This is a fundraising video produced for Autism Speaks, mothers talking about their experiences and struggles parenting an autistic child. Hanky alert, seriously.
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7-Year-Old Autistic Boy Wins Fashion Design Award
Torenzo Monopoli from New Zealand, a 7-year-old schoolboy with autism, won the avant garde award in the school section at the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards this year. He also won the Nelson Nouveau Design Awards’ under-10 category last year. Needless to say, Torenzo has already been spotted by a designer, Annah Stretton. Source: Nelson Mail.
Torenzo’s winning entry at the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards
Autism Speaks PSA Featuring Fashion Designer Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger’s daughter and stepson both have autism. The fashion designer recently appeared in a public service advertisement (below), to emphasise the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. This is what he said about it (from the Daily Mail):
The government is not involved in it. People aren’t donating enough money. There’s not enough research …
There’s no cure. It needs help, so we’ve become involved.
Discussion Forum on Nonverbal Learning Disability
If you’d like to be part of a conversation on NLD, here’s a great discussion thread on the LD Resources website, essentially a series of comments on a post by someone with NLD. Below are some excerpts from the original post, a too-common experience of someone with the disability:
My name is Robert. I’m 51, live in the Canadian province of Quebec, and was diagnosed as having a nonverbal learning disability when I was 42 …
As a child and adolescent I was a loner because I didn’t have the strength, coordination and social skills to make many friends …
I managed academically in high school, college, and graduate school as long as I was able to avoid math and physics …
I hit my first real brick wall when I tried to work after finishing a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling. I had no way of knowing that a helping profession is much more difficult for someone with NVLD because of the difficulty we have with affective communication (reading other people’s social cues correctly and communicating the right cues ourselves) …
To scrape by (so far), I have been a member of a translation cooperative (we are paid by the word) for almost two and a half years. I do translation and proof-reading for the coop. The work is only occasional and, for this reason, I can’t earn enough money to live without constant worry.
I Just Like It: Tie Tea Mug
Anything that helps keep messiness down is a winner with me. This simple mug offers a neat solution for keeping the tea bag label from falling into your tea (something that happens a lot with me, cos’ I like to stir my tea as I drink it). Available in right-handed and left-handed versions.
Nonverbal Learning Disability Facebook Group
If you have Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD), there’s now a Facebook group for you! This is from the ‘About’ page:
This group is for anyone who has Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD), can also be abbreviated as (NVLD). This group is for all people with NLD to connect with others who share the experience of living with this disability. After all, only we can truly appreciate what it’s like. Unfortunately, there is just not enough awareness yet. But, on the bright side, 20 years ago autism was in the same place as NLD is now.
*** Please, we are all from different situations, when posting or replying be respectful and kind. Everyone has enough to deal with and should feel safe and free to discuss their NLD or NLD in general. ***
A Spoken-Word Performance Called ‘Nonverbal Learning Disorder’
This is a short spoken-word performance (or is it a poetry-reading?) by the poet Bree Rolfe, about her Nonverbal Learning Disorder. Nice work Bree:)
Organise Your Time with TeuxDeux
TeuxDeux is a free online diary with a simple and intuitive design. Try it out. There’s also an iphone app to take on the road. Great for anyone (like me) who’s organizationally-challenged.
TeuxDeux features include:
- – week overview
- – check off, delete, or move tasks
- – someday bucket
- – jump to a date in the future
- – automatic rollover of unchecked tasks
- – edit existing tasks
- – sync with mobile version (iPhone app)
- – Multiple accounts (iPhone app only)
Brain Game to Improve Fluid Intelligence
Fluid reasoning (or ‘fluid intelligence’) is the ability to apply knowledge to new situations; as opposed to ‘rote memory’, which is simply repeating the same memorised steps over and over. A deficit in fluid intelligence is one symptom of an autism spectrum disorder like Aspergers or NLD. Researchers have found that a simple computer game called ‘n-back‘ can help improve fluid intelligence, as this Wired article explains (but so far, they’ve only tested it on non-autistic subjects). A free version of the game can be downloaded here (the usual disclaimer: though I’ve downloaded and used it myself, I make no claims as to the fitness of this software for any purpose, or that it won’t damage your computer, cause it to melt, disappear into thin air or eat your lunch when you’re not looking). Versions of the game are also available for mobile devices, search ‘n-back’ for more details.
Fight Negativity with the Pinch Method
Living with a disability can lead to a cycle of negative thinking, in which we constantly repeat discouraging mantras like “I’m useless”, or “It’s hopeless”, etc. This cycle of negativity is a mental habit, something the brain does automatically if you let it (like biting your nails). The cycle is self-reinforcing, it may get worse if you don’t actively counter it. Pushing the mental STOP! button when you have a negative thought is the least you can do to try and slow the cycle. In my own case, I add a little extra reinforcement by pinching myself hard whenever I have a negative thought. The pain goes straight to my subconscious, hopefully acting as a disincentive to even think a negative thought. Good old-fashioned Pavlovian conditioning.
DESIGN FOR ASD 