My Trip to ANCA Naturally Autistic Conference in Maple Ridge/Langley British Columbia,Canada

Hi everyone! first of all I just wanted to say thank you to those who have helped me out from the 2012 event, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Going to this event was fun overall as where I live its not very often I get mingle with people of my own kind (the fellow Autistic's) as I live in small city with no adult Autism services. 

for more information on the event please see http://www.naturallyautistic.com/ Its run by Leo Gregory-Collura & Charlie Collura (also if you wish to donate to ANCA for next years 2013 event please go the webpage thank  you). This is a wonderful event for all including welcoming Autistic & other diversibility self advocates. A special thank goes to Lori Arseneau Stoughton & her family for giving everyone rides with shuttles & helping Leo & Charlie out you were fabulous! Dr Temple Grandin was also an honorary ambassador but she was here in Canada last year so I didn't get a chance to meet here (someday I hope).

Duane Burnett

The who weekend started off with awards Friday night in Maple Ridge with host mc Duane Burnett who's a great guy! and also Juno nominee singer Janet Panic was a presenter as was Ms Yvonne Mikelencak of the Asperger Woman's Association was also a presenterl. The major sponsor of the event is http://www.successti.com/leaders/romela.htm & Romela Quinn & Marcus McClelland came as sponsors.

Here are some pics from the event:

http://www.easydaysies.com/

ANCA award winner Pheobe Murer

Joanne Gauthier, Presenter,Artist

Jeremy Bernstein Honorary ANCA ambassador

that was just the sampling from Friday in which I have a funny story to tell, when I was getting a ride back to the hotel room in Langley, and I was getting a ride with another lady & her son (who were also from out of town) and we ended up getting lost & going all over the place and well since I wasn't familiar with bigger metropolis's than my area I was internally freaking out (I haven't had a chance to take my evening anxiety meds yet) and my phone was almost of power. I felt like freaking out but I had to remind myself relax and take deep breaths, another girl happened to have a phone (we also stopped) to ask directions and we got out of there ok, (phew).

The next day on Saturday was keynote speakers in Maple Ridge including Dr Hedy Fry of the Liberals answering our questions and trying to lend an ear to our concerns, also Dr Lars Perner, Marianne Hansen RMT (Massage), and Joanne Lara of Autism Movement Therapy: http://www.autismmovementtherapy.org/site/ were keynote speakers and had workshops too.   The one I attended was Friend 2 Friend play Therapy run by Heather McCracken she was just giving information on what she does what Friend 2 Friend is (see the link for more information about it).  Also Marc Rosen had a workshop as well, he was a highlight at the awards with "Zappy Zappy" from one of his books.  Of course Romela Quinn was doing workshop information about USANA health products (our main sponsor).


On the last day Sunday was the big gala I was looking forward to, as award winners Scott James, Sam Ruderham, and of course blues guitarist/actor singer Jim Byrnes took to the stage as well, it took place at Swans E Set golf course in Pitt Meadows and it was a blast! I got to socialize with my new friends and some that I reconnected with and are friends with on Facebook (sorry if I didn't get to everyone this round but you know who you are as there just too many to mention this round)  There was also a silent auction to raise funds as well Here are some pictures:

http://www.jimbyrnes.org/

Me and ANCA award winner Michael Buckholtz (Bucknation)

Samantha Ruderham tender moment

Me and singer Janet Panic

Sponsor List (if you have trouble reading please feel free to download and zoom)

Scott James singing

Sam Ruderham singing

Food and great times were had by all there, and I enjoyed it being with those of my own kind (fellow Autistics) and others with diversibilities. I am looking at raising funds to go again next year as its farther from where I live here's the link and information about next years awards location on the Sunshine Coast (Gibson's and Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada) is in the link I am providing, please help me go again if you can so that I can report back next year, another thing is that I have never been to this region before either so it will be a first time for me to go there. Thank you for reading my blog and please feel free to share thank you to my friends and fans I appreciate all of you! your friendly blogger Zoey 


 

Crowdfunding

http://www.gofundme.com/1fnb98



P.S. If I have forgotten anyone or anything please let me and you can acknowledge yourselves in the responses thank you...
I have more pics on my Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/AutismRights

10 Tips on How to Communicate with Autistic People by Steve Summers

Hi everyone I would like to introduce my friend Steve Summers an Autism father and also on the spectrum himself so he has lots of experience with Autism, he has written 10 Tips on How to Communicate With Autistic people. Steve lives in Hawaii with his wife Amy and two sons. Here is what Steve had to say about himself:  I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (part of the Autism Spectrum) as an adult. I was diagnosed following my 11-year-old son’s diagnosis with Asperger's. I am happy to have my diagnosis. It was like a light being turned on that illuminated my entire life in a new way. Now I understand why I never really ‘fit in.’ It is like having a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders to have my diagnosis.

I don’t feel that people should make divisions between parts of the Autism Spectrum. I am autistic and I want to work to make the world a better, more understanding and accepting place for all autistic people. We need to work together for the benefit of all on the Autism Spectrum. 

I wrote this list due to continuing difficulties that I have had with the give and take of communicating with others. Many people seem too easily offended because they fail to understand these things about me. We all need understanding and acceptance.

Now here are the 10 tips:

1. Please always keep in mind that communication difficulties are common with Autism. We have difficulties in reading social cues and body language. Be patient and understanding.

2. We tend to take things literally and have often trouble reading between the lines. As a result, we may ask a lot of questions to clarify what is meant by something that you say. I have been told that I ask a lot of questions. Don’t be offended by this. It is our way of being sure that we understand what you are telling us. We may repeat back to you in our own words to try and get on the same page as you.

3. If we misunderstand something that you say, please be patient and expand on what you said and explain what you meant. Don’t assume a negative or hostile intent from us if we misunderstand something that you said. Keep in mind that communication can be difficult for us. Things that come naturally to you take extra effort by us.

4. Please don’t get offended by our communication style. We tend to be frank, honest and matter of fact. Some people may interpret this as blunt or rude. We don’t intend to offend you by not sugar coating the things that we say. We don’t intend to be rude. Please don’t get defensive or assume that we are attacking you. Remember that communicating is hard for us. Don’t make negative assumptions. Too often we get corrected or attacked by someone who fails to give us some slack and the benefit of the doubt.

5. Please don’t expect eye contact. We may be able to force eye contact, but it is not comfortable for us. Making eye contact takes a conscious effort. This effort may take away from listening and understanding what you are saying. I tend to look at a person’s mouth more often than their eyes. Other autistic people will rarely look at your face. This is ok.

6. Please keep in mind that we most likely have been rejected, excluded, ridiculed or bullied in the past. If we seem anxious or insecure this may be due to living in a world that misunderstands us and is often hostile to us. We have to work hard to reach out to others. Please work at reaching back to us with understanding and kindness. If we feel that you are ignoring us we will feel bad about that. We may persist in asking for feedback from you. Please be reassuring and clearly express your support for us.

7. Please don’t speak down to us. Treat us as equals. We may sound flat or have an unusual tone to our voice. We may not speak with our voice at all. We may need to type our words. Please be patient with us. It may take us a while to formulate our answers.

8. Please don’t talk too loudly or yell at us. It is very jarring to us. It makes me jump when someone comes up to me and talks too loudly. It is like having someone jump out in the dark yelling “BOO!” at me. It causes an adrenalin dump in my body. I don’t like this.

9. Please do NOT touch us without warning. It will make us jump. We don’t like unexpected touches.

10. Please don’t assume that we lack empathy or emotion. We pick up on negative or judgemental attitudes. We know when people look down on us or are hostile to us. We will shut down if you show us a lack of respect.

Please keep in mind that we are all different. These issues will vary from person to person. The above tips are written from my perspective as an autistic person. This is just a guide. Feel free to ask me any questions so that I may expand and clarify any areas that aren’t clear to you. Thank you for reading this guide. ~ Steve Summers

http://www.facebook.com/Steve.R.Summers

               
                

My Review of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Hi there, normally I do my movie reviews on http://spectrumvideoreviews.blogspot.ca/ but I thought to give you taste of my other blog,  I would show the review on my main blog.  I enjoy watching a lot of videos & have a huge collection of old and new stuff. Don't Worry I provide links too..

Extremely loud & Incredibly Close stars Tom Hanks (Forest Gump), Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), & newcomer Thomas Horn. Supporting players are the legendary Max Von Sydow, Viola Davis (The Help), John Goodman,Jeffery Wright, & Zoe Caldwell. This movie is about a child who lost his father to the 9/11 tragedy, he also has Aspergers (although he says his father doesn't) but I think he does with all the mannerisms, I thought wow! he's very much like me in some mannerisms, you know talking a mile a minute like an encylopedia, Aspergers is a high functioning Autism, which is what I call it anyways since they are making changes to the DSM manual and my testers said it was hfa anyways too, since Autism runs in my family. Back to the movie, The movie is based on the book of the same name:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_Loud_and_Incredibly_Close.

Oskar who lost his father after finding a mysterious key decides to plan and go an adventure to find out where and who the key belonged too, along the way he meets new people and gets to know there stories and takes information to make a scrapbook about his adventures and learns more about his father along way and he meets an elderly gentlemen known only as "The Renter" who's renting a room from his grandma,watch the movie to find out further about why the two connect.  For information about Autism and spectrum please see my previous postings.

Other than the R word mentioned once by the kid it was a great movie and this was a nominee for best picture of 2011 too,this movie is directed by Stephen Daldry and the regular dvd is better unless  

you insist on getting a high def copy here are some links:

http://extremelyloudandincrediblyclose.warnerbros.com/dvd/#/home

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477302/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_Loud_and_Incredibly_Close_(film)

http://www.facebook.com/extremelyloudandincrediblyclose

Book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_Loud_and_Incredibly_Close

The dvd contains a special feature called Finding Oskar with necomer Thomas Horn and rated PG in Canada and PG 13 in US

I rate this movie a 7.5 out of ten while the acting was great the R word is mentioned once by the kid here is the to educated society against using the R word thank you and have a great day! :) 

http://www.r-word.org/

http://spectrumtimes.blogspot.ca/

http://spectrumvideoreviews.blogspot.ca/

               

                

Happy Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month!

Hi again, I know I am a few days late but here is, Happy Autism Awareness/Acceptance day and month! :)

Here is a video I uploaded to my Youtube account as I thought it was too long for CNN
and here is my posted on CNN greeting: 
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-770085


Here is some basic information about Autism and the spectrum:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_autism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_autism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociological_and_cultural_aspects_of_autism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_autism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDD-NOS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rett_syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragile_X_syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-functioning_autism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurodiversity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimming
http://autism.about.com/od/autismterms/a/stimming.htm

now according to latest U.S. stats its about 1 in 88 children, and in Canada about 1 in 200, although there is some controversy with the stats though which is really due to catch up stats with certain ethnic groups according the report. But hey why worry about the causes when we should be accepting those who both children & adults who have Autism and spectrum, for social,job, and housing supports especially as Autistic children grow up to be Autistic adults, and a you cannot prevent Autism either..that is like trying to prevent the sun from coming up or coming down...we are here to stay whether you agree or not, so deal with us.  We all have gifts and its up to you parents/carers to work with us not against us on our timing of life.


Those with Autism have been here on earth since the dawn of time in one way or another, and will continue to be here as long as man continues to be on earth....


Autism is NOT a tragedy but of one filled with long journey of both the up and down days, and also of learning and growing and accepting each other despite our differences and quirks....

It seems that for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential.
— Hans Asperger

"If by some magic, autism had been eradicated from the face of the earth, then men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance to a cave". – Dr. Temple Grandin

My nephews who are also Autistic on the spectrum and why I do what I do

My video review site, including some Autistic movies that I like and some that are not considered Autistic but reviews of neurotypical movies from an Autism point of view:
http://spectrumvideoreviews.blogspot.ca/


Also if you look further into the blog, you can see all my interviews and links to sites where I aired my story...If you hear my stories from anywhere else then its just gossip and untrue, as I have all the proper links on my blog..


Thank you for reading today... :D xx cheers!


Please vote for this blog on babble.com! ty!

http://www.babble.com/baby/baby-development/top-autism-blog-nominate/index.aspx

       

Autism is Not A Tragedy (In Memory of George Hodgins & others Like Him)

Hello again, everyone sorry I haven’t been writing in a little while, personal family emergency with my mother who needed surgery she is home and fine now, and I was feeling a bit down over the winter, but I am fine now! 

What I am writing I have my sister Janet’s blessing to do this opinion piece article too (she is a single mother & has 2 young adult Autistic sons)  I just wanted to say in light of all the hatred towards special need children & Autistic children, there is an awful wave of hate crimes going around in guise of mercy killings (real name is murder), abuses towards us Autistics both young and old etc. It disgusts me that parents/carers in a role of responsibility & trust would do such horrible things to us, namely this article from the San Jose Mercury where an Autistic young man named George was murdered by his mother Elizabeth. In which his mother received all the symptathies etc, but not George who was forgotten especially by the public & by a so called Autism organization called the Autism Society of America, who forgot the victim George in favour of the murderer,George’s mother Elizabeth:

Here is that letter, please know I now longer support ASA due to this issue, If they can forget George they forget the rest of us Autistics as well.  Courtesy of Autistic Hoya Blogger Lydia Brown:

http://autistichoya.blogspot.ca/2012/03/not-human-anymore-is-this-what-ally.html

This was written in response to the Autism Society's statement about the murder of 22 year old George Hodgins, an Autistic man whose mother shot first him and then herself in early March 2012. I have included the ASA statement below.

Appendix

March 17 Letters to the Editor, Mercury News

Originally visible here.

Cuts to adult disability support are devastating

The tragic story of Elizabeth Hodgins, who last week took her own life and that of her 22-year-old son with autism, leaves us truly devastated. While this incident is an anomaly, it shows that high stress on parents is very common in the autism community. We fear that stories such as these will continue if families still feel hopeless in their struggles.

According to the Mercury News, Hodgins was exhausted trying to find a program for her son. Like most states, California provides little or no appropriate support to individuals with developmental disabilities once they turn 22. In addition, California has cut $1 billion in developmental disabilities services during the past three years, and the Department of Developmental Services will cut another $200 million within the next year.

We cannot wait long for change. Autism diagnosis is experiencing a staggering growth rate. Today, 65 percent of all state regional center intakes relate to autism. The divorce rate among parents with a child with autism is as high as 70 percent due to the pressure.

Scott Badesch

President and COO Autism Society of America

Marcia Eichelberger

President Autism Society of California

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Believe it or not I really do respect parents, single parents, carers etc of Autistic & other special needs people’s however murder is not acceptable in society no matter what the carers/parents are experiencing,if you need help please go get some help, or move away, or something, however this murder is inexcusable by any standards, I am sorry for your situation, this sets a dangerous precident that murder is the only way out, well I have news for you ITS NOT! I post lots of links all the time on my facebook account that can help those of you who do need the help, and please don’t say just because I am not a parent I don’t understand that. This is poppycock! as the parents I talked to agree with me and are just as appalled by this murder, all those who feel sorry for this parent murderer ought to be ashamed of themselves, and her family ought to be ashamed too for maybe not helping enough and the father must have seen this coming too?

Here are some links from the Autcast blog created by Landon Bryce:

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/crackpots-suggest-elizabeth-hodgins-choice-kill-her-son-means-you-should-not-have-kids

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/memory-george-hodgins-plea-autistic-personhood

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/where-we-must-go-after-hodgins-tragedy

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/what-not-write-when-autistic-people-are-murdered-our-parents

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/loving-and-devoted-parents-do-not-shoot-and-kill-their-sons

More related links:

http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2012/03/vigil-for-george-hodgins-and-other-disabled-people-murdered-by-their-families.html  by Liz Ditz

 http://www.record-bee.com/ci_20208160/spectrum-erased-from-his-own-murder


http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt192818.html forum about the case also Autistic Self Advocacy Network Remarks

http://paulacdurbinwestbyautisticblog.blogspot.ca/2012/03/murder-of-george-hodgins-22-year-old.html  by Paula C Durbin Westby



http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.ca/2012/03/remember-one-of-our-own-george-hodgins.html With remarks made by Autism advocate Zoe Gross

Just to let parents/carers know that we having feelings & dreams too! We are capable of loving, & contributing to society as well! I hope the Autism Society of America is ashamed of themselves knowing they support a murderer.

Here is a blog that I thought was kinda of neutral but unsure anyway this blog is by Autism mother Elaine Hall just for your information: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elaine-hall/living-with-autism_b_1344054.html?utm_source=Alert-blogger&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email+Notifications&ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=563756,b=facebook

Ms. Hall feels sorry for both although I think she should have sided with George a little more…

And to conclude this blog (maybe be amended for future updates as more information becomes available) here is an anti bullying poem by my niece Brittany Doell (she is the daughter from another sister I have, as I have two older sisters), please spread this video around viral thank you! ) 

AMMENDUM: another Autistic child who was only 4 years old was also murdered selfishly by his mother is name is Daniel Corby, here are the links:

http://www.cbs8.com/story/17330268/arraignment-wednesday-for-mother-accused-of-killing-autistic-son

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/patricia-corby-told-police-she-drowned-autistic-son-daniel-bathtub

http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/autistic-reactions-murder-daniel-corby

Thank you & please take care!

Updated my Video Review Blog again...

Hi all my latest review is of the movie The Miracle Worker 1962 edition please stop by! :) Thank you!