The Silence Of Autism, by Naoki Higashida, translated by David Mitchell, published by Sceptre at £12.99. To order a copy for £10.39, including free UK mainland p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop.
Creating a personalised tablet case and a discount code for readers – Product Review
[Content reblogged]
There is one thing guaranteed to calm/entice/capture my children’s attention and that is me saying “would you like a few moments on the iPad/my phone”.
They are little whiz-kids on these, any app seems to be mastered incredibly quickly and they are learning so much through play – not least the importance of sharing/taking turns.
D has her little ipad mini, in its tough case and T will be getting his own for his birthday.
But the question arose about a case for T, I wanted something that would be individual to him and also provide protection to his (not inexpensive) gift.
The answer came in the form of a case from idealcases.com and I’ve created a case which I hope he’ll like.
(Please read to the end for a discount code to create your own case)
The case was created very quickly and easily using the ideal case…
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DESIGN FOR ASD 