Michael Buckholtz hunger strike updates

Michael Buckholtz is on day 29 of his hunger strike for autism.

Read all about it here and in this post.

Not for himself, but for families and individuals who need money to get a proper diagnosis and who have no access to treatment otherwise.

Girls and women, and people from the lower social-economic classes are underdiagnosed.
Girls with autism are often withdrawn or overcompensate their autism, children and adults with autism from the lower social-economic classes are often told they suffer from bad upbringing.
Because there's no proper diagnosis they don't receive treatment.

A lot needs to be done and your help is needed.

The public needs to be informed, not only about the characteristics of autism, but also about ways to find a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Your help is needed.

• To spread the word about this strike (see here for info and banners,) on your blog, on twitter and other social media
• To inform papers, radiostations, shows and TV-stations about the strike
• To motivate others to help
• To donate, even when it's one or a few dollars: here
• To buy his book. See here.
  

I know, it's awful to say, but most people don't care, because their children are healthy and do well at schools and everywhere else.
But many children are unhappy, because they're told every day they should behave better, but they can't.
Autism is a neuro-biological disorder that presents itself in all sorts of ways. In social behaviour, in communication, in understanding the world.
When we diagnose children early we can help them to understand the world better and find a place in it so they can be happy.

Help Michael reach the media so a larger audience will hear his appeal.

Please.









News:
He'll accompany John Elder Robison on some of his lectures in New York
RadioBlogRadio will feature Michael on june 17 on a special radio broadcast



Finally more people on twitter react.

autism and a job

Whereas the American and English media spend a lot of attention on autism awarenss month, the attention in the Dutch media was short lived. At the end of the month the Mexican Flu completely pushed the whole subject aside.

Thanks to the enormous amount of tweets and blogposts, mainly in the english language, we got a lot of questions during autism awareness month.
It can be seen that basic knowledge is more available to a broader public, because we got a large diversity of questions.

One cluster of questions was about autism at work and autism among grown-ups.

We use the word "autism", but in fact we mean the light forms of autism spectrum disorders we can find among people who are participating in the workforce. Most of them are not diagnosed.

Because knowledge about the characteristics of autism has become wider available, people with an autism spectrum disorder or autistiform behaviour are spotted more easily.

During email and other conversations irritations about having to instruct certain people over and over again, changed into the wish to assist the employee and to describe the task adjusted to the person.

Irritation changed into self-relfection and adjustments.

We gave advices which were completely focussed on individual circumstances, but a few general guidelines can be given. (You'll recognise them from those used in schools.)

• Use clear language. (Many autists take language literally)
• Use pictures, schemes, etc.
• Split complex tasks into simple ones
• Describe the final product.
• Provide clear time-schedules
• Provide time for exercise. (A well exercised skill is never lost and the investment will be earned back.)
• Ask your employee whether he's found his own way of dealing with the task. Different is not always worse.
• It should be clear when initiative is expected and to whom the employee should turn to.
• Some people night a fixed routine. They need time to adjust to breaks, to working again after a vacation.
• Not all people are able to recognize faces. Uniforms can prevent recognition of fellow employees. (Use a visible and readable badge)
• Write down appointments and other information.
• Maybe the employee needs some extra attention during breaks.
• Stay positive. That's best for everyone.
  

Autism: The Wall That Knows No Limits

Documentaries about autism.

autism in 78 seconds

There is not one description of autism.

Each individual is unique.

Some children lose themselves completely in turning a wheel, others can't initiate play and need guidance to learn how to play.

For a parent the world changes when an autistic child is born.

Parnets want to show this in a little movie.