Hello everyone!
Here is the link to our latest Bridges newsletter http://www.ont-autism.uoguelph.ca/BoB-12-2012.pdf online. We also do it on paper: if you would like a paper copy, please let me know.
This bulletin, the first for ten months, includes:
--news from Tim and Betty in Nova Scotia,
--reports of how Sara and Matt spoke up for themselves and Bridges at public gatherings,
--short summaries of our last seven gatherings,
--notes on our Bridges Mural, the Song of Hope for Bridges, my article for the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, and my Andrew's Bridges blog.
--some
thoughts about "growing" Bridges to reach more people who have no voice
yet. As well as the awareness of our communication rights that we have
been working on, we need more trained communication intermediaries to
make a difference.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Monday, 14 May 2012
My New Article
I want to tell you that my article about Supported Typing and
Bridges-Over-Barriers was published this week in the Canadian Journal of
Disability Studies. My title is: "What everyone yearns for: really good
support to communicate. The Ontario story of Bridges-Over-Barriers".
The article is online at this link: http://cjds.uwaterloo.ca/
Reading the article is free but you have to register and sign in. I suggest you choose to read the article in PDF format as the HTML format at present misses important punctuation and even one paragraph is missing. The only drawback is that you can't view the clip of our Bridges video from inside the PDF document. You have to get into the HTML version about 60 per cent through to get to the video link. Special thanks to Christine for preparing this clip from the original video.
I thank everyone who encouraged me to think about and compose this article. I hope very strongly that more people will understand how important it is for us to communicate and connect, to express ourselves and make choices about our lives. Please pass on this link to anyone who could help or be helped. Comments and questions are welcome.
Some new poems to share.....
A Home of My Very Own
AB 2 May 2012
Getting my own home
was a way of growing up,
a way of putting down roots,
and a way of gaining respect.
Getting my own home
was a way of feeling safe,
knowing I would never again
have to live anywhere
that was not good for me.
I want to know I am king in my castle
and no one can beat down my doors.
I want to know I am showing others
I can do this and that maybe
they can too.
I want to know
we are teaching others
about living a good life
and that having one’s own home
is a key ingredient.
A key is a way to unlock the door
to new experiences
but it is also a way
to keep out annoyances.
Things that are bothersome or
that make me feel limited
may not get past the doorway.
I will always welcome those who
who come with open hearts and minds
and a hunger for friendship and good food.
--------------
Dreaming to be free
AB 11 May 2012
Freedom to me is about living
every day with meaning and purpose.
I have reason to doubt and
reason to be discouraged.
I am the author of my story.
It can be a sad one or a happy one
with things to share about my strengths.
I am choosing the story
with a positive way of reading.
My hope is to give others hope with my stories.
I want to be an encourager.
I want to be ambitious.
I am independent and strong.
If I use my challenges to help others grow
I can use my life to be a kind of leader.
I am determined to show myself and others
I can achieve if I believe I can.
I am an achiever of big dreams
that I live out everyday
This will give me reason to live
and dream to be free.
I will then be free to be me.
Reading the article is free but you have to register and sign in. I suggest you choose to read the article in PDF format as the HTML format at present misses important punctuation and even one paragraph is missing. The only drawback is that you can't view the clip of our Bridges video from inside the PDF document. You have to get into the HTML version about 60 per cent through to get to the video link. Special thanks to Christine for preparing this clip from the original video.
I thank everyone who encouraged me to think about and compose this article. I hope very strongly that more people will understand how important it is for us to communicate and connect, to express ourselves and make choices about our lives. Please pass on this link to anyone who could help or be helped. Comments and questions are welcome.
Some new poems to share.....
A Home of My Very Own
AB 2 May 2012
Getting my own home
was a way of growing up,
a way of putting down roots,
and a way of gaining respect.
Getting my own home
was a way of feeling safe,
knowing I would never again
have to live anywhere
that was not good for me.
I want to know I am king in my castle
and no one can beat down my doors.
I want to know I am showing others
I can do this and that maybe
they can too.
I want to know
we are teaching others
about living a good life
and that having one’s own home
is a key ingredient.
A key is a way to unlock the door
to new experiences
but it is also a way
to keep out annoyances.
Things that are bothersome or
that make me feel limited
may not get past the doorway.
I will always welcome those who
who come with open hearts and minds
and a hunger for friendship and good food.
--------------
Dreaming to be free
AB 11 May 2012
Freedom to me is about living
every day with meaning and purpose.
I have reason to doubt and
reason to be discouraged.
I am the author of my story.
It can be a sad one or a happy one
with things to share about my strengths.
I am choosing the story
with a positive way of reading.
My hope is to give others hope with my stories.
I want to be an encourager.
I want to be ambitious.
I am independent and strong.
If I use my challenges to help others grow
I can use my life to be a kind of leader.
I am determined to show myself and others
I can achieve if I believe I can.
I am an achiever of big dreams
that I live out everyday
This will give me reason to live
and dream to be free.
I will then be free to be me.
Monday, 30 April 2012
Monday, 26 March 2012
2 New Poems
I've been unwell over the past several weeks which is why I haven't been adding to the blog. I am feeling better these days and have 2 new poems that I would like to share.
Hoping for the best I have reason to hope for the future: that life will be full of light and love and friendship. I have reason to hope because it is already the truth of my life. I am surrounded, circled and consoled by my friends and loved ones. I am already held in high regard and given respect in ways unknown to autistics in the past. I am already listened to for my opinion and looked to for friendship. I have hope for a future that is the best because I am on a good path that I can return to at times when I must lie down on the side. I feel loved and I feel held and I have reason to hope my life will continue along this way. AB, 7 Mar 2012
The meaning in life Life is mysterious, isn't it? We always seek answers; we have so many questions. I know you are a seeker of truth and beauty and I a seeker of meaning. We can meet in the middle and paint pictures with the answers we find. I think we can have a meeting of our minds and a meeting of our hearts. I like to connect with you and I hope you do too. AB 15 Feb 2012
Monday, 28 November 2011
Sharing my big communication goals for 2012
One goal for the coming season is to be able to talk to EVERYONE in actual face-to-face interactions. I need to continue regular times of deep conversations with trusted friends—with full physical support when I need it. G and E have promised this. But I also plan to use my portable LightWriter device with everyone, for quick everyday interactions, and with as little physical support as I can manage. Sometimes I can do this with someone only touching my shoulder.
This second goal is VERY important for my relationships with friends and supporters—it means I can talk with them every day. With some of them I might progress to deeper conversations. I need to be able to tell Heidi for example my choices and explain any problems we may encounter in our days together. This will advance our Bridges Dream too, as new communication assistants will gain confidence first gradually and not feel awed by full facilitation.
So I plan to get comfortable with both levels of Supported Typing. My general strategy is to practice less physical support for part of each time one of my communication facilitators visits, to find out what works best. Then I will practice with each support person or friend separately. I have different relationships with each supporter or friend, just like people who talk with their voices. We think this will be more sensitive and less stressful than a group workshop from a cold start. Getting over the initial resistance is the hard part. Don’t give up. I may get it yet!
I am very concerned that, if I get better at quick conversations with just about everyone in my life and with a less physical support, people might think I could do without the deep communication sessions. It would be like throwing out the baby with the bathwater! To have physical support to type about difficult subjects or when I am feeling stressed is very essential and must not be given up or taken away. If a person does type independently but no longer says as much of an important message, someone should offer a hand once in a while to not lose the sophisticated thoughts that might not come out independently. There is a danger in not allowing the deep communication, intelligence and creativity to come out. Right now I could not have said all this without good physical support from an experienced facilitator. So the moment would have come and gone and you wouldn’t know what I was thinking.
It would be dangerous because one might be too upset to say one is upset and then one might hurt oneself. I can talk about my wishes with my hand supported so people know how to plan. Without support it is limited to food choices and what to wear today. I can imagine getting better at the short phrases in time but don’t cut out the chances to really talk or I may lose my way again. I am happy to know the plan is for balance and nothing extreme. I don’t care about independence: I care about communication.
This second goal is VERY important for my relationships with friends and supporters—it means I can talk with them every day. With some of them I might progress to deeper conversations. I need to be able to tell Heidi for example my choices and explain any problems we may encounter in our days together. This will advance our Bridges Dream too, as new communication assistants will gain confidence first gradually and not feel awed by full facilitation.
So I plan to get comfortable with both levels of Supported Typing. My general strategy is to practice less physical support for part of each time one of my communication facilitators visits, to find out what works best. Then I will practice with each support person or friend separately. I have different relationships with each supporter or friend, just like people who talk with their voices. We think this will be more sensitive and less stressful than a group workshop from a cold start. Getting over the initial resistance is the hard part. Don’t give up. I may get it yet!
I am very concerned that, if I get better at quick conversations with just about everyone in my life and with a less physical support, people might think I could do without the deep communication sessions. It would be like throwing out the baby with the bathwater! To have physical support to type about difficult subjects or when I am feeling stressed is very essential and must not be given up or taken away. If a person does type independently but no longer says as much of an important message, someone should offer a hand once in a while to not lose the sophisticated thoughts that might not come out independently. There is a danger in not allowing the deep communication, intelligence and creativity to come out. Right now I could not have said all this without good physical support from an experienced facilitator. So the moment would have come and gone and you wouldn’t know what I was thinking.
It would be dangerous because one might be too upset to say one is upset and then one might hurt oneself. I can talk about my wishes with my hand supported so people know how to plan. Without support it is limited to food choices and what to wear today. I can imagine getting better at the short phrases in time but don’t cut out the chances to really talk or I may lose my way again. I am happy to know the plan is for balance and nothing extreme. I don’t care about independence: I care about communication.
Celebrating Differences
I think I have good people in my life.
Everyone is so different but I need them all.
Thank you for being different.
Different people in my life
(19 Nov 2011)
It takes different things
to make the world work.
I need different people in my life
to make me work like I need to.
That doesn’t mean
that they make me work
or they work for me.
It means I need different people in my life.
I have people who are strong and bold:
they are like pillars
in the bridge of my life.
I have people who are gentle
and kind with a soft heart to
give me encouragement to try:
they are the bricks
in the bridge of my life.
I have people in my life
who are there when I need them—
dependable, respectable, kind people
who respond when I need their help.
People have opinions of
who I am and who I should be.
But the people in my life who matter
are people who give me
the chance to be me.
I need to be encouraged
and given the motivation
to use my determination
but I also need to be given
time and patience to make
a change or mistake.
The people in my life help me
overcome the things in life
that could leave me in the water.
I don’t like to just swim.
I like to walk over the bridge.
I need each of these
unique and wonderful people.
The bricks and the pillars
build the strength of my bridge
to pass over when I need it.
I need different people in my life.
I am me because each person
allows me to be me.
The different people in my life
make me wholly me.
Different people in my life
(19 Nov 2011)
It takes different things
to make the world work.
I need different people in my life
to make me work like I need to.
That doesn’t mean
that they make me work
or they work for me.
It means I need different people in my life.
I have people who are strong and bold:
they are like pillars
in the bridge of my life.
I have people who are gentle
and kind with a soft heart to
give me encouragement to try:
they are the bricks
in the bridge of my life.
I have people in my life
who are there when I need them—
dependable, respectable, kind people
who respond when I need their help.
People have opinions of
who I am and who I should be.
But the people in my life who matter
are people who give me
the chance to be me.
I need to be encouraged
and given the motivation
to use my determination
but I also need to be given
time and patience to make
a change or mistake.
The people in my life help me
overcome the things in life
that could leave me in the water.
I don’t like to just swim.
I like to walk over the bridge.
I need each of these
unique and wonderful people.
The bricks and the pillars
build the strength of my bridge
to pass over when I need it.
I need different people in my life.
I am me because each person
allows me to be me.
The different people in my life
make me wholly me.
Monday, 7 November 2011
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