The were officially launched during Autism Awareness Week (1st - 7th October 2007). If you would like a card or know of someone who would benefit please contact Essex Autistic Societies Family Supoprt Team on 01206 577678. Alternatively an application form can be downloaded from the Essex Autistic Society website and returned to their Head Office address (please note proof of diagnosis is required before a card can be issued).

Visit the Essex Autistic Society website for more information

Information from questionnaires like this will help other families who are trying to cope with the added difficulties that a child with a disability gives rise to. This information will also help professional counsellors and psychologists working with parents who are experiencing problems in these areas.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an online questionnaire, which includes some questions where you rate the degree to which you agree or disagree to various statements. The topics covered in the questionnaire include your state of well being, help-seeking, coping processes and your spirituality. The questionnaire will take approximately 40 minutes to complete. You are requested to complete the same questionnaire approximately 6 months from now. Should you wish to complete the questionnaire at this time only, we would still be grateful for your support, and welcome your input.

Participation in this research is entirely voluntary. You are under no obligation to complete the questionnaire once you have started. At any time you may withdraw from completing or submitting the questionnaire. If some questions are too difficult, they may be skipped. While a completed questionnaire is of most benefit to the researcher, any information gained is beneficial.

The submission of your questionnaire implies that your consent is given for the researcher to use the information you have supplied. Please note, that this study may be published in a scholarly journal and any specific identifying information will be removed or changed (such as your child’s age or disability, etc.) Please remember that you are free to discontinue participation in the project at any time.

Any questions you may have regarding this project can be directed to either the researcher, Aaron Allen, or the supervisor, Prof. Barry Fallon of the School of Psychology (03) 9953 3205.

Link to the research questionnaire about the health of parents with disabled children

My own boys, then 14 and 12 were attending the group with me, in order to hopefully make some new friends and to develop some of these specific skills, although both had good skills already and were both educated in mainstream school.

The ownership of the group soon shifted, the group started to set its own needs and agenda, what became apparent, was that these young people were such high functioning Aspies, that they didn’t need assistance with eye contact, nor did they want help with what to say in a specific situation – they all knew from years of circles of friends at school that they should ask specific questions in specific situations, but it wasn’t “cool or fat” to say such things, as they would be ridiculed by their peer groups in mainstream or out in public. They just wanted to fit in and have some friends who accepted them for who they were.

Thankfully Fern Potter, our fund raiser and SAFE trustee was able to resource additional funding to enable the group to be maintained on a more informal basis, and once bi weekly, the young people decided to meet up at a venue, often subsidised by SAFE, then return to our home complete with sleeping bags, duvets, pillows, wireless network cards, lap tops, changes of clothes and money for food, where we have learned to cook as a family; clean as a family; plan menus as a family; develop friendships; have fun; empathise with each other; have useful discussions; argue constructively, and generally develop an excellent circle of support.

All of the children have come on in leaps and bounds, one girl in particular, who was suicidal and clinically depressed from being constantly bullied at school, is now happy, settled and making progress.  She is also a wonderful cook and prevents the group (who are not wonderful cooks) from starving to death on burnt rations…

Our role as adults is to facilitate the group, not to have an authoritarian role, but to be in there with them, helping them learn but on the periphery. The kids come to us if they need help with a situation; firstly of course we guide and enable them to try strategies of working out conflicts themselves. The kids in turn value the group, the friendships they have made and each other. It is wonderful to see them thriving as their relationships develop and their confidence grows.

What works for us as a group is that the kids need the adults to be in the group with them not bossing them, changing the venue to our home has made the social skills learning real life and no longer plastic, they get to practise their skills in real situations, whether they are shopping for provisions; cooking; out and about on bikes; sailing; or whatever else we get up to – they have the confidence to police each other and tell each other what they see – i.e. – “You look a bit Autistic today”… “You want me to do what?” The other group members appreciate this no nonsense approach and learn from each other, as other teenagers do.

Asperger People carry such a lot of hurt and rejection from their past situations and are fearful of the group turning the negative possibilities’ that they believe may happen will turn into a likelihood, but once they start coming, they absolutely love it!

In the youth group you can be yourself, and be loved for it.  Kids need to develop because they are ready to develop, not for fear that they might no longer be loved…

Nikki, David, Bob and I use a very different model which we call the SAFE NORTH model approach – we respect the kids privacy, we make careful judgements and allow space for the AS kids to sort things out for themselves, we step in only when a situation looks like it needs assistance to prevent the kids going back to very black and white strategies as coping mechanisms.  Neurotypical kids have space to grow as teenagers which helps them develop, but by the very nature of our Aspie and co morbid kids, they need more adult supervision, but by our careful judgement, they still have the space in a controlled environment to learn and develop both socially and emotionally.
Paula Muir September 2007

The project will run from 13th October to early February with sessions running on most Saturdays – 1-3pm at Focal Point Gallery, Southend Library. The aims of the Media Box project are to provide participants with opportunities to use photography, sound and video, using Focal Point Gallery’s media resources and its Cameravan as required, in order to develop an understanding of their neighbourhoods and communities.

SAFE will also need two parent volunteers to facilitate the sessions and work with the project leaders. Please register your interest by emailing : no later than 5th October.

Across Essex, Southend and Thurrock (EST), there are Connexions Centres in most major towns, and most secondary schools will have a Personal Adviser (PA) linked to them.
Personal Advisers (Additional Needs Team) work only with young people with special needs. Each Connexions Centre also has a team of Community PAs, not linked to schools, but instead, focuses on young people who have finished compulsory education post-16.

Connexions also has a smaller team of Intensive Pas who work primarily with young people with either a specific significant need or a range of complex needs needing support in addressing. (e.g. homelessness, threatened with exclusion from school, etc.). Intensive PAs have a relatively small caseload of between 15 and 20 young people at any time and meet 1:1 on a weekly basis to try and help address these issues. This may be through mentoring, coaching, advocacy, brokering of services etc. The criteria are that the young person should have multiple or complex issues requiring help/ support and advice. Such issues may be low school attendance, anxiety about school, school refusal, behaviour difficulties, needing extra support to access further education, etc.

Contacts:

Jane Allen - Area Manager 01376 533060.
Kerry Surridge - Senior Personal Adviser, at Basildon office: 01268 501300.
A big thank you from SAFE to Jamie Pennycott, Lead Intensive PA at Brentwood Connexions, for this very useful information. Jamie is at Connexions One Stop Shop, The Hermitage, 15b Shenfield Road, Brentwood, CM15 8AG. Tel: 01277 693300. Fax: 01277 693310.

Course fee: £30 for 10 sessions. To register phone the SAFE Helpline, (answering service) 01621 842734 or email