Joining Parties with no political agenda!

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Posted on 10th March 2010 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Autism | Local is lekke

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I received a pretty new brochure for the DA with the slogan “BETTER EDUCATION BRIGHTER FUTURE” which made me very excited that a political party cares about Education in South Africa.

DA - BETTER EDUCATION BRIGHTER FUTUREIn reading with great interest:

CREATING A SOCIETY WITH REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

The DA’s vision for South Africa is a society with real opportunities for all. This requires quality education for all our children. Improving education is one of South Africa’s biggest challenges, following 15 years of decline in many schools. The DA pledges that, within 15 years of taking power nationally, all children will emerge from schools able to read, write and calculate at internationally benchmarked levels.

TO DO THIS , THE DA WILL START BY GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT

  • Teachers and officials will be present, punctual and prepared to do their jobs every day.
  • There will be a special emphasis on reading, writing and calculating in every classroom.
  • Principals and officials will be hels accountable for improving results through performance contracts with achievement targets for each school.
  • There will be good text books for each subject in every grade, ready for the start of each year.
  • Children will be tested for literacy and numeracy at the end of grades 3, 6 and 9.
  • At the beginning of each year parents will be informed of the standards their children should reach by the end of the year.
  • There will be support and training for teachers to achieve literacy and numeracy targets, and their administrative load will be reduced.
  • Principals will be offered specialised school management training.
  • Effective discipline will be established in schools.
  • There will be a special focus on attracting, retaining, and rewarding excellent teachers.
  • Options for higher education will be expanded to include vocational and skills training as well as university education.

Wow awesome vision for South Africa Education, however one small thing missing. Where would learners with special educational needs fit into the future of education in South Africa?

Currently funding for the development of additional LSEN (Learners with Special Educational Needs) schools seems to be non existing. Yes I am looking at this in a one sided as example, because I receive the calls from desperate parents with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder looking for schools for their children. Current International Autism prevalence statistics indicate 1:158 ranging on different continents starting range from 1:86.

The current educational structure for autism in South Africa cannot cope with the demand with waiting list of up to 2 years.

Organisation working in the field of Autism function on their own financial ability to provide the best, individualised, quality education with dedicated and passionate staff, working their butts of everyday to change the lives of families.

It is time for Government and political parties to acknowledge that the prevalance of Autism Spectrum Disorder is increasing in epidemic proportion globally. Political parties and Government need to act now, learn for Gordon Brown and Barack Obama in taking ownership of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Looking for information on Autism on the DA website resulted in

In order to be fair I did a search for Autism on all the other political parties website and no information available.

I can only therefore conclude that no political party in South Africa care or prioritise Autism in South Africa. On the 2nd of April 2010 Autism groups & Governments around the world will acknowledge World Autism Awareness Day .

I urge you to start looking at the constitutional rights to education of children with Autism in South Africa.

Putting AUTISM on TOP – Kilimanjaro

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Posted on 28th January 2010 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Uncategorized

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Mt. Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Peak - 5895m

Ok, so why would you want to pay a shit load  of money to go and suffer for six days on a mountain? I don’t think there could be any fundamental reason why anybody would take themselves out of their comfort zone, away from their friends and family if there is no purpose.

I work in the field of Autism and deal with the struggle of creating meaningful awareness around Autism Spectrum Disorder on a daily basis in South Africa. People just don’t know and care about Autism and therefore it’s my duty to inform people about Autism to be able to improve the lives of the children and adults in the care of Autism Western Cape.

So what was the Kilimanjaro trek about? The objective to create meaningful awareness by taking Autism to the highest level of priority through the symbolic climb of the highest freestanding mountain in the world and also highest point on the African continent. Turned out that our trek was the first summit on Kilimanjaro for Autism from the African continent.

Have I ever climbed a mountain? No, am I not a fitness fanatic, no, it hasn’t been my life dream to summit Kilimanjaro. I am just a parent with an Autistic child who cared enough to get off my butt and do something in which I believe and care about.

This was pretty much the same attitude of the rest of the Kili crew of 9 members, consisting of another dad, granddad, couple of friends and Sean Wisedale our tour leader and guide, who is the first person from the African continent to summit the 7 highest peaks on each continent. Our Kili trek turned out to be his 11th summit, so we were in good hands.

Are we there yet, I need a smoke!

So, was it tough? The toughest thing I have ever done in my life. Taking one step at a time whilst not being able to breath, nausea, headaches, stomach burning, extremely cold, wet and limited sleep for 6 days. Thinking why am I doing this to myself spinning in your head pretty much most of the time and listing to the dreaded Pole-Pole (Slowly-Slowly) & “Guys we need to keep on moving”

We stayed in contact via some pretty cute technology, Twitter updating our every moment of the trek with Zoopy. We consistently got updated and also chatted to the families back home. Every encounter was very emotional, but at the same time served to keep us motivated based on the awesome amount of support, messages and comments.

The thought of “that’s enough I’m turning back” popped more and more as we went up in altitude, however the constant reminder of why we are doing it superseded all the other stuff. We had to summit, not negotiable. Summit night was the most difficult part with starting to walk to Stella Point (rim of the volcano, yes Kilimanjaro is a non-active volcano) at 11 at night only to reach Stella by 7 the next morning. Frozen water bottles, storm wind, Altitude sickness (Vomiting, extreme headaches, burning tummy, extreme difficulty in breathing etc.) could not stop this group of zombies to get to Uhuru Peak – 5895 m. I don’t know how I got from Stella to Uhuru peak, about a kilometre; I am told I walked like after a bottle of Captain Morgan.

The next I know I saw this sigh, which said, “Uhuru Peak – 5895 m, you are now on top of Africa”. It meant nothing to me at this stage; all I wanted to do is to get off this bloody mountain. It’s was only when I took the small frozen watertight bag out of my backpack, to open the different flags, that’s when I realised what we have done.

We have Put AUTISM on TOP – Kilimanjaro

So what’s next for Jail4Bail in 2010 in contributing to Autism in South Africa by creating meaningful awarness  around Autism Spectrum Disorder?



In planning watch this space heheheh!!

SA Government discriminate against Autism

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Posted on 20th April 2009 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Real stories about real families with Autism | Uncategorized

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I cannot sit day in and day out listening to all the bullshit  from Political Parties and Government alike. It’s time to take a stand against the discrimination against Individuals with Autism in South Africa.

More children will be diagnosed with Autism this year than with Diabetes, Cancer and AIDS combined. Current world ASD population is estimated at 67 Million people, with South Africa estimated at about 600 000  Individuals with Autism.

The Jonas Brothers supports Autism in America:

How can the South African Government ignore the epidemic?

For the last 7 years we have been playing by the rules and regulations of the Departments of Health, Social Development and Education, with very little impact. The Department of Health has negated on their commitment to take care of adults with Autism in South Africa against the grain of what the Department of Health stands  for:

In order to improve the quality of health care for everyone in the Western Cape, the Department of Health has committed itself to a long-term strategic plan called Healthcare 2010. This plan aims to reshape public health services in the Western Cape to focus on primary-level services, community-based care and preventative care.

Mission

Our mission is to improve the health of people in the Western Cape and beyond, by ensuring the provision of a balanced health care system, in partnership with stakeholders, within the context of optimal socio-economic development.

Vision

“Equal access to quality care”

The Department remains committed to the vision of providing better health care to communities. The vision of Healthcare 2010, “Equal access to quality care”, has become increasingly significant and consideration is being given to making this the vision statement of the Department as a whole. This vision statement is more consistent with the Departments central goals of accessibility, appropriateness, affordability, equity, effectiveness and efficiency.

One of our projects, named Hurdy Gurdy House has been in existence since 2001, providing a 24/7/365 home for 10 individuals on the Autism Spectrum presenting challenging and aggressive behaviour. The residents cannot be accommodated in any other environment due to the nature of thier difficulties, previously from Alexandra Hospital Psychiatric unit. The residents were moved based on the Dept. Heath’s 2010 Hospital Care plan which dictates the reduction of beds in Government psychiatric hospitals and quality of service provision which is too disgusting to even mention.

3 Years we have submitted funding applications to the Dept. Health Western Cape for financial assistance for the residential care project with very limited or no communication.  The lastest application was submitted in Febraury 2009 based on the prescribed procedure.

We submitted reams of paper conforming under the exact format, proving that we need funding to sustain the HGH project or alternatively face the closure of the project as  soon as the end of May 2009. We have been following up as a matter of urgency with no joy. Telephonic communication with 7 individual representatives passing the buck resulted in discussion with a lady by the name of Carol Dean & Pat Collis, both requested to put it forward as matter of urgency via e-mail 8  April 2009.

Dear Carol,

Thank you for taking the time for our telephonic discussion. As discussed for the last 2 years we’ve had various discussions regarding funding for Autism Western Cape. Various site visits including Mrs. Marinda Roelofse and Mr Titus and correspondence with Mrs. Pat Collis resulted into our latest application being declined.

The reality is simple, if we do not get funding from your Department we will be forced close Hurdy Gurdy House, currently under the management of Autism Western Cape. We are currently providing 24 hours residential care to 10 residents who cannot be reintegrated to any Government Psychiatric Service based on the Hospital Care Plan 2010.

The project has been running since 2001 and we cannot sustain the existence of the project on our own and parent resources in a very challenging economic environment. Parents are currently contributing R 5000 per month and we cannot increase any fees.

Should we have to close the project your Department will have to take responsibility for the said residents based on the fact that the residents present challenging and aggressive behaviour and CANNOT be incorporated into any other service.

This is a very serious matter, without at least R 300 000 financial support, we will have no choice but to close down the said project by the end of May 2009.

We are currently doing everything in our ability to ensure the existence of the project; however we will not be able to do it with immediate intervention from your Department.

With NO response I attempted  again on the 14th April 2009 to establish dialogue:

Dear Carol,

Since my previous mail I have received no correspondence, response or acknowledgement for any of the recipients included in my e-mail dated 8 April 2009.

I have furthermore not received any formal response regarding the application submitted to the Department of Health re funding for Hurdy Gurdy House.

Please advise.

Today I received the formal reply for Pat Collis:

The Metro District Health Services are unable to fund Hurdy Gurdy in this financial year. It is with regret that we are unable to do so. Regards Pat Collis. Should you wish to email me Pcollis@pgwc.gov.za. A formal letter of regret will be sent to your organization.

Sorry not good enough, if you do not have funding available is because you are not competent in your position, because you did not apply to national treasury for budget and how do you justify underspending in your department?

Please tell me what more do I have to do to get the Western Cape Department of Health to take responsibility for the most vulnerable of society?

I have committed to do whatever it takes to make a difference to Autism in South Africa, sitting 74 days in  “Jail Cell” :

Jail4Bail

Jail4Bail

In November 2009 we will be “Putting AUTISM to the TOP – Kilimanjaro”

Putting AUTISM on TOP - Kilimanjaro

Putting AUTISM on TOP - Kilimanjaro

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO GET THE GOVERNMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA TO TAKE AUTISM SERIOUSLY?


World Autism Awareness Day, 2 April 2009

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Posted on 2nd April 2009 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Autism | Real stories about real families with Autism

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Official WAAD Logo

The 2nd April 2009 marks World Autism Awareness Day, an unprecedented global effort to heighten awareness about a disorder affecting about 67 Million families globally.  Whilst we celebrate the rights and acknowledge people with Autism today, Governments support for people with Autism is extremely disappointing. International leaders have shown the public commitment to change the world of Autism, however in South Africa, Government continues to discriminate against  the rights for people with Autism.

More children will be diagnosed with Autism this year than with Diabetes, Cancer and AIDS combined. our aim is to create meaningful awareness and raise the necessary funding to provide services to children and adults with Autism that so desperately require our help and support.

So where did it start?

Are we missing the point of World Autism Day? Big hype with no action means nothing.

The South African Government up to date has not acknowledged WAAD in any way. Individual private organisations for profit jump at the opportunity to claim that they recover, even state that they cure Autism. These organisations usually target families of  newly diagnosed, vulnerable families making false promises of recovery to improve their bottom line.

Please understand with appropriate intervention in a multi-disciplinary team dynamic, consisting of a toolbox of acknowledged  therapies and interventions, most children’s developmental ability will improve significantly,however there is no cure for Autism.

It leaves me with the burning question?  How to participate in World Autism Awareness Day 2 April 2009? What would you do to make a meaningful difference?

Putting AUTISM on TOP -

Putting AUTISM on TOP

I am committed to make a difference to Autism in South Africa and will do whatever it takes to achieve this. Today we launch our next project “Putting Autism on Top” – Climbing Kilimanjaro to raise meaningful awareness and raise R1 Million for Autism.

1. To summit Mount Kilimanjaro (Uhuru Peak - the highest point in Africa (5895m)

Mount Kilimanjaro (Uhuru Peak – the highest point in Africa (5895m)

Please follow our progress and support our group of 10 volunteers, under the tour leader Sean Wisedale as we start the build-up and  step-by-step to achieve our objective to “Putting AUTISM on TOP” .

Follow us on Twitter, Zoopy, Autism Western Cape, My blog, Facebook,

AUTISM – A PART OF OUR WORLD, NOT A WORLD APART.

“More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with diabetes, cancer, & AIDS combined” World Autism Awerness Day

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Posted on 26th February 2009 by Gerhard Pieterse aka jail4bail in Autism | Real stories about real families with Autism | Uncategorized

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Autism is taking over the world in April 2009.

WAAD (World Autism Awareness Day) was proclaimed 2nd April annually, which started in 2008.

The Autism World had this to say:

So what has happened since WAAD 2008 Internationally?

Autism became a political ball game internationally. US elect Barack Obama took action , the Government in the UK took action, and one have to ask why? Would it be to gain votes or is it because reality has set in that Autism Spectrum Disorder is currently affecting 67 Million world wide?

What did parents have to say?

Jeanette ODonnell mother of 6 children of which 5 on the Autism Spectrum said:

We will see families struggling for services and education. We will see Jenny McCarthy, yet again, telling us about her knowledge about Autism and “curing”, “recovering”, “almost curing” her son….maybe she will make up her mind this time. She will go head-to-head with prominent doctors about vaccines and Autism…now that will be worth watching.
We will see Larry King massacre the pronunciation of Autism…
We will see families with multiple children saying how difficult their lives are by having so many children with Autism. We will see meltdowns and temper tantrums. We will see tears flowing from the faces of parent’s who envisioned a better future for their children.

What we won’t see is children and adults with Autism actually thriving in our communities. You won’t see that there are children getting better and thriving every day. You won’t see promotions for amazing programs out there that are seeing results from Sensory Integration Therapies and Play Therapies.
You won’t see children with Autism who can go to school, sit quietly and respectfully in a classroom, because they have been inclusioned since 5 years old. You won’t see parent’s who have worked hard with their children and not allowed inappropriate behaviors in public….

Instead, we are going to be subjected to the “gloom and doom” bias of Autism. The Autism that requires a parent to slap a tee shirt on their child and blame their Autism for their behaviors. It is much easier not to parent that way. We are going to get to see mothers and fathers crying about the child they were supposed to have, instead of the glory of the child who is sitting right in front of them.

I think I will celebrate WORLD AUTISM DAY in our home. I will remind my children to be on their best behaviors today…because the WORLD is watching them. I will let them know they are the most wonderful, amazing children in the WORLD and I am so very proud to be their Mother.

Are we missing the point of World Autism Day? Big hype with no action means nothing.

The South African Government up to date has not acknowledged WAAD in any way. Individual private organisations for profit jumps at the opportunity to claim that they recover even state that they cure Autism. These organisations usually target families of  newly diagnosed vulnerable families making false promises of recovery to improve their bottom line.

Please understand with appropriate intervention in an multi-disciplinary team dynamic, consisting of a toolbox of acknowledged  therapies and interventions most children’s developmental ability will improve significantly .

It leaves me with the burning question?  How to participate in World Autism Awareness Day 2 April 2009? What would you do to make a meaningful difference?

South Africa rural reality