Mar 31, 2023 | Anna
Are you joining us for a night of entertainment and celebration on Saturday 20th May at The Stockton Globe? 🤩
Autism’s Got Talent is an opportunity for talented autistic children and adults to shine in the spotlight, and we can’t wait to be a part of it. Anna Kennedy Online hosts Autism’s Got Talent every year in London, and we’re proud to be collaborating in bringing the Roadshow to the North East for the third time.
Who is performing?
HARVEY PRICE
KIERON LEE
JASMINE BRINKHURST
LAUREN LOVEJOY
MARTIN FINN
CHARLOTTE LEWIS
MARCUS MASON WILLIAMS
HOLLY ALLISON
STENCIL PENCILS
CHARLIE CONWAY
DYLAN PITT
ALANNA BARRY
RUBY JOHNSON
BROOKLYN BURGESS
GEORGE SMEDLEY
HANNAH CHESTER
SHAUN ALLEN-MULROY
FRED TENNANT
BEVERLY SCHOOL CHOIR
KOLBY MACRO
BOBBY LATHERTON (songwriter – song performed by Beth Miller)
Can I buy tickets?
Yes – we’d love you to join us! Tickets are available to buy here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/autisms-got-talent/stockton-globe/
For a more autism-friendly seating arrangement, every 4th row will be kept empty. This increases seating options for individuals who may prefer to avoid having someone directly in front of/behind them. The performance is a relaxed performance
via – https://www.daisychainproject.co.uk/autisms-got-talent/
Mar 31, 2023 | Anna
Some differences you cannot see so why not practise acceptance with everyone – the key to a peaceful life #autismacceptanceweek
Kacey Ainsworth on learning about how to support people on the autism spectrum after her son’s diagnosis – via Yahoo News
“The things that I’ve learned are that everybody looks at things differently. Actually, you only need to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate people with differing abilities. And a) we don’t see enough of that. And b) we need to be more accommodating.
Because I think there’s a lot of situations where children are excluded from school or a lot of young people in prison are undiagnosed, with various differing abilities.
And if we just look at those children and say: ‘Right, this child is not going to sit on a mat and listen to a story because this child can’t do that. So what else can I do for this child?’
That’s why things like fidget spinners came in, because then your child will sit on a mat and listen to the story because they’ve got a fidget spinner to also deal with.
But what used to happen was that teachers would go: ‘Oh, you can’t do that, because everyone will want one.’ Well, not everyone has a differing ability.”
Something we saw yesterday resonated too at the world trade centre
Everyone is different and everyone is the same
Acceptance x
Mar 30, 2023 | Anna
Autism Acceptance – Richard Stevens
When I was young, I used to stim when I was excited. There is a video of me as a little boy waving my hands and arms as the sea came to the shore where I was standing and I could not contain my excitement. Every time I got excited, my arms and hands would flap. I could get lost in television and not hear a conversation behind me. I could not wear certain clothes or touch any certain fabrics or even have my haircut without crying and causing a fuss which my parents usually had to deal with. But I didn’t know that I was autistic, and neither did my family. This was the late 80s/early 90s.
I don’t blame my parents for missing things that may have answered so many questions which got me finally diagnosed 30 years later. I don’t blame them because they weren’t aware that this was autism, not 30 years ago, neither did I. Before acceptance, comes awareness.
When my son was born in 2008, we began to be aware of how certain things upset him. He would cry when he had new toys, he didn’t like people around him like at birthday parties, he didn’t like loud noises and we started to ask questions. In 2008, there was more awareness of autism and we were blessed that he was diagnosed at two and a half, so he could get the support he needed through preschool, school, and social surroundings.
As my son got older, I started to question behaviours and patterns that I had seen in myself, years earlier. But I felt like a fraud to start questioning about autism as an adult. Was I just trying to tag on to his diagnosis, was I seeing things that were not even there?
I had also become very good at masking. I was a performer in social situations and once I was comfortable with a group of people I would become the life and soul of the party. But these behaviours themselves led to me being socially exhausted every 6 months and being diagnosed as depressed when I couldn’t pretend to smile anymore.
My wife, Zoe, saw me when I didn’t mask, and she had to deal with the frustrations I had at home and my constant questioning of why everyone else didn’t think like I did. I felt that I had to perform for others, but this just ended up causing me so much social exhaustion, I began to not function at home as I prepared to make sure the people who I worked for, and who worked for me didn’t see the other side, the quieter side of Richard.
After soul-searching and asking questions of the 35 years that I had been on the planet, I told my wife that I needed to speak to the doctor as I felt that I might be autistic. Zoe has always known, but she herself was too scared to suggest it, in case it upset me or caused me more anxiety. When I spoke to the doctor, I was expecting them to say that I was being silly and maybe it was the depression or a low mood, but she listened, and as I spoke, I began to relive my childhood to the GP. I was referred to Autism Bedfordshire, who told me that this would be a long process, and I know that others have waited longer than I did. But they were honest, and at this point, I knew myself that I could wait as long as it took, as it had taken me 35 years to find the answers within myself, so if I had to wait a few more, then I would do it, because I believed that I was autistic. I filled in the forms and waited for around 18 months before I had a consultation with a doctor, who confirmed my diagnosis in November last year, and now I talk about it because I accept it. I have spoken to my family, my friends and my work and I have been supported by every single person.
I accept that I am Richard, who I was from day one on this planet. I accept that I might need extra help with certain behaviours and ways that I am. I accept that I might need reasonable adjustments at work but I can still do a job. I accept that we have come a long way with autism and understanding it but we can always do more. I accept that I am who I am, and I will continue to raise awareness, encourage acceptance of autistic people and help support inclusion of all in work and schools.
When we accept who we are, we can make the changes that we need.
Mar 30, 2023 | Anna
Autism Acceptance is allowing someone with a hidden disability the chance to apply for a grant….
or anything that everyone else can apply for, but in a way that allows people like me to understand what we are applying for.
Often we can apply in a different way, we see pictures, we see different ways of applying, but ultimately we get the result for the person that is waiting for our application. HMRC were the first to allow me to speak the vision I had for my company, Green Eye Productions Academy I could not fill in the forms or even do them online as I did not understand the words.
I wanted to level up by setting up the company in Staffordshire and HMRC gave me a chance and were at that meeting with you and when I closed my eyes and described in a way I understood, HMRC also understood it, but it was in words not filling in a form I could not understand and it’s not good to have others do the form as it must be ‘our vision, our words’.
It was from there that Green Eye Productions Academy was born from a vision to what it is today. www.greeneyeproductionsacademy.com SEIS/EIS was then allowed for the academy as we ticked all the boxes from the vision of my words, then the accountants Alliots with lawyer James Greenslade SMB using my words created the business structure for the business and again they allowed me to create the vision and words and then the Information Memorandum (IM) was created.
We have never strayed from this IM, not one step out, we have kept with the vision and now we are ready to grow and become a success story with Genuine Fakes our first feature film of many with all our other spin offs, books, stage plays, online shop with a great team all hugely experience alongside those we are training up, so everyone learns and everyone flourishes.
Anna Kennedy Online has been a safe stable as often it gets scary when you have a vision that only few want to listen or understand. Your stable has been a Godsend and warm and caring. No words can describe that, you and Anna Kennedy Online has been my saviour. When it got tough you believed in me as HMRC did too. Now the BFI have at last given me, Green Eye Productions Academy the necessary adjustment I can feel that another stable may be there for us too.
Launch of ‘Genuine Fakes’ book and film
I can’t explain in words as good as I can speak, but right now I’m crying with happiness as you have been that stable with warm hay in it and a sense of safety.
Godbless and thank you Anna, and the charity. I hope one day I can support you and your work and when this film and all the others and this company makes profit I want to long term support you and your amazing work and team too.
Julie xxx
Mar 30, 2023 | Anna
How I’m getting on at School
Hi, I am Logan and have recently moved from a specialist school to a mainstream school. Initially, there is a 12-week period to see if I actually like the school and get on there. On one hand, I was so nervous at first because I wondered how the environment would be and if I would get on with some of the other pupils and on the other hand I was excited to see what opportunities I would have in a mainstream school setting. The main focus for me though is having the opportunity to explore the wide and varied curriculum this school has to offer as I really want to work towards gaining GCSEs so that I can access the courses I want to do at sixth-form college and university. I also wondered how the other pupils would view me because of why I had suddenly appeared in their classes part way through the year and also the fact that I saw a pupil that wasn’t nice to me when I was at primary school. Some pupils just came straight out and asked if I was autistic and when I said yes they carried on talking to me and are really nice. For instance, I did my first ever woodwork class and found it really hard to use the saw to cut the wood, other boys started to show me and help me with this skill. It’s so tricky! This school also has a homework club that I attend on a Monday and I just wish that I could go every day.
There are also lots of extracurricular activity clubs that I am able to join which there was no opportunity for anyone to join at the special school so this is a big plus for me. I really love the uniform and wearing the beret as it makes me feel very important. Each day starts with a parade and I did worry at first how this would affect one of my rituals of everything being equal. Marching around the playground, I thought, would be difficult if my strides weren’t as equal as I would like them to be but after a couple of days, I realised that this didn’t matter as nothing bad was going to happen just because it wasn’t all equal.
I currently have 8 more weeks until the transition period is over and so far I can certainly say I love it.
By Logan Richards
