This is a tricky one to write as I'm currently running on extremely low battery due to a glut of letter writing, emails and meetings. Yes, we're kinda in a calm/low period at the moment as far as the whole housing debacle is concerned, awaiting replies from various legal sources as well as waiting on an MDT meeting and the like in order to find our next move meaning I currently feel like I'm in limbo. My Autistic brain - which is constantly moving and working (which detracts from the whole noisy head thing) has been dragged kicking and screaming to a halt before being pulled backwards, constantly replaying how an organisation could be so completely and so utterly incompetent (or uncaring) as to allow this whole situation to happen and, more importantly, coming to terms with how much it's affected myself and my families health. For myself, the physical effects like the huge flare up in my Psoriasis (documented earlier this year) and the spike in my blood pressure is not...
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House It Going....
Well after almost 2 months of radio silence from housing we got a call today from our 'new' housing officer (seriously and I thought the number of Doctor Who's we currently have was mental) - it seems they want to have a meeting to get 'up to speed' on what's happening with the house. Should be a pretty quick meeting then seeing as the answer is fuck all. And has been fuck all for the past 2 1/2 years. Who knows tho', maybe this time will be different. Nah.
House Soon Is Now?
Well that's us celebrating 6 months since the (then) housing officer turned up at our door and the ball began rolling on our "really urgent" house repair job. To be honest it's actually 6 1/2 years since we reported the repairs and 2 1/2 years since they were meant to actually carry them out but I thought I'd be kind. Anyway, as a sort of tribute to the incredible efficiency, general competence and all round professionalism of Wheatley Homes and their obviously top quality and well trained staff (and for those of you new to this whole sorry saga) here is a timeline of the story of us asking for a leak to be fixed.... Enjoy. Oh and I've cut down on the sarcasm this time around for a change. This statement may not be accurate. Mid 2020 – Report a small leak to our housing officer, he says he isn’t sure if Wheatley can repair it or if we have to pay to get it repaired and claim expenses. He says he will check and get back to us. Beginning 2021 – Toilet...
The Whole Tooth.
The girls had their first appointment with the NHS Learning Disability Health Team last week - the team were fantastic and went out of their way to make them comfortable by the way so kudos to them - and part of the assessment was to put things in place to make doctors/dentists visits etc. easier for - in our case - Autistic (young) adults. Which is great because Amelia has broken a tooth and due to a mix of sensory issues around her mouth coupled with an abject fear of dentists hasn't wanted to go get it sorted. The LD Health Check team took this into account and made a referral thru' our doctor's surgery for her to see a specialist dentist with experience of Autistic/LD patients. A brilliant idea you might think. Us too. Obviously the specialist dental team don't think so as I've just found out that her referral was refused, it seems that she can only see the specialist team if she first registers with a regular dentist and has a probably traumatizing examinat...
Ziggy The Glasgow Canal Cat.
The prince and protector of the Glasgow canals, he was a joy to see (and pet and feed) on our daily walks and the girls absolutely adored him - as did hundreds of others who crossed his path (and sat on his bench) every day. RIP Ziggy.
Autism Replays Itself.
Can't believe that's been 2 years since our (award winning) little film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival so felt it was only right to re-share it for those who hadn't yet seen it (and if not why not?) or wanted to watch it again, suffice to say it would be an understatement to say that this is one of the pieces of work I'm still most proud of. And don't forget that you can actually listen to a version of it on the Radio 4 series Short Cuts too. A film shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses fo...
Radio Daze.
For anyone interested, I was on Radio Scotland this morning talking about Autism and holidays...as in going on one, not that we should have an official day where you all praise us and buy us stuff obviously. As an aside I actually got thanked for my expertise and insight. Check me. By the way you can listen again (for the next 30 days) here .