Say hello to our newbies

[ElenMumsnetBloggers]

Hi bloggers,

You may have noticed we're growing in size . New bloggers are coming to us every day looking for a place in our community.

We'd like to give them a boost into our blogging network and help introduce them to some of you more established bloggers. We'd love new bloggers to be able to meet and greet the old, and we're excited by your joint blogging ventures where you're getting together to make a difference.

So we'll be introducing one new blogger a day in the third slot on our blog homepage and we're opening up this thread for newbies to the network to mingle and make merry with blogging pros. Welcome!

Good question justabout. I'll have to write a blogpost sometime about that (but will have to ponder some more before I do ). DS1 is the classic 'LAMP' child - in that he was already very keen to communicate, but completely unable to use speech - if that makes sense. So the benefit he is getting from it is enormous, but I'm not sure every severely autistic child would iykwim. I know children who have more speech than him, but don't use it. So I'm not sure they would use a talker. Although thinking about it the fact they have speech doesn't mean they can access it on demand so maybe they would benefit every bit as much as ds1. People who work with him have said to me that he's the severely autistic child they know who has the biggest gap between receptive and expressive language (obviously there are others out there such as Carly Fleischmann in Canada whose language was far more intact than DS1's and who now communicated via typing.)

Clearly there are many many children who would benefit either from LAMP or from another device. I do think the UK is very slow to use high tech AAC (which can have huge advantages over PECS). Part of the problem is funding - it falls between education, health and social services (often) so it can be hard to decide who is going to fund it (so no-one does). A communication device is seen as an add on rather than an essential piece of equipment. It's incredibly short sighted - I do think that ds1 will end up costing the state a lot less in the long run because he now has a way to communicate effectively. Currently many devices are funded by small charities, really they need to become more mainstream.

The increase in cheaper high tech AAC provision on things like the iPad might help - but conversely they might also make it harder to get funding for a device like ds1's as the first question asked by councils is 'why can't he use an iPad?' and they can struggle to understand why one works and the other doesn't.

hello all, great to be here! I'm an author-illustrator, and I've recently 'moved in' at Sunny Side Up which you can find at www.claras.me... chatting about picture books, arty-crafty activities for children and sunny-side-up parenting. Do call by - I'd love to see you! :)

libran like the blog. It looks really nice and neat visually...mine gets messy as I get carried away adding! Good info, though I am not local to you I will keep dropping by!

Hello everyone and welcome anyone who's new - I'm pretty new, been blogging since September and I can't remember when I joined here! My youngest is keeping me very busy at the moment so struggling to find time to blog, but I'll get there!

clarevulliamy OmGoodness. We love Lucky Wish Mouse in our house! My girls are 3 and 5YO.

Although I write childrens stories for them, ( the publishers have sent lovely polite rejections so far but I keep trying) I can't illustrate them myself. I can draw pretty well but not illustrate..does that make sense?

I will enjoy following the blog with the girls!
:-)

I am at yummymummyreally.blogspot.com talking parenting, trying to stay yummy, school runs in pjs and clarins face cream.

operagirl you bought back some great memories with that post. Thank you. Have commented on blog and followed.

Thats all for me for tonight!

Night all!

Hi

I am fairly new to blogging so would love some feedback!

www.theworkingparent.blogspot.com

Please could you let me know what you think?

Thanks

Ha ha! Bribery rules in our house!

Justabout - I've had people completely misunderstand what I'm saying before and asssume I'm being really negative about ds1. It can be a bit dumbfounding. What's your blog, I'd like to read. Actually is there a way to find out quickly what someone's blog us from their MN name?

Saintly I just read your blog and I thought it was beautiful...loving, honest and funny. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Hi everyone,
I'm new here too and I blog at Little Red Farm.
I run a cultural exchange (free) as well as putting pen pals together. I also write about making my own toys for my baby and toddler.
We live in France, England and Sweden so I love comparing the three places too.
Rachael
xx

yummymummyreally thanks so much for saying such nice things! sorry to hear about the rejection letters, we all get them, but really hope you keep trying. Yes, drawing and illustrating are different things, but if you have stories you love to tell (in words, pictures, anything!) that's what counts. love the school-run in pjs image - there's a story there too!

Thanks justabout - will have a peruse. My grandmother was from New Zealand and various family members have lived there at one time or another. I worked there one summer (our summer) in the early 90's and travelled around the country as well. Beautiful place.

Hello, I'm a newbie too. My blog www.trickycustomer.wordpress.com is all about my boy Sam and living with his rare condition. Please have a look and let me know what you think. Looking forward to having a good old nose at your blogs too.

Aww he's a sweety tricky - are you getting portage? I like your cyber friends post - in the early days of realising ds1 had issues my cyber friends pretty much saved me.

And justabout - will read with interest how the support in NZ varies from here. I know that autism outreach here recommend some NZ early readers (PM readers) for autistic kids learning to read as they have photos rather than line drawings.

Hello there.
Yes Saintly, we are getting portage help. Glad you like the post.

justabout - thanks, fingers crossed they do make the difference I'm hoping for.

Hello all.
Newbie blogging about children's books at www.thelittlewoodenhorse.blogspot.com. Visitors lovely. Just a way of giving my brain some daily exercise and talking into the cyber ether about what excites me. Look forward to all the wisdom and great links to follow here. Bit overawed to already find Clara Vulliamy in the same thread though...

that'll be www.thelittlewoodenhorse.blogspot.com then...does that work? yay!