Church Files Restraining Order Against Autistic Parishioner

Minnesota church is coming under fire for the way it's treating one of its parishioners. Adam Race, 13, and his family did not go to mass at Bertha's Church of St. Joseph Sunday morning like they usually do. The Todd County Sheriff told Adam's mom if she did take him to St. Joseph's, she would be arrested.

St. Joseph's has filed a temporary restraining order against Adam. In a statement, Father Dan Walz said he filed the petition as a last resort out of "a growing concern for the safety of parishioners". Adam is severely autistic. He is home-schooled, and has attended St. Joseph's his whole life. He is also more than six feet tall and weighs more than 235 pounds. In court documents, Father Walz said Adam's growing size makes it harder for his parents to manage his behavior during mass. Father Walz said Adam struck a child, bolts unexpectedly from church nearly knocking people down, including elderly people. He said Adam also spits and urinates during church.

Carol Races said those allegations are either exaggerated or false. She said Adam is not angry or violent, he has never spit in church, and that on rare occasions, he has been incontinent. Carol blames Adam's worst behavior, revving a church member's running car after mass, on a lack of accommodation from the church. "They don't understand how the mechanisms of autism are working at the moment of these disruptions and so forth," Carol Race said. "And I want to point out that in the last couple of months Adam has been perfectly well-behaved. So that's what's shocking to me." Carol said sometimes Adam is noisy and must be restrained during mass, but she said her family always sits in back and leaves church a few minutes early.

A hearing was set on May 19th in Todd County Court. Anyone having further information on this case please contact me. (Link)

Test for Autism as early 6 months

We found out that Ricky had problems at the age of 18 months. He was not formally diagnosed till he was over 24 months and then we were waitlisted for another year for assistance and school placement. If these tests truly can detect autism so early and are accepted as the norm I believe a lot of children and parents will benefit from early intervention.

Babies as young as six months could be screened for signs of autism, scientists have claimed. Early diagnosis and treatment could reduce symptoms in later life or stop the condition developing altogether, according to American research. But many children are not tested for the condition until at least the age of three.

The effects of autism can range from a mild need for routine to severe language and social interaction problems. Dr Amy Wetherby, from Florida State University, has identified 13 "red flag" behaviours to look out for in children aged 18-24 months, including a lack of response to their name and an inability to look at people. In a study of 5,385 children, she found similar tests can be used to diagnose children at nine months of age, she told New Scientist magazine.

Another study, led by Dr Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, of Alberta University in Canada, found that one early indicator of autism, rapid head growth, can be diagnosed in children as young as six to 12 months. (Telegraph)

Child autism link to pet shampoo

A chemical commonly found in pet shampoo could contribute to the development of autism, scientists have found.

Expectant mothers who used the treatment to kill their pet's fleas were twice as likely to go on to have children with autism, Professor Irva Hertz-Picciotto, from the University of California, will tell an international meeting on the condition.

The findings will add to theories that environmental factors in combination with certain genetic factors can cause autism. ( Telegraph)

Uncharted Territory

First layout done with a Club Scrap Retreat kit . Also swirly stamps, rub on title, 7 Gypsies gaffer tape, a square brad & a metal rimmed tag. This is Christmas of 1999 but these photographs remind me of a very difficult time we went through with Ricky. We had found out about his Autism and ADHD in mid 1998. 'Early Intervention' was the key word. Yet everywhere I turned, I found no immediate help. Special needs schools were all full. Therapists had waiting lists. It was extremely frustrating. And scary. So we decided that while we waited for an opening somewhere, we would not just sit around. The internet was a starting point. Then came books. We travelled to different parts of the globe to attend courses on how we could help Ricky. But mostly I think that everything we did this year helped us, as parents to adjust to and understand Ricky's special needs and be supportive of all the therapies and classes that would come later.

Layout copied from one in CK magazine. A little bit of stitching, some chipboard accents, Gel.a.tin alpha stamps & alpha stickers complete this simple layout. Ricky at a friends birthday. Curran's dad used to work in the F&B industry. So they were able to rent out a night club, but during lunch hour for the party. Everything was great except for the dark ambience and the bar with its flashing 'cocktail' sign. So I drew a moustache on Ricky and took a photo at the bar ... lol!

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How's this for putting everything in perspective?

Phuket

First layout uses Club Scrap 'Oriental' kit. Making Memories foam alpha stamps, ribbon, chipboard flourish and hand painted swirls done with the French curves set.

Second layout uses paper from Basic Grey & Carolees Creation (the punched rounds). Buttons are from sei and again Making Memories foam alpha stamps, Heidi Swapp silhouettes, and ribbon. Used the French curves again to make the lines for journalling. Design from a layout in a CK magazine.

Lily's first ever trip to the beautiful island of Phuket in Thailand. This was also her first holiday with her cousins. Love the last 3 photos of them sharing a Sprite! Anyway, both Lily & I fell sick the day we arrived in Phuket. So we spent six days in our room. On the seventh day we were well enough to step out. We had to leave the next day ... LOL! Anyway, we had good fun just that last day.

Another layout about Ricky's problem. Eye contact - or rather the lack of it. He did not like looking at anyone. So we learnt to speak in short sentences, easy things and started every sentence with 'Look at me' or 'Can you look me in the eye?' It took years of patience and love and understanding but now this problem is almost imperceptible.

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This guy draws monsters daily. This is number 19. Check out the others too. Very creative!

'Now'

Both layouts done for a challenge on the Scrapologie board. The layout required the following: Fibre, 3 Epoxy stickers, Buttons, Chipboard (but not alphas), Flower (only one) and the word NOW. I had a problem with the Epoxy stickers - I had only the words by Danelle Johnson. Took a bit of thinking which I do not like doing much ;-)

The first layout uses Club Scrap Caribbean kit from Feb 2000. I bent the Epoxy sticker rule very slightly. The '2000' is actually 3 stickers. The big photo turn is chipboard.

Second layout is done with a kit from Scrapologie. Papers include Basic Grey Phoebe, Heidi Grace Cupcakes, K& Co Amy Butler designs. Design copied from a layout by Joy Uzarraga.

Tactile problems are usually an issue with children with Autism. Ricky had a hard time with messy play. He even disliked washing his hands very early on ~ he disliked the feel of soap. Therapy helped a lot and when he was four we finally managed to take him to the beach and play a bit with some sand and water! You can see from his face that he is not completely comfortable. But I was so happy that he tried! It was a big step for all of us.

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This boy can dance! If anyone can dance that well in a suit like that, he deserves to have all the little ladies go ga-ga over him ... and the older ladies too, perhaps? LOL!!

And a beautiful ad from the Japan Ad Council about encouraging children in their creativity:

Feed Yourself!

First layout done with Club Scrap Salsa kit, some stamps, CI Alpha stamps, a photo holder and the Basic Grey Notch tool. A big "THANKS!" to Yvette ~ see the curve on the layout? Guess what came in the mail today?! You made my day, girlfriend!

Second layout is again Textiles & Notions kit from Club Scrap but this layout is completely digital. I have been itching to try my hand at the digital stuff and so I decided to do this one from scratch.

Ricky had a lot of trouble doing many things. Gross motor, fine motor and so many other problems. Feeding himself was one issue that was especially difficult. We had a wonderful therapist helping us. And everyone in the family was so determined to assist Ricky achieve as much independence as possible. After many many months of hard work Ricky managed to start eating independently! He still has tactile problems with certain kinds of foods but can manage very well with cutlery.

A page in memory of Jill Wenzel. Called 'The Wenz' :-) She was really lovely and I was fortunate enough not just to know her online, but to be able to actually meet her. She even made the coolest PJs for me!

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Todays first video shows 500 years of female portraits in Western Art:

And watch this ...

Lemme Kiss you!

Reason I did not post yesterday? I was out playing with my daughter! Yesterday was my marriage anniversary. And there is a trade fair in Las Vegas happening right now which Joe has to attend ~ every year. So I always spend my anniversary alone. Lily and I dressed up and went out for a drink and dinner. We chose Szechuan cuisine ~ hot and spicy brain numbing food!! An acquired taste for some but a passion for me ... LOL! We had a blast!

First layout done with Club Scrap Fiesta kit from Jan 2002. I used a Sticko rub-on alpha and alpha stamps from Hero Arts & CTMH. The date is a brush downloaded from some digital site. The outside corners of the frame are done with a corner rounder. The inside corners are done with the Basic Grey Notch tool. I am pretty pleased with how smooth they turned out. I then covered the whole frame in some dimensional glaze. Looks nice & shiny & 3D :-)

Second layout is done with Club Scrap Evergreen kit, QK Paige alphabet and Heidi Swapp chipboard alphas. Also a Nambly Screen Prints gold rub-on.

Whatever his problems, Ricky has always been a very affectionate child, right from his infancy. I am so thankful for this because it made dealing with everything else so much easier. And he learned early on that many times he could get out of sticky situations by just kissing his Mamma. I would perhaps be trying to tell him that he should do something differently or some such. He would decide not to listen to me and he did that by repeating 'lemme kiss you' to distract me. And then there is the expression on his face - all puckered up getting ready to smother me with kisses!

Even though Ricky has always been a very happy child, he had trouble perceiving the emotions of others. Or even expressing himself ~ telling us if he was angry, or sad or happy. Emotion is such a vague concept. I do not think it is possible to teach someone to feel and understand how others feel, yet we keep trying. The dealing of these emotions can be handled after we learn to identify them, in ourselves and in others.

And one day it happened. Ricky was watching Bambi. The scene of Bambi loosing his mother was on and I watched with amazement the play of emotions of Ricky's face. He looked shocked and then sad ... so sad! His eyes were red. I had seen Ricky watch all kinds of sad scenes without a flicker on his face. It was like he did not understand what was happening. This was so different! I was thrilled! I started snapping away with my camera till the scene got too much and he actually started crying. He then came over to me and held me tight, as I did him. I was so happy I believe I cried too!

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Just a little something for stress relief. It is called a Thymus Tap.. Easy to learn & do and extremely effective!

And to end on a light note, another 'Just for Laughs' video.

The Scissor layout

Layout done with the DIY Croppin' kit from September 2003. Also used some alpha rub ons and QK letters.

As part of his occupational therapy Ricky had to learn how to use scissors and to cut correctly. First he learned how to cut along straight lines. The he spent hours practicing cutting along curves. Because Ricky really enjoyed this activity, we took it a step further and I gave him my decorative edged scissors. He had a blast with them!

While Ricky was doing his cutting during one therapy session, I showed up with my camera. I took a lot of photos. And I love his expression in every single one of them. I simply could not choose or discard. So I decided to make a layout with all the photographs. He looks so adorable in all of them!

Yesterday I had a dinner party at home. Cooked Thai food and I was pretty liberal with the hot green chillies! LOL! Love the really spicy food. And for the first time I made Sangria at home. And it was the perfect accompaniment to the hot Thai dishes. Try making a pitcherful yourselves and then tell me if it is not the yummiest thing to drink on a hot summer evening!

Sangria: Half fill a large pitcher with ice cubes. Add 1 bottle of red table wine (I used a Merlot), 150 ml (5 fl.oz) freshly squeezed orange juice, 50 ml (1.7 fl.oz) freshly squeezed lime juice, 115 gm (4 oz) caster sugar and an apple and a pear, diced into small pieces. Stir till the sugar dissolves. Enjoy!
ETA: Here is a link to a website that will help you do conversions very easily. WWW Unit Converter. Or another website specifically for food conversions.

I am not sure if this video is the real thing or from some TV show. There comes a point in the proceedings when I cannot help but get skeptical, especially at the behavior of the policewoman. But it is fun to watch anyway:

The guy in the video below is really good at what he is doing. Worth a look-see :-)

Shane's Wish

Here is a card I made with Club Scrap Painted Desert Kit. This card is for Shane Bernier. Thanks to Cindy R from SS Reflections for bringing this to my attention. And it would be so nice if some of you could either make him a card or perhaps buy one and send it to him.

Here is his website: Shane's Wish where you can find the mailing address. You can also do a search on Snopes with his name to check out that his request is legitimate. How wonderful if this lovely child got his wish!! Well ... at least got a lot of cards :-)

My page today uses Art Warehouse papers and sepia toned photographs. A saying by Rousseau and a very old stencil for the title letters.

October 1999: Ricky is playing on the grounds of the Duchess of Kent hospital. He loves to play in the sand or dirt. He can spend hours making little mounds of dirt and then brushing them away. To think that till a few months ago he could not stand to dirty his hands! He spent his two years of kindergarten not going near the sandbox.

Ricky has had, and is continuing with, a lot of different therapies. For a few months the following year we were part of a study conducted by Dr. Virginia Wong, one of the foremost neurologists here. She was studying the effects of Tongue Acupuncture on various neurological cases. We were lucky to be included in this research. Thrice a week we went to the hospital to have Dr. Sun Jie Guang from Shanghai administer a couple of pin pricks on Ricky's' tongue. It looked painful but after the first two sessions Ricky did not cry anymore.

I have no idea if this experimental therapy helped or not but Ricky said his first word a few weeks into the sessions. Of course Ricky was getting other forms of therapy like Speech and OT. And he was four years old. So it could have been anything, or most probably a combination of all of the above. And it would be another two full years before he formed a sentence. But what a special day it was when my son called me "Mamma" and a mother's heart, for some reason, made the connection with acupuncture.

Living with Autism

Here is my layout for Autism Awareness month. Except for the chipboard arrow & photo corner, everything else is from the Club Scrap Extra! Extra! kit from June 2004.

Everyday with Ricky is like an adventure, a voyage of discovery. We delight in finding something new that he has learned or some subtle changes in his behavior. Of late we have noticed he has started telling lies and quite well too - I am told that this is good! LOL!

His new vocabulary is so ‘Cool’! This little 'Dude' has made so much progress over the last year! He is making puns on words. He is cracking jokes and asking us if we ‘Get it?’ And more often than not we do! He is so funny that he has us laughing all the time. I love his sense of humor.

And it is so evident how much he loves all of us. I wait everyday for him to come back from school and give me a great big hug! Ricky is very generous with his hugs and they are something special!

Further reading:

• Aspergian Pride Celebrating the accomplishments and the inherent worth of autistic people
  
• AS-IF Information, resource links, and links to discussion groups
  
• Autism Network International A self-help and advocacy organization
  
• Autistics Need Acceptance, Not Cure An article critical of "autism awareness"
  
• This Is Who I Really Am An autistic blogger who signs herself "unashamed" writes about her love of life
  
• Asperger Square 8 "We all have labels, acknowledged or not, because the world has an unmanageable number of facets..."
  

Drum Jam!!

One layout done with Club Scrap Fiesta kit, the other with Sassafrass Lass 'Tickled Pink'. Bazzil chipboard flower, Art Warehouse sticker and Making Memories velvet Alpha stickers.

It is three months that Ricky has been learning to play the African Drum. He has picked up so fast! At the performance the children had the cutest little African vests which set the mood for the three Nigerian songs they played. The children have been practicing so hard these last few weeks and they were all so excited about this first ever public performance. It is an amazing boost to their self confidence!

After Ricky's performance we all sat in a huge circle and with Kumi leading us, had an awesome drumming session! There were at least 200 people, each with a percussion instrument of some sort. And none of us were professional musicians. Just regular people who like drumming. It was fun, educational and we made great music.

The waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui is a beautiful place. We went for a walk down the promenade and had to get some photographs with the Hong Kong skyline as a backdrop. It was a pleasantly different way to spend an afternoon.

Layout for Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness month. And here is my layout about Autism. I had been saving this little essay for some time now. When people ask what it is like to have a child with a disability I show them this wonderful passage. I knew I wanted to do a layout with it because it puts into words what I have always felt in my heart but am unable to express.

Journaling: When you are going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation the day finally arrives. You pack your bags, and off you go. Several hours later the plane lands. The flight attendant comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”
“Holland?!?” you say, “What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.” But there has been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland, and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for awhile and you catch your breath, you look around… and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills…and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy…and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, “Yes that is where I was supposed to go. That’s what I planned.”
And the pain of that will never, ever go away…because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss. But…if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the special, the very lovely things…about Holland.

Source: Emily Perie Kingsley
From a Reprint in “Family Resource Committee” Newsletter