My dear friend, Casdok, has posted today. She is the mother of a twenty year old autistic son who is about to move on to a specialist home. It is an extremely stressful time for both of them. Perhaps a word of support and encouragement would be in order.
Her post today includes a couple of videos which I found very interesting. They certainly give pause to those of us who have never experienced autism first hand in ourselves or a loved one.
Showing posts with label Casdok. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casdok. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Everyday Kindness
You may recognize the title of this post as the theme emphasized many times by our dear friend, Dianne, from Forks Off the Moment. As I started to write today, I found it hard to come up with a title. But my subject is so basic - I believe it comes down to this. Respect for one another leads to kindness toward everyone we encounter, whatever the circumstances, family, friend, or stranger.
And this leads me to another dear friend, Casdok, from Mother of Shrek. Yesterday I read her post concerning abuse. I urge you to follow the link to her blog. Casdok is an amazing woman, living in the UK, mother of an autistic child who is now an adult. The difficulties she has faced in her life have made her a strong, sensitive woman, determined to help her own son, and along the way, to help others whenever she can. In this post, she presents far better than I, the case against cruelty against the disabled adult, the elderly, and the man or woman in an abusive relationship. As she points out, there is legislation designed to protect the young, and so many others in our society, but very little specifically designed for adults. Casdok lives in Britain. The same situations exists here in the US. We read or hear of individual cases that happen to make headlines, and we shake our heads and tell one another how awful it is. What we need to do is to open our eyes to what is going on every day in our own little corner of the world. Sadly, it is all around us - not just in nursing homes or other facilities, but in our own neighborhoods. It's next door, or across the street.
As a child, I witnessed and experienced abuse of one kind and another. I put it out of my mind for many years. I think too many of us choose to ignore what we see and tell ourselves we must be mistaken - it couldn't really be happening.
On my side bar you will see a telephone number. Please don't hesitate to use it if it is appropriate for yourself, or if everyday kindness suggests that you might use it to help someone else. - 1-800-799-SAFE - the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
And this leads me to another dear friend, Casdok, from Mother of Shrek. Yesterday I read her post concerning abuse. I urge you to follow the link to her blog. Casdok is an amazing woman, living in the UK, mother of an autistic child who is now an adult. The difficulties she has faced in her life have made her a strong, sensitive woman, determined to help her own son, and along the way, to help others whenever she can. In this post, she presents far better than I, the case against cruelty against the disabled adult, the elderly, and the man or woman in an abusive relationship. As she points out, there is legislation designed to protect the young, and so many others in our society, but very little specifically designed for adults. Casdok lives in Britain. The same situations exists here in the US. We read or hear of individual cases that happen to make headlines, and we shake our heads and tell one another how awful it is. What we need to do is to open our eyes to what is going on every day in our own little corner of the world. Sadly, it is all around us - not just in nursing homes or other facilities, but in our own neighborhoods. It's next door, or across the street.
As a child, I witnessed and experienced abuse of one kind and another. I put it out of my mind for many years. I think too many of us choose to ignore what we see and tell ourselves we must be mistaken - it couldn't really be happening.
On my side bar you will see a telephone number. Please don't hesitate to use it if it is appropriate for yourself, or if everyday kindness suggests that you might use it to help someone else. - 1-800-799-SAFE - the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
World Autism Awareness Day
Today, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day
I think the best thing I can do today is to direct you to These Are the Days, Linda's blog. She and Tom are raising a beautiful little boy, Connor. His progress has been so wonderful!
Please visit them at: http://snoopmurph.blogspot.com/2009/04/world-autism-awareness-day.html
When you see Connor's sweet smile, it will put a smile on your face too.
There are more beautiful children with autism to be seen on Casdok's blog, Faces of Autism. See for yourself. I think too many of us think of people with autism as somehow different. They are just like our children. They need and deserve to be accepted, admired and loved, just like our children.
I think the best thing I can do today is to direct you to These Are the Days, Linda's blog. She and Tom are raising a beautiful little boy, Connor. His progress has been so wonderful!
Please visit them at: http://snoopmurph.blogspot.com/2009/04/world-autism-awareness-day.html
When you see Connor's sweet smile, it will put a smile on your face too.
There are more beautiful children with autism to be seen on Casdok's blog, Faces of Autism. See for yourself. I think too many of us think of people with autism as somehow different. They are just like our children. They need and deserve to be accepted, admired and loved, just like our children.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Every Day Kindness
On the 14th, Casdok posted a poem that I liked very much. It concerned her son, who is autistic, and some of the misconceptions held by so many in our society about autism.
My favorite verse in the poem said:
What matters is the here and now,
Not the why, not the how.
The "r" word is "retard"
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
WORLD AUTISM DAY
Today is World Autism Day
Autism: A brain development disorder which impacts social interaction, often evidenced by repetitive behavior.
A subject much misunderstood by those of us whose families have not been touched by it. I don't pretend to be very knowledgeable on the subject. I do have interest and feel compassion for those facing autism, and I understand that autistic individuals face a myriad of problems going far beyond their basic disorder, because the rest of us do not know how to interact with them. Quite often school officials, unaware of their needs, manage to create further problems.
I would like to suggest possible reading for bloggers. Michelle O'Neil's blog is called Full-Soul-Ahead. She is a marvelous writer, and the mother of an autistic daughter. Read her profile as well as her beautiful post of February 23rd.
Casdok, who lives in Surrey, England, is the mother of a nineteen year old, non-verbal son. Her blog, Mother of Shrek is quite different and interesting.
In your local library, you should find a copy of Send In the Idiots. The author, Nazeer Kamran, is autistic himself. I definitely recommend this book with its amazing stories.
To read the truth about autism, please investigate ASAF, the Autism Society of America.
P.S.
I have just been catching up, and have gone back through other posts by Michelle - each one better than the last, by the way, and found her post on March 26th in which she links us to an HBO website showing Autism: the Musical. Should you find difficulty with that website, marjie's comment to Michelle's blog gave another where you can view the entire movie plus two more.
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