autism advisor program n.t....look me in the eye—my life with asperger’s by john elder robison...

Information for families who have the DSS funding

under the Helping Children with Autism Package

The following services are located in the Darwin region with some

services travelling to other locations in the NT. You do have the

ability to access HCWA services Australia wide.

OT for Kids NT –

Shannon Hallatt, Occupational Therapist

Contact: [email protected],.au

08 8932 8852

Stepping Stones in Life Therapy Services –

Barbara Kapser, Psychologist

Contact: [email protected]

08 8985 6067 or 0458431030

MD Consulting Speech Pathology and Behaviour ser-

vices – Merryn Dearsden, Speech Therapist


08 8932 8852

Top End Speech Pathology –

Franceska Edis, Speech Pathologist

Contact : [email protected]

0413 492 911

Autism North Speech Pathology –

Caroline Weeks, Speech Pathologist


0432 361 200

Building Bridges Autism Spectrum Service—Claire

Mitchell, ABA Therapy

Contact: [email protected], 0402 438 498

Carpentaria Disability Early Intervention Services—

Contact: [email protected] or 08 8945 4977

Life Journey Psychology—Vicki Ciccarone

(Psychologist)


Katherine Psychology and Wellbeing - Tanya Hollier,

Psychologist (Katherine Based)


Contact your Autism Advisors, Trish Wachtel or Nina Bragg, if you

have any queries or would like further information on 08 8947

4800. We are happy to help!

“This information has been distributed in the interest of informing you about

available products and services related to ASD. This information does not necessarily imply endorsement by AutismSA. We encourage you to research all products and services prior to deciding if they are relevant or suitable to your

individual circumstances”

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE JULY

EDITION OF OUR NEWSLETTER

The month of June started

with Trish travelling to

Melbourne to attend the

Autism Advisor National

Conference and Early Days

training day. It was a good

way to network with other

Autism Advisors and to become informed about what

is happening in disability around the country, and ways

that the workshops we run can reflect this. We also

visited Alice Springs briefly, and interviewed in both

Alice Springs and Darwin for new positions within our

program.

It was Nina’s last month in the Autism Advisor

Program and it was lovely to have quite a few of you at

a lunch for Nina in June. She has written a piece for the

newsletter to thank everyone for their support. Points

of interest for this month:

Minecraft Weekend in August—Alice Springs

(flyer at back)

Social groups running in Katherine this school

holidays

We look forward to this next financial year and to

introducing our new staff members in due course.

Enjoy the Read,

Trish & Nina

AUTISM ADVISOR

PROGRAM N.T. JULY 2015 NEWSLETTER

mailto:[email protected]

Goodbye from Nina

To all the families, service

providers and colleagues that I

have had the pleasure of getting

to know this last two years.

I wanted to thank each and

everyone of you for a wonderful

two years, where I have learnt a

lot, gained a lot of respect for

those who have autism and built

relationships that will last a lifetime.

Autism is something which is close to my heart, and I

am hoping that in the future I can continue working

with these amazing people who offer us such a different

and much appreciated perspective on life. As I branch

off into a new chapter of parenthood, I hope to take

some of my knowledge that I have gained through being

an Autism Advisor and help my children understand and

appreciate that each of us is different and because of

that, each of us is special.

I wish all of you the very best for a fulfilling future and

hopefully one day I will return to the Northern Territory

and touch base with you again.

To end… one of my favourite autism quotes “Autism is

not a word to be feared, it is a child to be loved.”

Take Care, Nina

App Review—Calm Counter

Calm Counter is a visual and audio tool to help people calm down when they are angry or anxious. The app includes a social story about anger, and audio/visual tools for calming down.

The app opens up to a “I need a break screen” that vocalizes “I need a break” when it is tapped. The screen then transitions to a red screen with an angry face and the number ten. With each tap the screen transitions to a calmer face and colour. In this way, the app prompts the user to count backwards from ten followed by a deep breath. The app also includes a simple social story with line drawings about anger. The social story talks about feeling angry and things you can do, like counting to ten, breathing deeply and taking a break, to calm yourself down. The settings screen allows you to choose from male, female or no vocals for counting back from ten and for reading the social story out loud.

Retails for $2.99 in the App Store, designed by Touch Autism.

AUTISM ADVISOR


https://www.facebook.com/pages/

Autism-Advisor-Program-

NT/228263063997798

Like the ‘Autism Advisor Program NT’ on

Facebook to keep up to date with the

latest and greatest in the Autism commu-

nity, as well as any information we have

on upcoming events.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Autism-Advisor-Program-NT/228263063997798



AUTISM ADVISOR


Printables—Common School Visuals Getting Ready for the School Term

Book Review

Look me in the Eye—My Life with Asperger’s

By John Elder Robison

“As sweet and funny and sad and true and heartfelt a memoir as one could find.” —from the foreword by Augusten Burroughs Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” It was not until he was forty that he was

diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way he saw himself—and the world. A born storyteller, Robison has written a moving, darkly funny memoir about a life that has taken him from developing exploding guitars for KISS to building a family of his own. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien yet always deeply human. Amazon Reviews

About the Author John Elder Robison grew up in the 1960s before the Asperger diagnosis came into common use. After dropping out of high school, John worked in the music business where he created sound effects and electronic devices, including the signature illuminated, smoking, and rocket firing guitars he built for KISS. Later John worked on some of the first video games and talking toys at Milton Bradley. After a ten year career in electronics John founded Robison Service, a

specialty automobile company in Massachusetts. Today, in addition to running the car company, John is the Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at the College of William & Mary. He has served as a panel member for the Institute for Autism Research, The Centers for Disease Control, The National Institutes of Mental Health. John is very active in his efforts to support and promote research leading to therapies or treatments that will improve the lives of people who live with autism in all its forms today. John is widely known as an advocate for people with autism and neurological differences.

AUTISM ADVISOR


New Support Group in Katherine and Resource Library for Families!

Do you need help making visuals?

Most children with ASD are visual learners, that is, they more easily understand what they see than what they hear. Supplementing ver-bal communication with visual tools can help with learning new skills, sequencing, organisa-tion and change. We can help you make visu-als appropriate for your child, including 5 Point Scales, Way to A and social stories. Contact the Autism Advisor Program on 08 8947 4800 or [email protected]

ASD Around the Internet: How autism freed me to be myself

“People are so afraid of variety that they try to fit everything into a tiny little box with a specific label,” says 16-year-old Rosie King, who is bold, brash and autistic. She wants to know: Why is everyone so worried about being normal? She sounds a clarion call for every kid, parent, teacher and person to celebrate uniqueness. It’s a soaring testament to the potential of human diversity.

To read more and watch Rosie’s Talk click the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/rosie_king_how_autism_freed_me_to_be_myself TED Talk, September 2014

Craft Corner—Sand PlayDough

Items Needed

* 1 cup of all purpose flour

* 1 cup of fine beach sand

* 1/4 cup of salt

* 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar

* 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

* 1 tablespoon of glycerine

* 3/4 cup of boiling water

* Mixing bowl and wooden spoon

* Shells/objects to put in the sand

Method

* Whisk all the ingredients together, except for the water in a large mixing bowl.

*When all combined, add boiling water and mix well with a wooden spoon.

* When cool enough to do so, dump the dough out onto the counter and give it a good knead.

* Let the dough cool completely (this will get rid of any residual stickiness) and then it is ready to play with! You can make sand castles that stay upright, or make imprints in the sand with the various items you have chosen to play with in the dough.

NOTE: you may want to make a double batch to have extra dough to play with.

AUTISM ADVISOR


PARENT SUPPORT GROUPS

Wednesday 12th August (none in July)

7:30pm –8:30pm – ASD Support

TEACHER SUPPORT GROUPS

Tuesday 4th August (none in July)

7:30-8:30pm

All meetings held at MLA Ken Vowles Office

at Rapid Creek

AUTISM ADVISOR


AUTISM ADVISOR

PROGRAM N.T. JUNE 2015 NEWSLETTER

AUTISM ADVISOR


autism advisor program n.t....look me in the eye—my life with asperger’s by john elder robison...

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