Sunday 28 May 2017

Post #108 - A Look Back To Autumn 2008 - Pre My Return To Work Following Maternity Leave

I used to pen regular articles for my local NCT quarterly newsletter back in the days when Ted was a baby. Whilst clearing out the house I have found quite a few and hope to reproduce some of them. This particular feature, written in circa July/August 2008 discusses my forthcoming return to work following a period of paid and unpaid Maternity Leave.


In retrospect, it was a bit of a curate's egg - some good, some bad. I got promoted from Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer in December 2008 anyway, so that's something I guess?

Sunday 21 May 2017

Post #107 - L.I.F.E. G.O.E.S. O.N.

It certainly does. I quite like the fact that I've finally made the executive decision to eschew groups in future, well, apart from a bi-monthly meeting of autistic adults, which I'll attend for the first time this coming Wednesday. Hopefully that will prove interesting.

In other (geek) news, I've just bought myself and Master Logic some of the Uniqlo Nintendo t-shirt collection (as shown below)


They are absolutely brilliant - so vibrant and best of all, geektastic.

Saturday 6 May 2017

Post #106 - Some People Ain't Got No Sense Of Humour (sic)

Tonight heralded my final concert performance with my (now) former choir. Why? Well, as regular readers of this blog will know, group activities are almost impossible for me to involve myself with and it came to a bit of a head. Sometimes, to prove a point, I'll push a situation to see what, if anything, breaks.

We have been rehearsing a series of songs for months now. I'm continually struggling with singing alto (I'm a soprano) because the harmony line always sounds flat to me, altos never get the tune and well ... the vocal, ahem, quality of the choir could be so much better.

Anyway, the choir has a WhatsApp group to ping messages at one another.  Being a predominantly female group, after the performance there were the usual sycophantic crappy messages on there "Ooh, the choir sounded amazing ladies ..." I thought that, to cut through the cloying platitudes, I'd attempt to inject some humour into proceedings, by suggesting that a prominent member of the choir had been elected Head Chorister ... but it went down like a cup of cold sick with messages such as 'you're cruel and that's not funny' directed at me. I then left the WhatsApp group and indeed, the choir ... That'll save me the princely sum of £7 per week.


I have now recycled my musical scores.


Friday 5 May 2017

Post #105 - The 11 Plus Examination/Selection Tests

My son is in primary year 5 and therefore this is the time in which we decide whether to enter him for the 11 plus examination/borough selection tests.  Yes, you did read correctly, my local authority is one of the precious few which decides, at the tender age of ten or eleven, whether your child is a success or indeed a failure.  I grew up in this borough and me, along with my two brothers all failed the selection test; my mother, in her infinite wisdom, passed hers in the 1960s and attended "A Very Good School"  During the mid 1980s, it was generally thought that I'd pass and I forced my mother to contact the local authority to query the result, but to no avail.

Whoopie shit - only about four children out of a class of thirty actually 'pass' anyway and, I'll wager that their parents have been paying out for personal coaching for months beforehand?  The rest, don't and are scattered to the various 'non-selective' educational establishments.  My son's school has recently become an Academy and has been forging links with all of the Grammar Schools in the vicinity, as part of the increasing need to raise the standard of attainment in the school.

Once we are aware of the result of Ted's Educational Health and Care Plan we can make a decision from there; if it's a 'no' then we'll appeal the decision.  Bob attended Ted's class assembly this morning and the latter couldn't keep still, look anyone in the eye or keep his hands away from his crotch.  His disability becomes more apparent as the years progress.


Monday 1 May 2017

Post #104 - You've Gotta Fight For (Aspie) Rights

People who know me in real life may perceive me to be 'difficult' and yeah, post forty, post Autism diagnosis and post redundancy I blooming well can be. I just want to fight for aspie rights as it's a rotten life otherwise. Why should aspies/auties etc be forced into a life of isolation because of the actions of certain people.  I do turn to Twitter quite a bit because it seems to make a difference and there's a whole communitity of autists on there.  Together we can make a difference.

My latest cause celebre is my son's experience of his local cub scout pack. He was feeling unhappy, ignored and isolated, so we removed him. My husband had been helping out at the pack for a while, so knew what was going on and the situation was only getting worse.

Grrr!

*Update*

My Tweets caused a few things to happen and, although there's no real prospect of my son returning to the same Cub Pack, it's noted that there's a real issue in gathering enough volunteers to help out.  I totally understand that's why Mr C was coming along to the sessions.