BBC 2 tonight 9PM

[Jimjams]

Sorry shameless plug, but I think this is going to be great.

Jacqui Jackson single mum of 7, 4 on the autistic spectrum (youngest also has CP).

Amazing woman with an equally amazing family!

brilliant maryz! Amazing about the colours. We have recently discovered that ds1 is totally over-stimulated by light- he starts stimming if he is in bright light. So when Luke said that bit about colurs and non-verbal autistic children we just looked at each other. Loads of people on the autism lists have been saying the same sort of thing- thier childen have been amazed to see people like them, and they've started talking about it a bit more.

I've been trying to get hold of coloured lenses today....... We need red ones!

What a horrible teacher- and why on earth do people get so obssessed about eye contact. I know ds1 can't look and listen at the same time- just wish they'd let him listen!

Who knows, Jimjams this could be the start of the formation of an ASD 'community' with the same depth of culture and support as the deaf community. And bring with it a real understanding of the needs of ASDers, and more importantly what they can give to society. I'm very annoyed that I missed the program, a phone call from a distressed family member!

Oh there's already a pretty big ASD community. It's quite good as HFA can act as advocates for the lower funcitoning. Have a look at one of my favourite sites and you'll see what I mean.

this one as well. Hope the family member is no longer distressed!

I've already printed this off thanks to you, and think it should be compulsory reading in the PGCE! I suppose what I was getting at is that it would be great if more ASDers got to meet other ASDers on a regular basis and so would recognise the traits they have and value them for their strenths. So many ASDers seem to be isolated and end up thinking of themselves as 'other'. Looking back I have worked with so many people on the ASD spectrum, and many of them wouldn't have been half the scientist if they were NT.

As an aside I have a brother who actualy grinds telescope lenses as a hobby (cf the test, Could I be NT)?

I thought this was great, very insightful and not at all 'poor woman/sympathy vote' as I was afraid it might be. I sat down expecting to sob all the way through and instead I really enjoyed it.

They were a great family and I thought that the mother, in particular, had the patience of a saint ! It helped that the non SN kids were patient and helpful too. The mother certainly seemed to be doing and excellent job of raising the kids as they all seemed pretty great.

Thought there were some great 'comedy moments' which really helped erase the 'doom and gloom' view some people have of families with SN. We watched the programme with our 9 and 11 year old sons and they were really interested. I think that more programmes like this should be shown as it would certainly help lift the stigma surrounding conditions like Autism and behavioural disabilities too.

I think as they get older the do meet hmb- just usually on the internet! I think it is the internet which has kickstarted the community- so its all quite new still.

lol about the telescope lenses. Unfortunately I'm well and truly NT

And I suppost that the intenet helps to bypass the sensory/interpersonal difficulties that might occur if the met in the flesh.

To be serious my brother is NT, but it does make you realise that we are all on the continuum. Dh is on the ASD side of NT.

Dd has now calmed down, and so have I. Mumsnet is a godsend on days like these

jimjams, I read a report about jacqui a while ago and, when I heard this programme was on TV, I really wanted to see it. Unfortunately I was on a ferry heading back to Plymouth at the time.

The person who told me about the programme and showed me a Guardian article about jacquie was pretty amazing herself. I met her on the ferry. She is a mother of three sons - an 11 year old, a 5 year old and a 2.5 year old. My 3 year old was having a wonderful runaround time with the two youngest boys. They were playing really well together, so we started to talk.

She told me both her younger sons were autistic, the 5 year old having the more severe problems, though he was defying her fears for him and happily coping in a state school. I then noticed her 5 year old wasn't talking much, and tended to repeat the last phrase he'd heard. She told me he's only started talking very recently.

Apart from this, there were no 'signs' to me, a stranger, that these two boys were autistic. As I remember you saying, autistic children can be very affectionate. These two couldn't have been more sociable and sharing.

The mother, a really nice person, said she lived in Newton Abbot. Thinking of you jimjams, I asked if she belonged to any local autism groups (I said I knew there were some active groups in Devon) or ever looked on the internet for information. She said she hasn't so far so I told her a bit about mumsnet. Didn't say too much, because I didn't want to ramble Anyway, I really hopes she makes contact with one of your local groups or posts on mumsnet.

ooh Newton Abbot! Thanks tigermoth. I'd love to meet up with her if she's around.....

I did as much as I could to push her in this direction without actually saying there's this person called jimjams on mumsnet who you really must meet( I decided the whole thing might sound a tad eccentric to a non internet person ) Anyway, I really hope you get to meet her somehow.