Aspies For Freedom

Tonight on BBC2 in the UK for anyone who wants to watch it. It's about a 14 year old autistic boy and his Mother and six siblings, three of who are autistic. On at 11:20 PM.

I saw that in the TV guide earlier, mean to set it up to record. Thanks for reminding me, I'll go do it now!

By the sound of the description in our guide, I think it will portray Autism in a bad way ("[..]suffers from Autism"). Still, worth a watch.

Thanks for letting me know! I really want to watch that programme, I have asked the BBC to put it on before, but they said that they had no plans to. I'm glad they have changed their minds.

It was the programme that convinced my mum that I had Aspergers.

I can see why it made my mum think that I have AS, I act it a very similar manner to Luke, the AS boy.

It also reminded me that I really need to get some tinted glasses for my Scotopic Sensitivity, I'll have to see my doctor.

Hello All, ici Ilja,

I just posted another thread elsewhere after the program was just started. Ok, for outside UKers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/tvradio/autism/

You find the whole thing, & the BBC regulary repeats it once a year or so. ThanX for the early warning Maisie!

Ok, I gonna ask Gareth to delete my other thread because I can't do it myself, anymore...

Ilja._\\//

I watched it too. I thought it was going to be curebie, but the way it came across to me was that it hovered in the middle ground somewhere. Well, it was the BBC.
The mother was very into the idea of gluten and dairy-free diets and such, and she said something like "It's not a cure, but it helps", though when her aspie son Luke (who seems very smart) was giving a speech he said that AS was a gift, or something like that.
I'm also confused as to why she had eight children, when looking after them all is a huge operation. The ADHD kid who stole all the batteries and shoelaces probably only continued to do so because she clearly didn't punish him, and she was constantly tidying his room for him. This is a pretty negative example of a parent using ADHD as an excuse, which isn't going to help ADHD kids much in society.

I didn't realise that was on.  Is it a repeat of a programme that was on 5 years ago? If so, then I have already seen it.

The people who make the programme don't write the description in the TV guide.

The glasses themselves aren't for ASD themselves but for Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS) or Irlen Syndrome, a common sensory sensitivity among those with ASD, but it isn't limited to them. I think it comes about because the brain processes visual information too quickly resulting in distortions and hightend sensitivity to things like the flickering rate of lights and the brightness of them. Apparantly the colour of the tinted glasses confuses the brain for a moment slowing the processing down, which illeviates most if not all symptoms associated with SSS.

I have it myself. But I am not sure how to go about getting a diagnosis, then getting tested and procribed the correct colour glasses, here in the UK. I guess I'll just have to see my doctor.

TV guides can really mess up people's expectations of a programme, a lot of the time the people who write the reviews haven't really seen the programme they are reviewing (at least that is the impression I get!).

I was glad to have the opportunity to see this programme, as didn't see it the first time around. Inevitably I was comparing what I saw against what I'd heard about the programme or indeed the whole Luke Jackson phenomenon. For instance, I'd heard people raving about how articulate Luke was. Having seen him perform to camera, I can only say that he was about as articulate as most 13-year-old boys, which is not so very (as in using the word "like" in every sentence).

Disappointed not to see more of the eldest brother - Matt I think his name was. I suppose he didn't want to be filmed. It would have been good to have the perspective of an autistic adult. As it is, the programme peddled the usual stereotype of all autistics being children.

Am I the only one who wonders how Jacqui can afford a seven-bedroom house, a car, three computers and studying for all those degrees without a paid job? Is she living off the royalties from the books or her ex-husband's salary? Nice work if you can get it.

Am I also the only one who found it odd to see an obviously prepubescent (well his voice hasn't broken) 13-year-old boy talking about the dating game as if he were way behind his peers? Surely lots of boys (and girls) that age haven't had relationships - or am I showing my age? (I'm 32). Maybe that's what comes of having written a "User Guide to Adolescence" at that age - you then feel obliged to get ahead with mature activities so you can write the updated edition!

Well who knows, maybe they start really early these days *shudder*

If he thinks he's behind, I'm 22 and I've never been in a relationship, or ever tried to get in a relationship with someone. it's so alien!

And some other things I was wondering about...

Why did Jacqui go to all the trouble of providing separate meals for her autistic/non-autistic children? Wouldn't it have been simpler to have everyone eat GF-CF food at home - then if the NT girls were really craving wheat and dairy they could get their fix at school dinners or wherever.
Why did none of the Jackson children mention their father?
What is the 17-year-old Luke doing now?

They made another programme for some channel for teachers, teaching teachers about ASD. Last I heard Luke was playing the guitar, and his mum was doing a PHD in autism.

19 now in fact. I've recently been informed - by my workplace coach - that Luke is one of the visiting tutors on Sheffield Hallam University's postgraduate courses in autism.
http://www.shu.ac.uk/education/theautism...urses.html
Other than that he's studying photography at a FE college.