Back in January, it was announced that popular Autism Vox blogger Kristina Chew, PhD would no longer be blogging for Blisstree.com.
Then, two months later, we met Jeff and Jill—Kristina’s replacements.
Which is why we were shocked to read Jeff’s goodbye note posted yesterday.
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Read Irked posts tagged “autism”
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Ladyhawke—aka Pip Brown (whose debut album “Ladyhawke,” produced by Modular Recordings, is out now)—sat down with pedestrian.tv recently and opened up about many things, including her Asperger’s, allergies, anxiety, awkwardness, adrenaline, audiences, and…erysipeloid.
Here are the highlights:
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“I have this thing called Asperger’s syndrome. When I found out, it explained my whole childhood. I told my mum and she said: ‘That’s why you used to sit on the floor doing puzzles for hours.’ It was the reason I was so solitary. I’d say completely inappropriate things. The other kids thought I was a weirdo.”
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“I’m allergic to everything. I was lactose intolerant from the minute I was born; I couldn’t be breast-fed. On planes, if I order a non-dairy meal, they always give you a vegan eggplant thing – and I’m allergic to aubergine. When I was 10, I got this weird random disease [erysipeloid] that no-one had seen in New Zealand for 20 years. It’s common in seagulls, but is rarely transmitted to humans. Somewhere in New Zealand there’s a photo of my face in a medical journal. It crept up to my brain. They caught it hours before I was about to slip into a coma. So they put me on penicillin and I had an allergic reaction to that! I nearly died.”
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“I wish I didn’t have such bad anxiety and wasn’t so shy. I’ve always been a nervous person, very awkward. I can’t walk without looking awkward – it’s my middle name. I find live performances hard. I can’t look anyone in the eye. I’m so conscious of everyone staring at me. I start to think I’m terrible or I’m singing out of tune. I sometimes get sickly-nervous before I play. I throw up and start shaking and sweating. The second I get on stage it disappears and the adrenaline kicks in. But I try not to look at anyone in the audience or it will freak me out.”
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Read Irked posts tagged “music”
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“Lewis, I think you embody the spirit of Trent—you’re mighty, tenacious and very creative,” said Su Ditta, a selection committee member, in front of a crowd of about 60 people.
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Read Irked posts tagged “Lewis Schofield”
Read Irked posts tagged “creativity”
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Remember Craig Evans, the wonderful man behind autismhangout.com who interviewed Donna Williams via Skype earlier this year? Well, Craig recently interviewed Donna and Dr. Stephen Shore for his new “Thriving with Autism” webinar.
Here’s the absolutely remarkable, riveting interview:
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Learn more at:
autismhangout.com >>
autismasperger.net >>
& donnawilliams.net >>
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Read Irked posts tagged “autism”
Read Irked posts tagged “interview”
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Congratulations to Goodith Heeney, Norman Vandenberg, and Lewis Schofield. All three will be honoured TONIGHT at the 2009 Trent University Community Leaders Award Ceremony (invitation only) being held at Peter Gzowski College in Peterborough.
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Thisislewis.net has been updated in a major way…
According to Monsieur Lewis, “there’s lots of new and interesting links and some files you can download such as Famous People with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Famous People with Myasthenia Gravis.”
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So…
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Then…
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According to beverlyneroproductions.com, the upcoming biopic about Donna Williams’ life—titled “Nobody Nowhere,” based on Donna’s international best-selling autobiography of the same name—is officially “in development”!!!
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CBC.ca:
A 14-year-old Regina native, now living in Ontario, is earning recognition for his efforts in dispelling myths about autism, a general term for neurological disorders that can impair development. Lewis Schofield is a Grade 9 student in Peterborough, where Trent University is honouring him with a Community Leader Award for Youth. Schofield is often online, using blogs, artwork, videos and podcasts, providing information about his health issues including Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. He also participates in a Family Autism Forum on Yahoo. ”I was just doing what I always do,” Schofield said in an interview with CBC News. “I always do my best. It’s just how I was raised.” ”He was very surprised and very shocked that he had been nominated, never mind had actually won this honour,” Elyse Bruce, Schofield’s mother, told CBC news.
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Quoting blisstree.com/autismvox:
The Fraser Child & Family Center in Minneapolis found a new way to reach ASD students: through headphones and iPods. The devices play music and videos to teach these students how to fit in. Fraser staff came up with the idea of programming iPods to act as an electronic substitute for “that missing [inner) voice for those with Asperger’s, the voice that governs appropriate behavior.” Staff have helped students create short videos and slide shows on how to behave in different social settings: How to carry on a conversation; how to respect other people’s boundaries and think before they speak; and others. The Autism Society of America says similar projects are popping up around the country, and include adaptations for smart phones, Palm Pilots and other devices.
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Quoting the Footsteps of a Nobody promotional flyer:
[Footsteps of a Nobody is] a powerful one woman rock-musical both written and performed by Donna Williams, author of the international best seller, Nobody Nowhere: Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. This is a unique opportunity to witness the author herself perform a story that has changed the lives of millions. Through vibrant song, characterisations, gestural signing, evocative spoken word, and musically supported by the band, The Aspinauts, Donna takes us on a journey from a seemingly deaf, psychotic, ‘feral’ child to life on the streets and ultimately on to her fight for equality among others.
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Quoting Donna Williams:
I’m really buzzed at the news that I’ll get to perform my one-woman-musical, Footsteps of a Nobody, in the US in Jan 2010. With musical support from a wonderful accomplished pianist, David Moscoe, it looks like I’ll be able to bring the show to Long Beach, LA and then I’ll fly on to New Jersey to perform it with the support of a second pianist. Whilst not musically supported by The Aspinauts this time around, it will be a great chance to bring the show to hundreds of people who’d otherwise not get to see it. I know the first performance will be on January 10th 2010 in Long Beach as part of a whole day conference hosted by Rita Rubin, the mother of Sue Rubin whose groundbreaking documentary, Autism Is A World, made it to the Oscars and broke down many myths about Facilitated and Augmented Communication used by people without functional verbal speech.
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday January 9-10, 2010
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TOPICS: “A Glimpse Into the Autistic Mind” – (People with autism describing their experiences & researchers explaining how & why these occur.)
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WHERE: Long Beach Memorial Medical Center 2801 Atlanatic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806
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TIMES: 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.
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ORGANISER: Greater Long Beach/ San Gabriel Valley Chapter Autism Society of America
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FOR MORE INFO: brubin698@earthlink.net or ca-longbeach@autismsocietyofamerica.org; 562 943-3335 or 1-877-AUTISM9; www.greaterlongbeach-asa.org
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PLEASE NOTE: There will also be a theatre show in LA on the 12th and 13th of Jan 2010 and a show at a conference in New Jersey which I think will be on the 16th Jan.
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And…
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