Autism Association Namibia - Erongo Region

World Autism Organisation - Learning Channel - watch the first of many videos with good tips and ideas:

Intro to Parenting your Autistic Child This is a brief overview of the steps parents can take when they first receive a diagnosis.Presented by Stacy Badon with .

Check out Stacy Badon's helpful resources:

Everything Autism I help them organize that expertise into practical strategies that facilitate communication, social engagement, and more!

Series: Neurological Conditions
Part: 1

ADHD, a well-known Neurological Conditions. These conditions can only be diagnosed by medical professionals. Kinderkinetici does not diagnose any conditions but rather aids to movement development.

11 September 2023 - 15h00 UTC:
WAO - Online Autism Support sessions!

Our first WAO CoA member and presenter is Stacy Badon from 'EVERYTHING AUTISM' .

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Sep 11, 2023 03:00 PM Universal Time UTC

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vdeCrrzMuE9zY_si4SEu8ITNl0ewUHenC

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

NOTE WELL: LIMITED SEATS!

You can read up more about Stacy here:
https://autism4home.com/

STACY BADON *AUTISM EDUCATION SPECIALIST *EMPOWERMENT COACHSTACY BADON *AUTISM EDUCATION SPECIALIST *EMPOWERMENT COACH
ARE YOU STRUGGLING TO HELP YOUR CHILD COMMUNICATE THEIR NEEDS AND WANTS AT HOME
Are you overwhelmed trying to understand your child's Sensory Processing needs?

Are you frustrated with challenging behaviors that impact everyday life in the home?

If the answer is "Yes" >>> it's time to take the next step towards becoming an Empowered Parent... BEYOND THE LABEL!

Everything Autism I help them organize that expertise into practical strategies that facilitate communication, social engagement, and more!

Examining the Transition to Adulthood in Autism: Challenges and Opportunities in the Aim of Thriving Free webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time (US), Wednesday September 6, 2023 Results from a study that focused on transition to adulthood in Autism will be presented, including considerations for advancing service access and navigation, employment support, and post-secondary education access for Autistic a...

Please remember!

I saw a post from Not An Autism Mom earlier.
Meghan made the very good point that we don’t tend to see a lot of Neurodiversity-affirming SLPs advocating for AAC.

Great point.
Important point.

I’ll start right now.

AAC refers to Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Basically, a way of communicating that is not verbal speech.

Examples include iPads that generate speech, typing/texting options, spelling boards, books of pictures and words for constructing sentences, and eye tracking devices.

Speech pathologists are trained to facilitate low and high tech AAC systems with clients who:
⭐️ Don’t use mouth words
⭐️ Are situationally non-speaking
⭐️ Struggle with motor planning (such as Apraxia)
⭐️ Experience difficulty with oral motor strength or coordination
⭐️ Don’t have a reliable communication system
⭐️ Find oral speech tiring, uncomfortable, or problematic
⭐️ Request it

AAC can be really beneficial to many people. It gives people a voice.

And, as the picture says- verbal speech is not the gold standard of communication.

And that means?

That the words a person says with their iPad is just as meaningful and important as the words a person says with their mouth.

Different communication is not less.

We’ll get into this more in the next few AAC posts.

Em. 🌈🌻✌️
AuDHD SLP

Thanks for sharing, Cicile!

Will the world ever see you as i see you.

I see people staring, sometimes you make them jump.
They watch your unusual behaviour, flapping, humming and generally standing out.

But what is wrong with standing out?!

They don't see you as i see you.

They hear strange noises and see a young boy who's clearly different.
I see a infectious smile and beautiful giggle, with a magical twinkle in your eye

As you grow people will stare more, the cuteness to them fades and a young man will be present, but they don't see you as i see you.

A wonderfully unique person with a cheeky sense of humour and a love of people watching and the warmth of a summers day

They look at me with sympathy at times, how does she do it? they say.
But they don't see you as i see you

My son today, tomorrow and always.
Loving you is easy.
Seeing you for you... is my forever.

This is Carson, his autism journey and our family
September 2020

Someone with autism ....
Iemand met outisme ...
Jemand mit Autismus ...

💚💙

www.symptomen-autisme.nl

Thank you for sharing, I CAN Network Ltd.:

RESOURCE ALERT!
We'd like to re-share a BRILLIANT, free, trauma-informed resource to support Autistic young people in distress.
The guide was created by Autistic young people and adults from the Spectrum Gaming (UK) community, drawing upon their lived experience and best practice work of Studio 3, Dr Ross Greene's CPS model and the PDA Society. See link below to download or print.
'The important key thing to remember here is that people do well "if they can". No one wants to experience meltdowns.'
Please share with your networks.

Over the past few months we have been writing a guide on supporting autistic young people with meltdowns. We are very happy to say it is now completed!

Here it is, free to use and share:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n6KOJklw2YTkRUijDteEu3FsgWPtvdpw/view?usp=sharing

The guide was developed alongside autistic young people in our community. Thank you to Autistic Village and The Trauma Informed Social Worker for their valuable input too!

Wishing all our members, donors, sponsors and friends a peaceful festive season with all the best, health and happiness fro 2023
http://jlcards.com/A7vk95

Final days for buying a raffle ticket and supporting the Autism Association of Namibia or any one or more of the other charities listed as beneficiaries!

Thank you for everyone who supported us! Greatly appreciated and assists us to do our work! Together we are stronger!

If you do not want to buy your ticket online, contact [email protected] and I will send you the details that I need from you to buy your ticket!

Home - ChariTree WIN a Luxury House Worth N$ 2.7 Million Or N$ 2.0 Million in Cash Support a GOOD cause when buying a raffle ticket and you can win GREAT prizes DONATE NOW BUY TICKETS *ChariTree is a Namibian-owned business that uplifts communities by supporting registered charities* FINAL DRAW GIVE – AWAY To spoi...

We are proud to announce that Stepping Stone School l has been credentialed by the international Council on Development and Learning, as a DIR School. This makes us the only DIR Accredited School in the SADC Region.

"DIRFloortime has become most widely known as an approach to support children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)."

But what is DIR? DIR is the Developmental, Individual-differences, & Relationship-based model (pronounced saying each letter as an initialism: D.I.R.). DIR provides a foundational framework for understanding human development and outlines the critical role social-emotional development has on overall human development starting at birth and continuing throughout the lifespan. It also provides a framework for understanding how each person individually perceives and interacts with the world differently. The model highlights the power of relationships and emotional connections to fuel development. Through a deep understanding of the "D" and the "I" we can use the "R" to promote healthy development and to help every child reach their fullest potential. 𝗗𝗜𝗥𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, is the application of the 𝗗𝗜𝗥 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 into practice.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

ICDL - Home of DIRFloortime

https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/the-seekers-parents-who-find-fringe-therapies-for-autism/

The seekers: Why parents try fringe therapies for autism Many parents resort to unproven — even dangerous — alternative treatments for their children’s autism. What drives them?

More information by a PDAer:

Sally Cat's PDA Page commenting on Tony Attwood's post:

" Thanks for drawing attention to our little known neurotype. There's a lot of ignorance and misconception about what PDA is. Tony, you've talked about it as if it only effects children. We adults exist too 😉 If people'd like to learn more about PDA from actual PDAers, I recommend my page https://www.facebook.com/SallyCatPDA/ - other pages have been mentioned elsewhere in this thread. I also back up recommendations to check out PDA Society's website https://www.pdasociety.org.uk (who list pages, etc here https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/resources/pda-adults/ and groups here https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/resources/general-pda-support/) "

What is PDA?

Introduction
The term PDA stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance and was first coined by Elizabeth Newson, a developmental psychologist, in the 1980s in the UK. She described PDA as being extremely high anxiety driven by the need to control and avoid other people’s demands and expectations. The National Autistic Society England describes PDA as being an atypical type of autism. The term does not appear in the international textbooks that guide diagnosis. Nevertheless, there has been growing research and clinical interest in PDA as many people in the Western world recognise the profile in their children and clients.

The behavioural features of PDA have recently been described in a research study by O’Nions and colleagues (2016) to include:
* non-compliance to even the most innocuous requests and insistence that others comply with their requests
* strategic avoidance of demands
* behaviours that suggest awareness of what might cause a diversion
* obsessive need for control, including domineering behaviour
* a tendency to perceive themselves as having adult status
* seeming lack of responsibility or sensitivity to other people’s distress
* poor social awareness
* sudden mood changes
* engagement and enjoyment in fantasy role-play
* extreme behaviour, for e.g., intense reactions to losing games, meltdowns

Children and teens with PDA often show positive personality qualities including having charisma, a good sense of humour and are often considered likeable, chatty and fun to be with when not asked to comply with a request.

Superficially PDA appears as defiance and obstinance. A recent study conducted by Stewart and colleagues in 2020 found that anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty was at the base of the child’s attempt to increase predictability and agency in so many situations.

Is PDA a part of Autism?

PDA is considered to be an atypical subtype of autism. It differs from typical autism in that the person shows a superficial sociability and capacity to read situations to the extent that they can manipulate them to avoid complying with demands. These children usually highly value friendship, but lack self-awareness and awareness of others, so often fail to achieve deep connections with peers. They typically have very high levels of sensory sensitivity, a different perception of time and space, and a relative lack of anchoring themselves in social experience.

How do Children with PDA Cope at School?
A survey conducted by the PDA society in the United Kingdom in 2018 found that 70% of children with PDA did not thrive in the school environment or were home-schooled. O’Nions and colleagues found in 2014 that 88% refused to attend school at some point. Children and teenagers with PDA are at great risk for losing their educational placement through exclusion due to schools being unable to create an environment that the child can tolerate to be able to cope with the learning process.

Apparent strengths in their language and communication profile means it is easy for teachers to miss making the necessary accommodations for them and to forget to look at what is driving the behaviour. The child or teenager is often caught in a maladaptive coping strategy of avoidance or arguments, and the school environment often responds with punishment, and each bring out the worst in each other.

Unfortunately, clinical experience and research suggests that the strategies frequently used for autism are often ineffective and counter-productive for a child with a PDA profile.

Where to from here?

During our over 80 years of combined experience in autism, we have often worked with children and teens with the PDA profile and their families. We have developed a three-hour presentation to assist families, teachers and professionals to recognise and understand PDA, and to give guidance on the best approaches we know so far.

Here is the link:
https://attwoodandgarnettevents.com/.../live-webcast-pda.../

There are also a number of great resources available, and we highly recommend these:

Both the websites of the UK and Australia/NZ Chapters of the PDA Society:

https://pdaaustralia.org.au/
https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/

Dr Ross Greene, American Psychologist has developed a model of care called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) which is based on research and practice and based on collaboration and compassion. He does not use the term PDA, but instead talks about kids for whom challenging behaviour occurs when the demands and expectations being placed on them exceed their capacity to respond adaptively. His website has some great resources:

https://livesinthebalance.org/

** The information in this post is from peer-reviewed research and the perspectives and experiences of many autistic individuals from clinical experience and communications and may not apply to each person.



References
O’Nions, E, · Gould, J, · Christie, P, · Gillberg, C. Viding E, & · Happé, F. (2016) Identifying features of ‘pathological demand avoidance’ using the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO), Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 25:407–419 DOI 10.1007/s00787-015-0740-2
O’Nions E, Christie P, Gould J, Viding E, Happé F (2014) Development of the ‘Extreme Demand Avoidance Questionnaire’ (EDAQ): preliminary observations on a trait measure for pathological demand avoidance. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 55:758–768
Stewart, L, Grahame E, Honey V, & Freeston, M. (2000). Intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety as explanatory frameworks for extreme demand avoidance in children and adolescents, Child and Adolescent Mental Health 25 (2), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12336

Join the " I CAN Network" page to see valuable comments about this image : https://www.facebook.com/theicannetwork/

In this image, 18-year-old Izzy captures how she experiences conversations as an Autistic person in a neurotypical world. As one of our Autistic teen mentees also notes, 'It's hard to be "on" all of the time. It's exhausting when you feel like you have to perfectly interpret what other people are saying to you, even when it's really jumbled and vague.'

Image credit: www.instagram.com/autieselfcare. Description in comments.

" There's a key to unlock calm in each child's brain and body, but it's a complex system, and this can take time to discover. "

I agree with Birgit Fisher:
"Executive function and processing speed are areas often overlooked in many therapy approaches which can lead to disastrous results later in life"

Autism, Alexithymia and Emotions

What is Alexithymia?

Alexithymia refers to a difficulty recognising and accurately labelling different emotions and body sensations. A person with alexithymia can tell if they are feeling a “good” emotion or a “bad” emotion but could not necessarily tell you what they are feeling more accurately.

Primary and secondary alexithymia were first discussed by Freyberger in 1977. Most research has studied primary alexithymia as a stable personality trait which is predictive of certain emotional difficulties (e.g., Bird & Cook, 2013a, 2013b). Other researchers (for example, Zeitlin et al, 1993) have proposed that alexithymia is a secondary condition that emerges as a coping mechanism to acute psychological stress including trauma. It is likely that both occur.

Alexithymia and Emotions

There have been several recent studies finding a link between certain mental health conditions and alexithymia. For example, women with alexithymia had a 2.6 times greater risk of experiencing depression during pregnancy than women who did not have alexithymia (Gilanifar & Delavar, 2016). In a prospective study (Günther et al., 2016) measured alexithymia in a group of depressed inpatients at the start of hospitalisation, and then after treatment. High alexithymia scores were predictive of continued depression after hospitalisation.

In addition, there is much research now to show an association between alexithymia and other mental health conditions including suicidality, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, binge eating disorder, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, and substance abuse (for a review see Hemming et al, 2019). In an Australian psychiatric sample alexithymia was several times more prevalent than in the general community (McGillivray et al, 2017).

Many of the studies reviewed are not prospective, but those that are show evidence for primary alexithymia (i.e., Günther et al., 2016), that is, that having alexithymia is predictive of developing a mental health condition. Other studies show that treatment of the mental health conditions decreases alexithymia, hence providing evidence of secondary alexithymia (e.g., Fukunishi, 1997).

Autism, Alexithymia and Emotions

Alexithymia is a separate condition to autism, depression, and anxiety, but research indicates that if you are autistic, you are more likely to have alexithymia, and if you have alexithymia, you are more likely to develop a mental health condition, whether you are autistic or not.
Given the research to date, it is important to understand if alexithymia is a part of the person’s profile, firstly because treating alexithymia may prevent that person developing emotional processing difficulties. Secondly, it has frequently been noted that having alexithymia can interfere with engagement in psychotherapy, making it difficult to treat the emotional difficulties (Taylor, 1984). Lastly, if alexithymia is causal to emotional difficulties for some people, it, makes sense to directly treat the underlying cause.

Interestingly, alexithymia has decreased as a result of therapy for other conditions, as a by-product of therapy. For example, Rufer et al, (2010) found alexithymia scores decreased because of a short-term cognitive behaviour therapy programme for panic disorder.

How do you Assess for Alexithymia?

Alexithymia is typically assessed using a self-report questionnaire. As mentioned above, the most commonly used scale is the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, which is freely available online. There is also the Perth Alexithymia Questionaire (Preece et al, 2018), which is also feely available online, online, click here. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325345117_Perth_Alexithymia_Questionnaire_PAQ_Copy_of_questionnaire_and_scoring_instructions

Both of these measures were developed for use with adolescents and adults.

There is also an Alexithymia Questionnaire available to assess alexithymia in children.

How do you Treat Alexithymia?
As discussed, for some people alexithymia may be secondary to emotional difficulties, and perhaps for these people alexithymia resolves when the primary issue, for example, the depression or the anxiety disorder, is treated.

However, for others the primary issue is alexithymia, and it makes sense to directly target alexithymia for treatment. Cameron et al (2014) undertook a review of studies that targeted alexithymia for change directly using psychological interventions. The interventions that showed the most success for ameliorating alexithymia were those that used psychoeducational approaches with skills training to increase affect awareness. Therapies that focussed on identifying, describing, and understanding both emotional states and bodily sensations, were the most effective. It was not enough to know about emotions and bodily sensations intellectually. There needed to be an exposure element, where the person would feel what they feel in the session, and be guided to describe the sensations, to identify the words, and be taught ways to cope with any unpleasant body sensations. Successful therapies also included increasing attention to body sensations that triggered affect, using a range of methods, including hypnosis, relaxation strategies and mindfulness.

Interestingly only one study reviewed in the research directly studied whether a reduction in alexithymia led to an increase in using the emotional information to guide adaptive behaviour. In this study (Ogrodniczuk et al, 2010) the researchers directly examined whether increased emotional awareness affected social relationships. They found that it did, i.e., those whose alexithymia scores decreased showed better interpersonal functioning both during treatment and at follow-up. This is a promising finding that has direct implications for treatment of mental health issues in autistic people, for whom social communication difficulties are a key part of their profile.

Summary and Where to From Here:

Although alexithymia was first described in the 1970’s there has been an increase in research into the phenomenon over the past 12 years. This research shows that alexithymia is a primary cause of emotional processing difficulties, resulting in mental health problems, or can be secondary to mental health issues. Approximately 50% of autistic people also have alexithymia, and this group may experience poorer mental health than autistic people who do not have alexithymia.

Assessing and treating alexithymia is possible and seems desirable, to increase positive long-term outcomes of therapy. Specifically targeting alexithymia for treatment is recommended, particularly if alexithymia is primary, both for prevention of mental health problems, but also for long-term recovery. Treating alexithymia directly seems to not only assist the person with recovery from their mental health problems but also to improve their interpersonal functioning.

We will explore more on alexithymia and much more in our LIVE WEBCAST: Succeeding With Autism In The Teens - 22 July 2022.

https://attwoodandgarnettevents.com/product/succeeding-with-autism-in-the-teens/

Description:
The purpose of this workshop is to equip participants with specific skills and strategies to make the teenage and young adult years a success. Autistic teens and young adults use specific coping strategies to cope with having autism. The coping styles and the implications of these for understanding, teaching, parenting, managing and assisting autistic young peoples are described. The presenters will focus on a range of areas known to be important to autistic young people including the transition into high school, the learning profile and specific strategies to encourage academic and social success, the management of anxiety, stress, anger and depression, friendships, relationships and sexuality, what to do about bullying, and transition into a career.

This live course counts for 5.5 hours of Continuing Professional Development or Teacher Accreditation hours. (For NSW Teachers: the course may be recorded as an elective PD with NESA).

Does your Child or Adolescent have NDIS Funding? If you are self-managed or third party-managed and parent education is in the Plan you can use your NDIS funding to attend this event.

Do You Need a Tax Invoice Receipt for this Event?
Please email us at [email protected] and we will send you one.

** The information in this post is from peer-reviewed research and the perspectives and experiences of many autistic individuals from clinical experience and communications and may not apply to each person.

Please support us!

Autism Association Namibia is an association made up of parents, their children with ASC, adults with ASC, and professionals who are interested in promoting the well-being of persons with autism spectrum disorders within Namibia and providing a network among the various autism organizations worldwide.

When you purchase your raffle ticket, you not only stand a chance to win a house, but you support AAN as well.

Tickets can be purchased for N$500 on our website – www.charitree.com.na

VIP!

SDG 4: It is our responsibility to help this happen:

António Guterres - Secretary-General's message for 2022
The United Nations supports the rights of persons with autism to fully participate in society, in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In its pledge to leave no one behind, the 2030 Agenda represents a commitment to reducing inequality through social, economic and political inclusion for all people, including persons with disabilities. Yet many persons with autism still live in isolation, discriminated against and disconnected from their communities, in institutions or even in their own homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of these inequalities through the loss or reduction of services at school, in homes and in the community. We need to ensure that the rights, perspectives and well-being of persons with disabilities, including those with autism, are an integral part of building forward better from the pandemic.

The solution lies in more community-based support systems for persons with autism. We must also establish inclusive education systems and training programmes that enable students with autism to access the educational path of their choice. And we must make technology solutions available for persons with autism to live independently in their communities. Active consultation with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations should be at the centre of these efforts.

On this World Autism Awareness Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to an inclusive, equitable and sustainable world for persons with autism.

— António Guterres

Autism Awareness Day, Platz am Meer Mall, Swakopmund, 2 April 2022.

Can we take the pressure off your overload and replace it with a beautiful thought? Great weather? Beautiful flower? Incredibly amazing insect?

Frühlingsgefühle of Doom. Passt auf euch auf 💜.

Moving towards "APPRECIATION" .....

Today is UN World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) 🙌🏻

We should all pause and reflect on how the world's communities are moving at different speeds when it comes to understanding of autism. In many communities, the focus is on “Awareness”, others will focus on “Acceptance” and hopefully one day “Appreciation” will be the new norm.

I have always believed that if we can make inclusion work for autistic people - it will also work for others who face similar barriers. Our goal is to enable 1 million jobs based on the knowledge from workplace inclusion, primarily of autistic persons since 2004. We have made great progress, but it is not enough to focus only on inclusive employment. We also have to address inclusion in the school system and civil society to be able to tackle the issue of exclusion systemically.

I am happy that this year’s UN WAAD theme is on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 - Quality Education and I am proud that Specialisterne Foundation is among the supporters of the event as an NGO associated with the UN Department of Global Communications.

The Sustainable Development Goals is the World’s most important plan. It is a call for action by all UN member states to leave no one behind in a world that is challenged by war, pandemic and inequalities.

Let us work in solidarity around the world to leave no one behind - including autistic/neurodivergent persons and many others who are struggling to be included in their local community.

Please join us for the UN World Autism Awareness Day event on April 8th by registering here: https://bit.ly/3DuuQZQ

Don't forget:

Und nicht vergessen!

Learners are more than chromosomes!

March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD).

This global awareness day has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012.

The date for WDSD, being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was chosen to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (Trisomy21)

of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.

During the month of March, which is also Human Rights Month, Down Syndrome South Africa (DSSA)

will be calling on government to increase support and promote inclusion.

The theme this year is: “Inclusion means…”.

During their campaign, DSSA are asking: What does ?

Will you be in Oranjemund this weekend! It's Nedbank for Autism Golf day on 26/03!
And we'll be hosting a free Autism seminar too! There's still time to register - send an email to autnam-at-iway.na to reserve your seat!

Please share far and wide!

We are excited to announce that the Lewcor Group have offered up a massive N$50,000 to the first hole-in-one that is made during our Oranjemund Golf Club event this coming Saturday.

If you have not got your entry in, this is the encouragement that you needed 😉👌🏼

Autism Association of Namibia
Nedbank Namibia