Autism Spoke:

AUTISM SPOKE

This is such a great documentary done by students at a local high school .  It is well worth the watch. 

Taekwondo Life Lesson Revised...

Due to a Blogger glitch I have now revised this posting.  A huge chunk of the post was missing which is why the ending may have seemed a little confusing.  My apologies.

TAEKWONDO LIFE LESSON

TAEKWONDO LIFE LESSON

I distinctly remember when my eldest son was signed up for Taekwondo at the meek age of 6 yrs.  I was totally against the whole idea.  I can remember saying, "he'll get hurt, he will become violent, he is too young to be using weapons for fighting" etc etc. No different from any other young mum, fearing for their child's safety.  

It was only when I contacted the Pacific International Taekwondo Association in Queensland and spoke to Master Instructor myself, that I guess my fears were laid to rest.  In fact, the quietly spoken man on the other end of the phone, put me through a series of questions, to see if I had the right motives for wanting my child to learn the craft.  The main clincher or test... "What did I hope he would achieve out of the classes ?"  After a slight pause to think for a quick minute, my response was, "confidence".  I must have hit the nail on the head as my boy was enrolled immediately. Master Instructor had told me later on, that if I had responded with any other answer that insinuated violence or fighting, I would have been told to look for another discipline. This is how I knew, Taekwondo would be a great influence in my son's life.  It still didn't help battling the nerves on his first grading or watching my boy, as small as he was, in his first free spar, but....watching him grow and change, become confident and really stepping up to the whole manhood stage, it was positive.  

My boy is now a 4th Cup blue belt.  He is strong, he has good reflexes and even though he hasn't really had to use his Taekwondo in any aggressive situations yet, I am confident he would know what to do.  There was a break from training when he was  about 7 and a half yrs old. This was when our family experienced some difficult changes and really when I lost my son for a while. He had decided to quit his training as he didn't want to face anyone.  I had managed to encourage him for a few months, carefully pushing to continue, but it was all too much. In fact life was all too much for all of us back then.  So when he decided to return to Taekwondo at then end of 2009... I was elated.  This discipline does so much for young people, boys and girls. I do believe too, that it has been wonderful for my son's self control, his emotions, his Aspergers and low muscle tone. It has improved his confidence, flexibility, strength, reflexes, determination, courage and overall body awareness.  Luckily for us, his instructors had not changed. Actually nothing had changed for him. Our branch, routine training hours, expectations and responsibilities were all the same.  The two Instructors who run the Albany Creek Branch are so fantastic. I have known them for quite a while. They are always  friendly and respectful as well as highly supportive of their students.

During school holidays, classes still continue.  Some parents take the holidays as a break in training for their kids, but I actually prefer the holidays. The classes are smaller and the students learn a lot of self-defence.  Tonight at training, I watched as my son was shown how to handle an aggressive person coming toward them ready to hit. The pushes and shoves to the chest, all things I supposed he will encounter now that he is getting older. He was guided how to react in a way a young man should. My son highly respects his instructors - (he did fear them when he was younger but not in a horrible way.)  This relationship or bond is growing as he feels more confident now to discuss situations that he experiences. He views his instructors as mentors and they are guiding him into phase of his adolescence that I can't.  I hate to admit it but I just don't cut it when it comes the physical stuff or aggression between two guys. I wouldn't understand it anyway. Besides don't really think the old, "let's talk about our feelings and share" attitude works here!   

What really impressed me about tonight was the techniques taught to respond..... all defensively but in a powerful way. Basically defusing the power of his opponents attacks. He wasn't taught to retaliate or pick up a weapon.... he was taught life lessons tonight not just self-defence moves. Another thing I am so grateful for is the, "communication"  discussed. Phrases used - verbal attacks, abuse and what to say and do in this situation. Again, something I just cannot guide my son through.  I can still remember giving him my maternal opinion on a situation when he was younger. A girl from school had asked him to "go out with her."   He didn't know what to do. He asked his mother, who immediately went into defensive mode, telling him the following..... 

"you go back and tell this GIRL that I said you cannot have a GIRLFRIEND until you are 21 years old!"  

Well my boy, did just that. The polite, naive, little guy that he is, and as a result.... 

GOT A MASSIVE PUNCH IN THE ARM!

That's when I think I decided that my advice about some things, ain't the best and he needed male mentors in his life to help guide through some of the confusion.

Luckily for us, our two instructors are extremely passionate about the children protecting themselves. The Self Defensive classes teach kids to be street wise, savvy, reliable and responsible.  One night as they were discussing possible scenarios, my son was grabbed from behind and dragged along the floor by one of his instructors. His mouth was covered and he was helpless. All of the attending parents, got a massive wake-up call. My son, reacted in a very typical way. He was frozen with fear. It was so fast, he didn't know what to do and he didn't try to respond. There wasn't enough time. His instructor said,
"now you know the feeling...next time you fight to get away!"  
It was such a  powerful demonstration and one I am particularly thankful for. From a parent perspective, any child would freeze with fear, if grabbed and was unaware no matter how good they were at defending themselves..... actually I think any adult would freeze with fear too!   Watching this from the sidelines.... was terrifying.

Here is some information about the discipline of Taekwondo and their website.

I cannot speak highly enough of it.

Learning traditional Taekwondo is an effective and enjoyable way for people of all ages to learn how to punch and kick for self defence skills, to increase fitness and energy, improve strength and flexibility, reduce stress and develop a confident and disciplined mind-set.  

Body - fitness, strength, flexibility, co-ordination, balance, energy, self-defence

Mind-set - focus, discipline, self-control, perseverance

Spirit – confidence, satisfaction, positive attitude, resilience, strength of character

Pacific International Taekwondo branches are throughout Brisbane and Ipswich, Caloundra and Nambour. 

http://www.pacificinternationaltaekwondo.com.au

"Don't Mess With the Quiet Kid."

"Don't Mess With the Quiet Kid."

A truly amazing moment..... Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.

Let me set the scene....... at shopping centre purchasing clothes for my growing young son.  I needed to also get a few groceries.  Going through the check-out, the youngest spied a small indoor play area. Before I knew it and when the dust settled, I realised he was at the play area working his way through the maze.  I smiled as I was only a few metres away and my eldest son was with him, keeping a close eye on the other children.  This is standard for my older son and I. Sometimes when other children try to talk to the youngest, someone usually needs to intervene, guiding the social interactions.  I could hear constant yelling and squealing.... the kind that draws your attention.  I immediately looked over to the play centre, wondering if something was upsetting my child.  It is usually him squealing.   But when I eventually located him he was playing happily jumping on foam lilly pads by himself.  He did have his fingers in his ears, but again this not uncommon especially when we are in a shopping centre. Two other children caught my eye as they played like "Tassie Devils" in the small area.  But hey.... who am I to judge ?.... we don't do that.  I did consider though that I needed to get through the check out and abandon the centre quickly, as I could see my child looked a little distressed. As I made my way through the aisle,  not really engaging in the conversation from the check-out guy, I raced over to the play area to find my older son in fits of laughter. When I asked what was going on ?   He told me our beautiful Autistic and Non-verbal boy had approached the very active, loud, dominant "Alpha Male" of the play arena, looked him straight in the face, and said "Shhhhhh!".  My eldest said the child, stopped his noisy play immediately and just backed away.   None of the other children in the play area had approached him..... he seemed to have them all intimidated.  

That is all except for, my son.

How amazing, firstly to instigate communication. To use a phrase in an appropriate manner, to look at another child, obviously causing him distress, in the eye... this is an absolutely amazing break through for my boy!  When I went up to him, I reassured him with a quick cuddle and whispered in his ear... "Great  Shhhhhh! L......"

Immediately, I received a smile and a response .....

"Yes.... great Shhhhhhh!"

It is days like this that I wish time would just stand still so I can just soak up the "essence" of the moment!

Mental Health Plans and Autism....

Mental Health Plans for Psychology and Autism.

(Please read with sarcastic tone!) 

Medicare Australia provide everyone with a great system where you can access a Psychologist for someone on the Autistic Spectrum, claiming up to 20 visits per year. Basically you pay $200.00 per session and Medicare give you around $70.00 back. 

But what you may not know is that.... when your child is on the Autistic Spectrum and you have various supporting documents stating that this condition is a chronic illness, you still under this great system of ours, need to visit your General Practitioner (after every 6 visits to a Psychologist) wasting time. You a constantly required to ask your G.P to review and revise a mental health plan. Without this Mental Health Plan, you cannot claim anything through Medicare. So in fact you are adding to the mountain of paper-work our General Practitioners need to continually fill out.... just in case, a miracle occurs and your child is suddenly cured of their Autism after 6 visits of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

What I do not understand with our current system, is that the "Political powers that be"... you know the ones in charge of funding and deciding how severe your child's disability is, all without a medical degree, are quite vocal in being aware of families and carers of Autistic children. Unfortunately in reality, if you want to claim anything back from your continual drain of finances when providing much needed therapy, you are faced with more rules and paperwork, draining resources.  The reason why this topic is discussed today....I am about to venture off, for a 1 hour appointment, children in tow, (as they have to come- more rules) just to get my G.P. to fill out more ridiculous paperwork.

Wouldn't it be better if these reviews were done annually?   It would relieve a lot of pressure, especially for those in weekly or even fortnightly therapy.

Parents and carers, barley get enough time for themselves to drink a hot cup of coffee, caring for children on a 24-7 hourly basis. The appointments the rushing from therapy to therapy. Dealing with the constant lack of sleep, physically and mentally draining, day to day.....just trying to cope. Adding to the growing "to do" list, chasing paperwork for a situation that just isn't going to change quickly just places more unrealistic expectations on those living with disabilities.  

The Australian Government is currently trying to prioritise the need for more funding for Mental Health Issues in our country.  Numbers of people suffering and needing support is exploding in a massive way.  Do you think maybe a good start would be to review current ridiculous, expensive practices, like "OBTAINING CONSTANT REVIEWS OF WORTHLESS MENTAL HEALTH PLANS", just so those paying the bills can effectively get back their 35% of total out of pocket expenses ?  

Maybe our Government needs a National body of people, parents or carers of disabilities within Parliament on a full-time basis. A group of people with "real-life experience."

Think of the changes and support our Health system would see then!