Really proud to have helped work on this - phase 2 of the Different Minds One Scotland campaign launches today (think a - more -  Autistic MCU) with the publication of Autism And The Social Rulebook . Enjoy.    

  What scientists should, or shouldn’t, research is usually poured over in funding boards and ethics committees. But the future of autism research is now commonly argued over on social media - as the autistic community speaks up about the type of research carried out, and the language used

In a brilliant case of 'can I copy your homework?' it's great to see that Douglas Hutchinson (Executive Director of Education) has found a use for the old 'presumption of mainstream' policy from a few years back as it appears that Glasgow's home to school ASL transport is now gonna run on a 'presumption of independent travel' ticket or failing that 'pay' parents to take their kids instead (or something) but let's be honest ASL provision isn't that important is it?  Saying that tho' it'd be interesting to see the consultation process. If only to see how many times you can disguise not caring/understanding ASL with "Let's cut these budgets as we really don't care". Anyway here's the letter in full:  OK peeps, you know what to do.

Sorry for the lack of updates, been busy with the yearly Glasgow Frightfest poster art....and you can find the rest plus the guest portraits (if you're interested) here .   

Popped along to the special Autism friendly morning at Kelvin Hall (in Glasgow, natch) at the start of the month so thought I'd pop a wee review together seeing as this was originally what this blog was for....pre-random rants obviously. I was joined on my day out by the twin engines of destruction Amelia and Embeth who, being ultra-cool 18 year olds, skipped the Soft Play and Climbing sessions and headed straight to The National Library of Scotland for an hour or two of interactive history and - in Embeth's case - some chair (and character) based arts fun. The first thing I noticed upon entering was that the staff actually seem aware that the session was going on and were really happy and enthusiastic to answer my questions which is always a good sign so with my arms full of info and leaflets we headed down to the library hub to see what was on offer. The library itself was a lovely subdued environment (as libraries should be) and the staff were (again) really helpful - aski...

  Autitude issue 21 is available to download now !  End of plug!

A nice post for  a change (and a post focusing on the reason I started this blog in the first place so long ago!) Kelvinhall (in Glasgow) are hosting a Quiet session this coming Saturday with further sessions planned on the following dates: Saturday 4 March Saturday 3 June Saturday 2 September Saturday 2 December       Glasgow Life Museums  Join Glasgow Life Museums for a special Autism friendly morning at Kelvin Hall. Discover some of the fascinating objects in our handling kits and learn about their history, or find out about some of the weird and wonderful chairs we have in our collection and have a go at making your own chair to take away.  Activity Sessions 10am – 12pm  Drop in, free.  Play n’ Climb  Our Soft Play and Climbing sessions will run with reduced capacity, and no music or  flashing lights.  These sessions will be paid as normal. Softplay Sessions: 11.15am & 13.30pm  Clip n’ Climb Sessions: 12pm & ...