I'm currently training to be a specialist dyslexia teacher with Glyndwr University. It will be another 'string to my bow' (as non-autistic people say). I've noticed that many of the children I support have additional needs such as dyslexia. Having this qualification will enable me to provide further support for them. Hopefully, I'll qualify in summer 2012 but I'm already using my training to teach children with dyslexia and I love to see them making progress.
November 2011: my conference work is taking off now. This month, I gave a presentation on Autism and Employment to a group from CoSPPA. Two weeks later, I spoke about Autism and Anxiety at the Autistic Intelligence Christmas Conference in York. Appearing with Luke Beardon and Olga Bogdashina, I felt very much the novice but my talk was well-received and I had some lovely comments from delegates.
September 2011: Promotion! I am now a member of the External Reference Group for the Autism Education Trust.
Breaking the Barrier: Walking for autism
April 2nd 2010: World Autism Awareness Day. It was also the day I set off on my walk from Dover to Lands End to raise awareness of autism and funds for two charities: Lifeworks SurfAble and the RNLI.
My walk took me along the southern coast of the UK; some of the most spectacular landscape in the country. I reached Lands End on 21st May after 50 days of walking. Wanting to finish the challenge at a lifeboat station, I walked the final mile or so to Sennen Cove and a total distance of 666 miles. You can see a few of my photographs on my Facebook 'Breaking the Barrier' pages. Thank you to everyone who supported me.
Facebook: Breaking the Barrier 2010
Lifeworks SurfAble provides free surfing lessons for children with learning disabilities and their families. The charity is based in Devon but their surfing days also take place in Kent and Bournemouth. You can find out more at www.lifeworks-uk.org
The RNLI is a national charity providing a 24 hour lifesaving service throughout the UK. Their lifeguard service provides safe, supervised beaches for families and a range of community education programmes help to teach children about beach safety www.rnli.org.uk
What do you know about autism?
- Over half a million people in the UK have an autism spectrum disorder.
- Many adults with autism struggle to find and retain jobs even though they want to work.
- Most people with autism want to have friends but don't know how to make or keep friendships.
- Many adults with autism suffer from additional difficulties including anxiety and depression.
- The Autism Act 2009 is the first ever disability-specific law in England.
