h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Again, hi I've just read your piece 'She in NOT a retard!'. Fantastic. Please share more, you've a wonderful tone of writing and I'm sure many stories to tell.

I'm a paediatric nurse by trade and am constantly dealing with narrow-minded colleagues, other parents and even so-called experts in the field of child 'learning disabilities' (I do so hate that term).

Would you be offended if I took your piece to work and incorporated it into a lecture I'm working on? A parent's perspective of the treatment of children with ASD. If you'd prefer I didn't, just say It's just I think your voice has captured the essence of how many parents feel.

Let me know, be nice to talk further.
Frood

Hi Frood,

Thanks for your message

I would be happy for you to use my piece in your lecture. Joy is now nearly 18 and at a special school on the UK mainland. If you visit my Open University page here www.lamorris.co.uk which is about T171, the course I did in 2001, you can scroll down to the index and find the pages that I created on the subject of autism. Sadly many of the links are now dead though

With Scilly being such a small place, Joy is well-known here and many people stop me to ask how she is getting on at school. It is nice to be part of such a caring community but it has been hard when visitors to the islands don't understand. Islanders tend to accept that Joy is going to be upset and disruptive at times - they don't stare or kick up a fuss.

On one occasion, when she had a full-blown tantrum in the Co-op which saw her fling herself onto the floor, screaming and kicking, it was the Special Needs teacher who was with her that got a letter from a member of the public, congratulating her on how well she handled the situation I have to admit, that really p*ssed me off

Yes, it would be nice to talk again sometime

Armorel (Lois Ann)

Thanks for the okay, that's great

Joy is 18 now? Wow, utmost admiration for you both I'm sure that the transition from 'child' to 'adult' wasn't easy.

Will chat further if you like, I'm on MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. pan_galactic_hoopy_froodAThotmailDOTcom (Replace the AT with @ and the DOT with . of course, I just do that so I don't get spam) and my yahoo account is pghoopyfrood

Again, thanks.
Frood (Matt James)

Hi Frood,

Yes, Joy is nearly eighteen - it seems to have gone by so fast, and yet at times, so slowly

I've IM'ed you (I'm on Yahoo too as scillydreamer)

Catch you around sometime

Armorel (Lois Ann)