I have never before been so inundated with items for the newsletter that I have had to save them for later. But this month there are three Items that I cannot possibly fit in until next issue. It's amazing what a little summer sun does to everybody.

Also…Watch out for our competition there are three computers to be won, plus £10 off any purchase from Airdale Computer Recycling when accompanied by a copy of this newsletter.

Working Families Tax Credit and Disabled Persons Tax Credit no longer exist. Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credits were introduced from 6^th April this year.

Subject to funding availability, the Warm Front grant provides a package, up to the value of £1,500 of energy efficiencies and heating measures specifically tailored to the needs of your property. Households will quality for Warm Front where the homeowner or tenant, or their partner, is in receipt of either Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit AND their income is less than £14,200.

Householders who (1) have a child under 16 or (2) are pregnant and have been given Maternity Certificate MAT B1, and are also in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:-

Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income Based Job Seekers Allowance

Working Tax Credit with income less than £14,200, Child Tax Credit with income less than £14,200, Income Support which must include a disability premium, Housing Benefit which must include a disability premium, Council Tax Benefit which must include a disability premium, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit which must include Constant Attendance Allowance, War Disablement Pension which must include the mobility supplement or Constant Attendance Allowance.

One of the main points to note about recent changes to tax credits is that people claiming Working Tax Credit do not need to have a child. Until now, Warm Front has been aimed at 3 groups: families with children who receive income related benefits, over 60’s who receive income related benefits and those who are chronically sick or disabled and receiving certain benefits. The introduction of Working Tax Credit as a qualifying benefit extends eligibility to those who are working and are on a low income, but who do not necessarily have a child.

More info on WARM FRONT is available on the Internet where I believe you can apply on-line. www.eaga.co.uk/Grants%20available/warm_front.html

Warm Front also has a freepost address:–

FREEPOST ANG20756, Milton Keynes, MK9 1BR

After 1 whole year of living in my own house, I have finally discovered the source of all the tapping and banging in my kitchen.

I've had someone check my pipes, I've searched my cooker and even my toaster but to no avail.

After all this I accepted the neighbours were probably putting up pictures or shelves all night.

Until tonight, when whilst playing my newly acquired mp3's of various outsider music artists (my obsession for the week- which is basically 'bad' music played by people who take it seriously) when i realised the banging was extra loud tonight and something just clicked! the banging was extra loud and my music was on extra loud- maybe it had a correlation- yeah that must be it...

Then I remembered how we used to bang on the walls when the teenagers at my parent's house were getting too loud.

I cant believe I've gone a year without it clicking. Like my friend said: "You must have thought they had a gallery or something in their kitchen."

I felt so stupid, but then I guess its an NT (neurotypical) thing anyhow and I was never good at realising stuff like that especially when it seems obvious to everyone else.

I understand that a couple of research studies are providing hope for the earlier diagnosis of ASD.

Dr Eric Courchesne’s findings at the University of California, USA are of sudden and dramatic head-growth in young children later diagnosed with autism. The significance of this study, if it can be successfully replicated, could be vast. It may be possible, in the future, to diagnose autism much earlier through head circumference before behavioural symptoms begin to show themselves.

Studies at The University of Durham indicate that the difficulties which children with autism have in pointing and showing objects to other people may emerge from earlier problems with simple face-to-face interaction. This finding could be important for understanding the early language and communication problems found in autistic children.

The above was taken from an email forwarded to me by Fiona so, if you come across anything autism-related, or just plain interesting, please do not hesitate to send it into ‘Rob the Ed’ or myself. We would really appreciate some contributions.

At the end of July BBC2 screened a really super programme with the above name. It was really heavily promoted beforehand with TV "trailers" for more than a week ahead, also on radio with interviews.

Just try to imagine it, a house full of children, mainly teenagers, three "ordinary" daughters and four sons who had autism or autism related conditions. Every person ate or needed different food, some gluten free, some wheat free. At least two boys hardly slept at night, one boy is still in nappies at six years old, another boy could break a saints heart with his ability to make not just his own room but the whole house resemble the site of a major detonation. And there is more, lots more I’ve not mentioned.

All this would have me hiding under the bed hoping it would all go away, I’d certainly not begin to cope. As a fairly impatient, slothful bloke I honestly couldn’t believe the incredibly hard working, patient single mother who endured with such staggeringly good humour all her trials. Unless, of course she was acting to camera, but I don’t think so. Her co-star was son Luke, an articulate teenager who you might know as the recent author of "Geeks, Freaks and Asperger Syndrome". Luke deservedly had a fair bit of time talking to camera and he was well worth listening to. "Joe Public" could learn a lot about autism from Luke.

For those who missed it, both Laura and myself recorded it and deposited a copy in our group library for you to see if you wish. Enjoy it.

Clare Graham, Regional Officer at our NAS Manchester Office has requested we circulate to our members details of three workshops they have planned for later this year. Considering the content and the enormous potential usefulness of these I agree with them entirely that you, the membership should have the opportunity of attending.

I guess many of you will find these subjects very interesting indeed.

1^st. November . In Cheshire. "Managing Behaviours others Find Difficult". Francine Brower. (Head of Inscape School, Salford). For children with ASD.

22^nd. November. In Leeds. "Early Intervention". Wendy Vart. (Autism Co-ordinator, Leeds).

6^th. December. In Newcastle. "Entitlement to Education Services". Steve Broach. (Head of Policy & Campaigns, NAS).

The cost of these workshops is £5.00 per member, £7.50 for a couple and £20.00 per non member. You can join on the day and just pay the £5.00.

If anyone would like to attend any of the workshops, please contact Suzie Franklin on 0161 998 7860 for more details

Findhorn Flower Essences are little bottles of Scottish magic! For centuries flowers have been used for healing: the Mayans used to take flower saunas, and the 15^th century physician Paracelsus used to collect the morning dew from flowers to treat his patients with. In the 1930’s Dr Edward Bach discovered that different flowers could alter different moods and he found a way to bottle the essence of these flowers. They are still available in the shops today and work on a range of emotions.

But times have changed since Dr Bach’s day. We now have horrific TV news items brought right into our homes in graphic details and many people live isolated from their families with little in the way of communities to rely on. In short, our lives are more stressful and we have less support in dealing with our stress. Clearly, a new range of flower essences was needed to deal with these "new" stresses.

Ten years ago, Marion Leigh set about filling in the gaps and the Findhorn Flower Essences were born. They’re made from wild flowers with much love (by Marion herself) in the very beautiful Findhorn community, which is about as far north as you can go in Scotland on a peninsula, surrounded by the cleanest, clearest air you ever breathed, and the bluest of seas with seals and dolphins swimming in the bay

Essences are made by floating flower petals on spring water and leaving them in sunlight for a number of hours. The resulting essence is bottled, together with brandy as a preservative, and all you need is two drops of each essence in a "dose" bottle (together with spring water and a little more brandy to stop it growing green and slimy). Essences for children can be made without the brandy, but MUST be kept refrigerated.

Findhorn Flower Essences work for many problems including both emotional and physical issues. They can help you sleep, give you an energy boost and help you deal with panic and stress. There are a number of essences which are said to be helpful for those with autism. Newly trained and unsure of how they would work, I offered a dose bottle to one of your members for her young son. She has reported back that she has noticed an improvement, particularly in his speech.

So, how do you get hold of them? Well, if you would like a full consultation with a combination specially chosen for your personality and your own particular stresses, the cost is £25 plus £7 for the Essence. However, if you would like to try a bottle of the "Autism Combination", "First Aid" (for stress and panic), "Sweet Dreams" (for a restful night’s sleep) or "Life Force" (to boost flagging energy) I would be happy to send you one for the discounted price of £5 (plus 50p per bottle for postage and packing).

For further information, to book a consultation, or to order one of the standard combinations mentioned above, call me:

Tel: 01484 435279

Email : ros@reflexmbra.freeserve.co.uk

Speakers for MONDAY 6^TH OCTOBER ARE

from the "Children with Learning Disabilities Team", Castleford.

SPEAKERS TO COMMENCE AT ….. 8.00 PM. (NOT 7.30)

(TRAVEL COMMITMENTS THAT DAY -)

Both are qualified nurses and although they are not experts on autism, through their work with children with autism, they are constantly learning and picking things up.

They believe that speaking to our members will also be a useful learning experience for them

We stop computers going in to landfill and refurbish them using long-term unemployed people on a 12 month training contract and then sell them on to the general public or give them to voluntary and charitable organisations.

The refurbished computers we sell are a minimum specification of:

Pentium 133 including 32mb ram, 1+ gb hard disk, CDROM, keyboard, mouse, 14" monitor and Windows 95 pre-installed along with an Office package, games and on-disk manuals. I have a never ending supply of these at just £49. Add sound & speakers or an internet modem for a little extra.

Up to:

Pentium 400 including nice tower case, 64 mb ram, 3 gb hard disk NEW CDWRITER, NEW SOUNDCARD, NEW SPEAKERS, NEW INTERNET MODEM, keyboard & mouse and a very nice 15" Belinea monitor. I only have about 20 of these on a first come first served basis at £165.

I have about 12 refurbished laptops at just £120

We also sell Brand New computers, laptops and printers at incredible prices.

I was recently speaking to Mandi whose son Matthew has been attending Kitty’s Art Club and she told me that this had been a really successful project, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The kids appear to have had a great time, taking part in a wide range of activities throughout the session. As an example, Easter was well and truly celebrated. Delicious chocolate nests were produced and lots of eggs, hats and cards were brightly decorated. Finally, there was fun for all when everyone took part in a traditional English ‘egg dump’ competition.

Members also enjoyed an outing to the Superbowl and Tropical World during the Easter break. Building from these experiences and working on associated topics and themes, members explored colours, shapes and textures. Over a number of weeks, they also experimented with new printing, sculpting, sewing and mark-making techniques and apparently the quality and results of all the club members’ hard work was truly amazing.

Unfortunately, Kitty’s Art Club recently finished but not before club members enjoyed a super party at the final session. On behalf of the WSGA families who attended I would like to offer sincere thanks to Helen, Rachel and John for all their efforts and congratulations on a successful project. It seems that everyone is now hoping that another session can be arranged after the summer holidays. I’ll be crossing my fingers as this sounds really great for the kids