This Week in Autism Community

S U N D A Y

2 6 J U N E

2 0 1 1

I S S U E 1 2

Steve Drakoulis

Coordinator

Autism Community Network

autismcommunity@yahoo.com

www.autismcommunity@yahoo.com.au

0431 724 229

My role as Key Local Facilitator for the St. George area with the Positive Partnerships program will be coming to a close at this end of this month. At this

time the KLF is usually preparing to move on, but as you are also a part of the Autism Community net-

work, you are welcome to continue to receive all the benefits of our growing support group. I will be

sending out an email to all the St. George partici-pants shortly.

We held the first lawn Bowls day this week and I can say that it was a resounding success. I like a sport

where I don’t have to build up a sweat and my kids can’t disappear.

More about the day inside this issue.

Steve

Monday 27 June PENSHURST

Friday 1 July PEAKHURST

Saturday 2 July DEE WHY—BOWLING

Sunday 3 July BELMORE

Sunday 3 July TERREY HILLS

THIS

WEEK IN

As I receive new information I post it onto my website so that parents in our support network (and in the wider community) may benefit from it. Some of the entries below refer to updates while others may be completely new pages I create as result of valuable info supplied by others or ideas brought forward by parents in our network.

DONATIONS

NEW!!

PARENTS FORUM / MATT’S Q & A

Updated

PARENTS FORUM / DRIVER’S LICENCE

Updated

PARENTS FORUM / ASPERGER’S vs ADD

NEW!!!

SERVICES / SORTS & REC / SWIMMING

Updated

SERVICES / PARKS

Updated

SERVICES / DOGS

NEW !!!

SERVICES / EVENTS / JUNE

Updated

SERVICES / DRIVING

NEW !!!

SERVICES / MEDIA

Updated—A IS FOR AUTISM

SERVICES / MEDICAL / PSYCHOLOGISTS

Updated

SERVICES / USEFUL IDEAS

Updated

STEVE’S BLOG

Updated

Education Tax Refund

The Australian Government is help-ing you with the costs of educating your kids. The Education Tax Refund provides up to 50% back on a range of children's education expenses like

Laptops, printers, software and home internet con-nections. For the 2010-11 tax year refunds may be as much as $397 for every child at primary school, and up to $794 for every child at secondary school. The amount of the refund increases each year by the Consumer Price Index. please visit http://www.educationtaxrefund.gov.au

I think I'm one of the parents mentioned with a child who has given blood to eliminate other issues.

A word of warning, to avoid repetition of what could

have been quite traumatic, I asked for blood letting to be done at the one session...

There were 11 bottles taken with 3-8 ml in each ie. a total of 42ml!

I was referred to a particular phlebotomist at Mona Va-le Hospital (P.A.L.M.S) laboratory services and made the appointment ensuring he was on duty when I took

my son. Sure enough he was great (and so was my son.. he

got to operate the 'spaceman's' chair up and down and kept his arm completely still as blood raced as quickly as a 'roller coaster' around the very fine gauge tube at

the end of the "butterfly" needle So, should others in the Northern Beaches need to

use him, 'David' works Mon -Fri and you can arrange a time to take children through ringing MV Hospital

switchboard 9998 0333 and ask for PALMS laboratory. Judy

There was an interview with Tony Att-wood on ABC Radio recently, it’s really good. For those who don’t know him, he is a major figure in the Aspergers world as a speaker, author and re-searcher. Just use the link below to listen to it. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/06/17/3246425.htm

For more information, contact: TRAINING AND BEHAVIOUR INTERVENTION SERVICES

B2, 11 Hudson Ave CASTLE HILL Ph: 1300 668 123 www.interactiondisability.com

GETTING A DRIVER’S

LICENCE

Specialised driving program

for people with Aspergers

Last year, Sydney University ran a program for peo-

ple with Aspergers to learn to drive.

Click on link below to see article. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2857542.htm?

The Aspect 9th Annual Comedy Night On Wednesday 31st August Comedy Night will return to the Four Seasons, Sydney with a fantastic line up of comedy, fine food and wine. Roy & HG will introduce a star studded line up of comedians which in the past has included the likes of Fiona O'Loughlin, Kitty Flanagan, Mikey Robins, Simon Palo-mares, Subby Valentine, Jeff Green & Tommy Dean. A corporate table package costs $2,000 for a table of ten. The perfect way to entertain clients, reward staff or build relationships with suppliers. The price includes a two course meal, coffee, petit fours, beer, wine, and soft drinks as well as acknowledgement by the MCs on the night, table signage and a thank you on our website. Buy your corporate table online today or call us on 02 8977 8370 to find out more. Standard tickets cost $130 per person or $1,300 for a table of ten (which includes a two course meal, wine, beer and soft drinks, coffee & petit fours). You can buy online today or call us on 02 8977 8370 to book your spot over the phone or find out more.

In the last 7 days I have put out to our network requests for help from 2 parents with vastly different issues—one dealing with the intricacies of getting a diver’s license, the other about conflicting advice from professionals over a diagnosis. The amount of responses each of these re-ceived just blew me away. I can tell you that this is one of my favourite things about the Autism Community net-work, the way we all get in there to support each other. Thank you everyone, we have helped to make some of the lives of other parents and their autism kids just a little bit easier. If you have an issue that you think you could benefit from receiving feedback from other members of our communi-ty, please send it to me. Steve

I listened back to an interview I did on radio in February, (see Media section on website) and I said at the time that we

had 90 families in our network. Today we

have 151. That’s not including all the teachers and other professionals that are

part of our support network.

I thought I might continue from time to time to show you what parents are look-

ing at on our website.

Below are the top 10 pages being visited at the moment.

1.PARENTS FORUM

2.SUPPORT GROUPS

3.STEVE’S BLOG

4.Q&A WITH MATT

5.AUTISM AWARENESS CARD

6.SPEECH THERAPY

7.USEFUL LINKS

8.JUNE 2011

9.PSYCHOLOGISTS

10.USEFUL IDEAS

EVENTS FOR FULL DETAILS OF THESE EVENTS PLEASE SEE RELEVANT MONTHS UNDER EVENTS ON WEBSITE

eg. SERVICES / EVENTS / MAY

TUESDAY 30 AUGUST FATHER’S / GRANDFATHERS EVENING

CAMPBELLTOWN CATHOLIC CLUB

TUESDAY 14 AUGUST FATHER’S / GRANDFATHERS EVENING

CLUB BURWOOD

WEDNESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER PARENTS’ & GRANDPARENTS’ EVENING

RYDE EASTWOOD LEAGUES CLUB

WEDNESDAY 29 JUNE PAMPERING & INFORMATION DAY

ST.GEORGE LEAGUES CLUB

WEDNESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER PAMPERING & INFORMATION DAY

NORTH SHORE

28, 29 30 JUNE & 1 JULY LET’S GET STARTED.

GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL AND LIFE BELROSE, KINGSFORD, SOUTH HURSTVILLE

TUESDAY 26 JULY Free Positive Parenting Program (Triple P)

NORTH SYDNEY COMMUNITY CENTRE

WEDNESDAY 29 JUNE Job Agency Expo for Students with Intellectual

Disability (incl Autism, Aspergers)

NORTHERN BEACHES SECONDARY COLLEGE

WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST Aspect’s 9th Annual Comedy Night

Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

MONDAY 4th JULY SCHOOL HOLIDAYS PROGRAM

HORNSBY / KUTING-GAI AREAS

THURSDAY 28 JULY FILM PREMIERE: What Are You Doing?

PALACE CINEMA, LEICHHARDT

4 — 18 JULY CSIRO HOLIDAY SCIENCE

VARIOUS LOCATIONS Www.csiro.au/nsw-holidays

TUESDAY 9 AUGUST POST SCHOOL OPTIONS EXPO

PENRITH

WEDNESDAY 27 JULY POST SCHOOL OPTIONS EXPO

NORTHMEAD

TUESDAY 23 AUGUST POST SCHOOL OPTIONS EXPO

MT.DRUITT

THURSDAY 28 JULY DONNA WILLIAMS

LIVERPOOL

I received this promotion for a new autism aware-

ness documentary. Please see below if interested.

What are you doing?

Film Premiere

Thursday 28 July 2011 @ 7pm

Palace Cinema

Norton Street, Leichhardt

We are thrilled to announce the premiere of

‘What are you doing?’, our short documentary

film aimed at teaching school aged children about

acceptance and understanding of their peers with

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Written by ‘Another Country’ author Michael

Whelan and narrated by television personality

Tom Gleisner, the film includes enlightening in-

terviews with the brothers, sisters, cousins and

friends of children on the spectrum.

Purchase your tickets to attend our fundraising

film premiere next month in Sydney, and be the

first to see this exceptional film!

See trailer at

http://www.whatareyoudoingfilm.com/

This week, Matt has answered these ques-tions from you:

Do you tell people you meet that you are an Aspie or do you feel they would judge

you through ignorance?

Have you ever felt that someone was un-fair to you because they didn't under-stand autism?

Did you find it easy getting your driver's licence or did you feel there were obsta-

cles in the way due to being an Aspie?

Is there a Neurotypical behaviour that

you find difficult to understand?

See his page in Parents Forum this week

for answers to these questions.

Raising Children Network

• Are you finding your child’s behaviour difficult to manage?

• Does your child have a developmental delay or intellectual disability?

• Is your child aged between 3 and 9? • Do you live in Australia?

We are seeking parents to participate in the trial of an online program called the Behaviour Skills

Builder, designed to help you gain a better under-standing of why difficult behaviour occurs and

tailor a plan specifically to suit your child.

Contact behaviourskills@parentingrc.org.au or free call 1800 334 155 for more information.

Program development was funded by ADHC, De-

partment of Human Services, NSW.

I was told this by a parent in one of

our support groups recently. Her young ASD child was looking

at a sock with a hole in it for a while, contemplating the situation and searching for the right words

to describe it. “Temporary Loss of Knitting!”

he eventually declared. Love it!

Dear Friend The Georges River Life Care, Christmas in July, Fundraising Dinner is only eight weeks away. The event will be a lot fun with great food, en-tertainment and fantas-tic prizes to win. This year we are raising money for a number of programs including our services to victims of Domestic Violence and some new initiatives in Autism Support and Life Care Women. Bookings are essential. I look forward to see-ing you there to support a great cause and have some fun too. Regards Glenn Manager, GRLC

TABLES ARE GOING FAST !!!!

I am keen to have a table there so please let

me know ASAP if you would like to join us.

Tables seat 8 people.

I will book my seat on Monday, call and book

your sand let me know if you’re joining us.

—Steve

hi Glenn, my support group are very keen to be part of

this, a few questions were asked. Are there tables and of

so how many per table so that we can book a table?

Thanks Steve Tables seat 8 so you can book a table = $240 4 year olds are OK they need to be looked after by the parents - We may be able to provide childcare for an hour during the auction etc but at this stage it hasn't been arranged. Bronwyn is going to handle the bookings and pay-ment - if you let me know names and ph numbers she will get in touch with you Thanks for supporting this Glenn

Catrina from Kingsgrove has been a valuable source of research and information for our support network and I really appreciate all her help. This week, she looked up on whether our Health care cards as carers of our ASD kids allow us any discounts with our utily bills. Here are her findings. Today I was further investigating which utilities I could get a discount on due to the Health Care Card. Energy Aust says "No" as the card is in my son's name and therefore only utilities in his name would get the dis-count despite the fact that he is a minor and in my care. I also looked up the Sydney Water site and our child's Health Care Card doesn't allow for a discount either. On the plus side though, if you hold a Pensioners Card you are entitled to a discount (Some single parents with ASD kids are entitled to the Blue Pensioner’s Card) - refer attached link for details:

Our first Lawn Bowls So-cial day, held on Saturday at the Grand—views Club in Peakhurst, was a resounding success. We had five families there, with 14 of us all up enjoying a sunny winter’s morning learning to play what is a sim-ple and enjoyable game. Our host, David, told us that he was waiving the fee for the day as he wanted us to just learn and have fun. So each family helped teach our kids how to play, and there were plenty of smiles all around. We had scheduled 2 hours for the game but have decid-ed that a later start at 10.30, playing for one hour, and then heading in to the bistro, would be the netter way to go. A real highlight for me was seeing some of the parents who are so proactive in different support groups meeting each oth-er for the first time and getting on so well. I can see this event be-coming a popular social activity for many of the families in the south-ern Sydney area.

Upcoming Support Groups

KOGARAH

MEETS EVERY SECOND FRIDAY

NEXT MEETING: Friday 8 July 10.00—noon

St.George Leagues Club

Princes’ Hwy Kogarah

In the café / restaurant

KOGARAH

MEETS LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

NEXT MEETING: Sunday 31 July 2.00 — 4.00 pm

St.George Leagues Club

Princes’ Hwy Kogarah

In the café / restaurant

BALGOWLAH

MEETS FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

NEXT MEETING: Thursday 7 July 7.30—9.30 pm

Club Totem

195 Condamine Street Balgowlah

upstairs, through the restaurant to the function room behind

the bar

TERREY HILLS

MEETS EVERY SECOND SUNDAY

NEXT MEETING: Sunday 3 July 2.00—4.00 pm

Piemonte Cafe

287 Mona Vale Rd Terrey Hills

in the back near the children's play area.

Located at Hills Flower Market, near Bonds Nursery

PENSHURST

MEETS EVERY SECOND MONDAY

NEXT MEETING: Monday 27 June 10.00 am— noon

The Pole Depot

23 St.Georges Rd Penshurst

.

PEAKHURST

MEETS EVERY SECOND FRIDAY

NEXT MEETING: Friday 1 July 10.00 am— noon

Georges River Life Care— 23 Stanley St Peakhurst

If not already in this group please email Tonya

tago101@yahoo.com to register

GRLC also has support groups for parents of :

# Non Verbal children, # Teenage Daughters,

# High School kids and # Primary age kids

Tel 9580 0688

.

BANKSTOWN

MEETS FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

NEXT MEETING: Thursday 7 July 10.00 am noon

Bankstown Sports Club

8 Greenfield Parade Bankstown

In the café

BELMORE

MEETS FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Sunday 3 July 2.00 –4.00 pm

Canterbury Leagues Club

26 Bridge Rd Belmore

In the bistro just inside front entry

.

LUGARNO

MEETS LAST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

NEXT SOCIAL: Saturday 30 July 10.30 - 11.30 am

Club Grandviews - 821 Forest Rd Peakhurst

All welcome—a chance for our kids to have a relaxed

play together.

.

Monday 27 June PENSHURST

Friday 1 July PEAKHURST

Saturday 2 July DEE WHY—BOWLING

Sunday 3 July BELMORE

Sunday 3 July TERREY HILLS

Thursday 7 July BANKSTOWN

Thursday 7 July BALGOWLAH

Friday 8 July KOGARAH

Saturday 30 July LUGARNO—BOWLS

Sunday 31 July KOGARAH

NEXT MEETING: SATURDAY 2nd July

from11.00 a.m.

SOCIAL DAY FOR

KIDS ON THE SPECTRUM

Bowling at Dee Why RSL

Meet at the club for a game and then

stay for lunch, at the bowling alley or at

the RSL, giving our kids the chance to

socialize together.

Booking will be for 11 am under

―Steve’s autism support group‖. I will

advise them of numbers.

Please email me by the Friday morning

before so that I can book ahead.

All Autism Community families wel-

come, just RSVP to me first.

A little while back we established a num-ber of groups based on similar situations families find themselves in. If you are interested in being added to any of the-se groups, just send me an email.

We have already had a number of social interactions between parents in some of these groups, and they are a very good way to connect with others who under-stand you.

TEENAGERS TEENAGE DAUGHTERS UNDER 7s MORE THAN ONE CHILD ANXIETY ADHD PRIMARY SCHOOL AGED (6-12) ADULTS DADS NON VERBAL KIDS YU-GI-OH KIDS YOUNG DAUGHTERS

SHARED INTERESTS GROUPS

NEXT MEETING: SATURDAY 30 July

from10.30 to 11.30 am

SOCIAL DAY FOR

KIDS ON THE SPECTRUM

Lawn Bowls at Lugarno

— Club Grandviews

Enjoy a relaxed day with other families in

our network giving our kids the chance to

socialize together . Our hosts only charge

us $5 per person and afterwards we can

stay on and enjoy lunch at the bistro for

just $6 per person.

Please email me by the Friday morning

before so that I can book ahead.

All Autism Community families welcome,

just RSVP to me first

Club Grandviews

821 Forest Rd

Lugarno

.

A few weeks ago we were talking about options on making

our children safer if they tend to wander off. Some of the GPS

style gadgets I came across were prohibitively priced, howev-

er, I have been sent info (thanks Martine) about this item here.

It’s still not cheap, but for a family who hold real fears for

their child escaping, it might be an option to consider. Please

read below.