Fantastic Friends. Create Opportunities. | Community group

Fantastic Friends. Create Opportunities.

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24.01.2022 Connecting friends through different ways

21.01.2022 Remember what it feels like to be excluded, that it makes you include everybody. #apraxiaawareness

19.01.2022 GOOD NEWS STORY It all started from a "Pen friend" club with good old fashioned handwriting, as well as emails and Face-book messenger We welcome everyone to join our club, including those currently doing "remote" learning to connect.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/234237621177447/?ref=share

17.01.2022 I get stuck. If life is a melody playing on a vinyl record, me getting stuck is like the needle getting caught on a scratch and repeating the same note over and... over interminably. I’m stuck and I have no idea how to get unstuck. I mention I am stuck, and well meaning people say, oh, that sounds like depression. But I was not depressed when I initially got stuck; I was following the path I had mapped out mentally, merrily proceeding forward with optimism, until an unforeseen circumstance made me unable to progress further down my path. Like a video game where you can’t advance to the next challenge without passing each checkpoint, I am sitting here stuck because the checkpoint is blocked by a glitch in the programming. I wasn’t depressed until weeks of sitting here stuck in stasis created a sense of helplessness, anxiety, and despair because I cannot proceed. Getting stuck is not depression. Getting stuck is autistic inertia. Autistic Inertia as defined by Tanea Paterson in her article Using the Maori Creation Story to Navigate Autistic Inertia is as follows: Symptoms of autistic inertia include difficulties getting started, getting one’s body in motion and adjusting movements to rapidly changing surroundings. Some people also have difficulty performing a task before they have full understanding of what needs to be done and why. On the other hand, autistic inertia can also make it difficult to stop a task once engaged or someone may get stuck halfway through a movement or repeat an action indefinitely, as with stimming. Inertia also applies to a person’s hyper-focused attention, fixation or special interest. I am stuck and unable to progress to complete the task I have begun. This is not depression. This is something entirely different. Depression is a consequence of being profoundly crushed by the force of my inertia as it presses against a seemingly immovable obstacle. I’m stuck until I can redirect my attention to the solution, or until I abandon my goals in despair. I hope that I will be able to redirect my attention. Sometimes I manage. Sometimes I feel like I am trapped between the Charybdis and Scylla of inertia and demand avoidance. I have to sail a narrow line between getting stuck, and pushing so hard to find a way forward that I create additional obstacles out of anxiety at the demand, increasing my inertia exponentially. Sometimes I wonder if autistic inertia is demand avoidance, subtly sabotaging my efforts. You don’t risk rejection or the shame of failure if you don’t even try. But I think the demand avoidance more often appears in the efforts to break free from inertia, a symptom of the anxiety that builds in the struggle to move beyond the obstacle that blocks progress. I need to get unstuck. I need time, space, and possibly even assistance, to introspect on what is truly playing a role in creating the obstacles that are preventing me from progressing forward. I need to be able to clearly see my problem to be able to troubleshoot solutions. I need clarity of thought to organize how I am going to implement my solutions. I need emotional and physical support from my trusted people to help me overcome the inertia and executive function fails, and to act. I don’t think I am alone in my struggles with autistic inertia. Do you struggle with it this way too? ~Jennifer ( Link to Tanea Paterson’s article: https://www.altogetherautism.org.nz/using-the-maori-creati/) Image from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh released in 1977 by Disney

16.01.2022 Not everyone will get on board to cheer you along and that is ok, let go of those people!Not everyone will get on board to cheer you along and that is ok, let go of those people!

14.01.2022 HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY from Fantastic Friends!

14.01.2022 Here is a little word search some families may like to do together

10.01.2022 Fantastic Friends have created this group, as we have had interest in families (adults) parents wanting to connect with each other. Please feel free to join and share

07.01.2022 Follow I Might Be Funny for your daily dose of humor!

07.01.2022 RIP Sir Ken Robinson (An Inspiration) Attached is a Tribute to Sir Ken Robinson. AT Fantastic Friends we create opportunities for our friends, OPPORTUNITIES for our friends future. THEIR FUTURE.... #Creativity #DiverseTalent #DynamicIntelligence

06.01.2022 Amazing to watch!

05.01.2022 Different neurologies learn differently. School represents multiple challenges for kids with neurological differences. Navigating dynamic social situations, b...eing bombarded by competing sensory stimulation, teaching strategies that do not match your processing style, task demands that overpower you, the chaotic herd of students trampling in the hallways, nauseating cafeterias and threatening locker rooms, all make patterning the typical daily routine in mainstream school difficult to match the needs of many on the spectrum. There is so much that is intrusive about the dynamic makeup of our schools. For many, it is simply not possible to match the environmental demands to the child's neurology. The effects on a nervous system that is being irritated, taxed, and continuously drained can be traumatic. Especially when the child is stuck in an overwhelming situation for which they cannot escape. Even with the good intentions of everyone involved, chronic exposure to overwhelming stress, where the child feels powerless to escape, can have drastic effects for which we are only beginning to understand. Worst yet, the sensory-perceptual issues and cognitive processing styles can vary significantly between those on the spectrum. There are no one-size-fits-all accommodations that fit all of these children on the spectrum. It takes extensive assessments of processing styles, sensory strengths and sensitivities, social navigation skills, communication styles, and emotional vulnerabilities to begin to develop a comprehensive IEP to match the neurology of the student. We can talk all day about the legal requirements for schools to meet the needs of all students, but that does not mean that it can be accomplished within the social/ sensory/fast-paced structure of most dynamic, social-based, school systems. Too much is happening too fast, with too much uncertainty to help the child feel safe, accepted, and competent in that setting. I welcome all the ideas, suggestions, and concerns everyone has. Simply speaking, mainstream school is intrinsically not autism-friendly to their neurology, learning style, and social foundation.

05.01.2022 Fantastic Friends have had some interest in Parents wanting to have a Pen Friend group. Would you be interested?Fantastic Friends have had some interest in Parents wanting to have a Pen Friend group. Would you be interested?

04.01.2022 Story telling competition for Teenagers

02.01.2022 Credits to the Unschool Dad.