5 Things ...

You Don’t Expect Autism to Teach You

Parenthood doesn’t come with a user manual. Life itself doesn’t come with a tourist guide. Each of us harbour expectations when we hold that separate piece of ourselves nestled beneath our breast growing towards it’s own identity.

Here are my lessons at the school of Autism where my teacher is my youngest son. A champion at meeting his own challenges.

  

1.  Love is not something he keeps at arm’s length because he doesn’t love.

   He loves with too much heart. Love is just as much a hypersensitivity issue as too loud a rain fall or too much crowding. Living in a world where meeting an eye means connecting, caring, accepting a new heart into your world is a world where he has to be cautious in making that commitment.

2.  Some things are scary beyond belief.

   I don’t have to understand why, just that it is so. Being scared of food, of textures in his mouth and of change made me face all sorts of challenges with him. We weathered the early years to 4 ½ where only formula was his go to. Then the single white food with no flavour. We progressed to 2 single foods in separate bowls until one day I was allowed to put meat balls on top of spaghetti …. No sauce! These days we both delight in his love of seafood, his desire to eat his way through the local seafood catch varieties, his occasional junior chef moments and his willingness, sometimes reluctant, to try …. At least try.

3.  Battles are won with kindness and compassion.

   These battles are not with the child, but with systems, norms, expectation and standardisations. We push against stereotypes and misunderstandings. Together he and I work to break down, not only his personal protective walls, but the walls society builds with what may be considered normal, but to us is just a different kind of normal.

4. Often it is the tiniest bit of progress that is the greatest cause for celebration.

   When basic concepts so many of us take for granted are finally grasped with hard work and diligence I can’t help but find myself internally doing a joyous jig. Learning to read at age 10? How can I adequately express that joy?

5. Society is a mish mash.

   An agglomerate of exceptions, rules without reason and traditions based on long lost and antiquated conventions. Learning to see these from the eyes of a virtual stranger in a strange land allows me to question societal expectations, find reasons that can be understood and equip myself with language that explains it all to a wondering mind, a brave, intelligent, inquiring mind that sits on the edges wanting to join in, but not quite understanding the rules that engage us all every day.

I am a mum, a carer, a self-sufficiency nut, a forager, a locavore and an all-round loony tune. My usual blog mode is all about food, but the reasons for this are entrenched initially in my food based therapy for my son. My Blog is dedicated to him and the places I have had to take myself to meet his challenges and mine.

Read more about our food adventures here: Locavore Intentions

Epilepsy in the Spotlight

I have noticed over the years that I have been an Epilepsy carer that awareness of this oft debilitating neurological disorder is scant in the community. Some sufferers can get lucky and find a medication that suits them with few side effects and great benefit, but there is the chance that side effects are just as debilitating as the condition itself or that little benefit is to be had from front line medication options.

Comments surrounding the depth of knowledge in the community about aspects of epilepsy show that little education about it reaches the public and the broad scale of symptoms, syndromes and stigmas that sufferers have to face are just not known or understood.

Raising awareness can only benefit the community, increase the knowledge of how to react and treat a seizure and you have a win win situation. Reducing fear of seizure activity can only lead to a better place for everyone to live especially those with seizure disorders.

To that end Epilepsy Action Australia has created a photo competition called Picture me Purple with purple being the colour of epilepsy awareness as Purple Day approaches on 26 March.

Dabbling, as I do, in photography I have launched myself with 10 images featuring, or with enhanced, purple. I have decided to share these images with you and introduce some more of what I do. The caption at the bottom of each photo will take you to the competition voting page for that image.

pansies

An image taken in the back yard of Tim and Di's on our Christmas tour of Tasmania. A stunning summer sky as backdrop, who could ask for more?

through the purple is hope

Whilst in Tasmania a trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hobart is a must and there I snapped this hopeful image. One of my favourites.

Epilepsy: sometimes we just bumble along

The Royal Botanical Gardens, Hobart also gave me this photographic opportunity of those delightful bumble bees that were so prevalent while we were there. The sheer improbability of their flight captured my idea of against all odds that we sometimes have to just bumble through.


With my next image I started playing with some software that came with my camera and I tried to capture the post ictal state that messes with a sufferer's recovery. The need to sleep, muscle aches, joint pain, confusion, headache, light sensitivity as well as the auras that jar and collide with reality.

Post Ictal: the colours of recovery

A beautiful spot with a rigorous walk to Sleepy Bay, Tasmania lent me this image to hopefully give an idea of life with seizures. It's not this pretty, it's jarring, uncomfortable, disturbing and unkind.

Purple chive

Slightly shifted into more of a purple mode these society chive flowers find themselves, not just on our menu, but onto my edit software for a chance of fame. Fresh from my garden I just couldn't resist these showy little blossoms.

even the king getting into the purple .. almost

This cheeky fellow dropped in for a visit on afternoon and couldn't help posing. With a bit of photo editing he was glammed up for Purple Day.

These curious king parrots are regular visitors and have personality to spare.

sage

Another of my herbaceous garden stars with lots of purple to put on show. A favourite in the kitchen too, let's hear it for Sage!

Buds of Hope

We have to hold onto hope. Hope for more effective treatments options low on drastic side effects, for cures and for continued research breakthroughs

calendula

Another herbaceous garden favourite is calendula with it's soothing properties and festive appeal in salads. shifted into a bit of artistic purple this has to be one of my favourite edited images to date.

Purple in the evening

Last but not least is always the end of the day. Time to put away tools and survey our surroundings. Here I celebrate all the good that's been done and all the promise of tomorrow.

I have a dream ...

Some colours of representation:
purple for Epilepsy/Domestic Violence/ADD awareness
and for Spirit Day for victims of Homophobia
Orange for self harm and also ADHD awareness
white for causes yet named

... a dream of a judgement free place.

It has long been my experience that mental health is an oft mismanaged challenge in the lives of many people, especially our youth. We pin the hopes and dreams of our own old age enjoyments on the successes and joys we hope for and envision our youth to experience and their triumphs are a part of our joy journey and yet we, as a community, seem blind to the stumbling blocks, prejudices, hurts and dramas that play significantly on the life stage of the less advantaged youth even within our own homes.

So many topics ...

So many lost opportunities ...

So many losses ...

I wish to offer a venue of healing, story telling, experience sharing, life's truths and life's disappointments as well as those moments when we can't help but laugh in the dark, sing in the rain, dance like no-one is watching and make our own mark.

This is a place of outreach for anyone who wishes to contribute, share, tell a story, make a mark and learn, not just for their own youth, but for all who find the margins of society not good enough, inclusion a challenge or that distance claims them even in a crowd. I hope these will be their stories

Story telling has long been a teacher, moral template and history creator and the voices of our youth can contribute with vivid colour, vibrant tapestries, woven tales and undeniable truths ...

So why don't we listen and hope that in doing so we can create a place where these sharings are natural and a part of our accepted normal ... whatever that may be.

Some colours of representation:
Depression, Eating Disorders, Bipolar, Tourettes, Sexual assault and harrassment
and so many more I would like to see represented