The funnier side of child with Autism

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Posted on 26th December 2008 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Autism | Real stories about real families with Autism

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It is most likely that you reading my blog because Autism affects you in your family or you want to learn a little bit about a subject that keeps on popping up wherever you go .

Welcome to the club, my daughter Kendall was diagnosed with  severe ASD kendall-happy-monster at the age 3 years old. Kendall now 12 has very limited verbal communication skills however we understand her “code language” very well.  Kendall also presents some bizarre, challenging behavior which makes life interesting most of the time,  some days more than others.

Very recently in my daily routine fetching Kendall from School we stopped at the convenience store to pick up a couple of things.  I prepared Kendall at school that we are going to “Stop at the shop, to buy milk and bread” to reduce the amount of anxiety associated with change in routine.  Daddy and Kendall walk into the shop hand-in-hand too cute until Kendall decided she wants  “tweeties”.

Lesson: “We cannot always get Tweeties when we want to”, nothing different to any parenting recipe book.

I thought tantrum here we go, with a queue of about 10 shoppers behind us.  Kendall decided to show her disagreement in a different way. Legs spread shoulder width, she let out the loudest fart, which will make any man blush, about 4 on the Richter Scale.  Firm, but polite I asked her if she’s finished. I quickly paid for the milk & bread with my face color matching her red T-shirt, whilst listing to the comments behind me.

Receiving my change, with the most vile smell I could imagine, whilst a 2 meter clearing radius allowed us easy exit, out of this smelly situation.  You can’t unscramble, scrambled eggs so avoiding any eye contact, we made our great escape, without farting around.  I will visit the convenience store again in the future, just not sure when.

I tried to convince myself I am a good parent, being consistent dealing with different behavior and making the best of a shitty situation, without reaction.

People comment “You very special parents to be blessed ith a child with Autism”, Autism a blessing?

Autism becomes a life style, like don’t like it but deal with it, how many choices do you have? Ask  about 300 000 families in South Africa. Autism Spectrum Disorder prevalence 1:150, with 4 boys to 1 girl.

Autism -Part of our world, not a world apart.

My Christmas gift

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Posted on 21st December 2008 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Real stories about real families with Autism

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OK, so we spammed with commercials luring us to spend our hard earned cash, or credit cards in buying the perfect gift for our loved ones and especially the children. The magic of seeing children’s faces lighting up in anticipation of whats hiding behind the sexy wrapping is priceless, or is it?

Christmas makes me sad. Kendall my 12 year old Autistic daughter don’t share the normal anticipation of gifts. I have seen it too many times when family buying expensive gifts for children like Kendall and get offended by their reaction to the goodwill.

I want to tell a story and hope that we all can learn from it. The names have been changed.

Every year the Adams family get together for Christmas with the same routine. Jimmy’s house on Christmas morning for everybody to open their gifts together and then lunch at Tony’s.

Christmas morning, everybody gathers with the technicolor mache of gifts in all shapes and sizes. All the children have their turn to sit in the special chair to receive and open their gifts. The next door neighbours even got excited by the children’s happiness.

Little Julie (Jimmy’s daughter) is Autistic. She is very interested in the wrapping paper folding it and tearing it, whilst the other children open their gifts.

Then it was Julies turn in the hot spot. Her mom persuaded her to sit in the special chair and handed her the first gift, which she opened. Pretty doll got tossed, however she loved and appreciated the shiny wrapping paper.

Next aunty Jenny’s gift, with an action replay effect which carried on until the rest of the children grabbed some cool toys from the pile of gifts next to her.

Julies baby brother (Jamie) handed her the last gift. Jamie only 6 years old, handed Julie a partially covered shoe box too cute. Everybody wanted to see what he got for his sister. Julie opened with her face of a happy angel. Julie non-verbal jumped up and ran to her bedroom.

Nobody has ever seen Julie so excited. Jamie knew his sister the best. He knew what what was important to her and gave her exactly what she wanted, no expensive gifts, no pretty clothes.

Never have you seen anybody so excited about a shoebox full of newspapers strips.

Lesson: Do we know what makes other people happy or are we guessing?

Blogger virginity lost in 2008

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Posted on 15th December 2008 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Blogger virginity lost in 2008

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“There is nothing magical about change, it is getting up of your ass and caring enough to take the first step to contribute to change on an issue you care about.” – Jody Williams – Nobel Prize Winner – 1997.

I cared enough about children, adults and their families affected by ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to sacrifice 74 days of 2008 in a project called Jail4Bail. The primary objective to create meaningful awareness and secondary to raise much needed funds for Autism Western Cape. My life motto is simple ” Imagine what I would do, if I could do, all I can” – Prince

The 16th December we celebrate Reconciliation Day in South Africa and also Twitter Autism Day so you will be spammed again by #ASD, #Autism & #Autism Spectrum Disorder,  sorry for that however Autism – A part of our world, not a world apart.

Funny I feel  intimidated writing my first blog.

TOP 10 need to knows:

  1. Cafnic (Caffiene & Nicotine) addict,
  2. Dyslexic,
  3. Insomiac (Sleep is for people who has nothing else to do).
  4. 3 puppies (Jamie 2, Kendall 12,  Lee 18)
  5. Border Collie (Dickens)
  6. Obsessed with music (167 gig)
  7. Nick name: Big G (2 Meter,125 kg)
  8. Love beer, more please.
  9. 20 year old trapped in a 30 something body.
  10. Have a Tat, planning to add.

Bio on Facebook .

Ok, very proud for what I have done with my first blog post, after 2 cups of Americano at Vida e Cafe training on Wordpress.

What is Autism?

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Posted on 1st December 2008 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Autism

Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old. Autism affects 1 in 86 South African children and has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

Autism affects a persons ability to communicate and interact socially. It also results in unusual and often demanding behaviour. Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder typically cope very poorly with change and require structure and environments that are constant.

There is no cure for autism. Children recover occasionally, sometimes after intensive treatment and sometimes not; it is not known how often this happens. Most children with autism lack social support, meaningful relationships, future employment opportunities or self-determination.