Family Life: Mum creates website to help parents of children wtih Autism
FRUSTRATED by experiences with her autistic son, accountant and mother-of-two Maria Beard was inspired to create a website to help other parents.
Bearing in mind all the problems she has faced, Maria, from Tamworth, launched “tink ’n’ stink”, showcasing developmental teaching resources for children with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), discovered during her own journey with eight-year-old son Jordan.
Her venture comes at a time when campaigners and families claim educational needs for children on the autism spectrum are still lagging.
Much of this can be explained by the fact that it was not until 1994 that Asperger’s Syndrome even appeared in medical manuals and autism itself has only been recognised properly since the 1960s.
It took six years to get a definitive diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD for Jordan, who goes to Millfield Primary School, in Fazeley, but over that time she had seen how the education system was often too rigid to realise the needs of autistic children.
“I see it as Jordan having learning differences, not difficulties,” says Maria, who works by day for manufacturing business Foseco, in Tamworth. “He learns in a different way to what the system expects and doesn’t accommodate.
“The school curriculum is ‘one size fits all’ and there is a lot of inflexibility to change that.
“Some children learn visually with aids. They often need something to fiddle with and learn through motion and I have found fidget tools to keep their hands busy for that sensory need.
‘‘If you imagine a room of 30 pupils, some will be twiddling their hair or doodling, but that fidgeting is part of the learning and teachers who haven’t been trained don’t realise that and think they are disinterested.
“I wanted to get across to other mothers that life for their child doesn’t have to be self-limiting, by having access to the right facilities, products and learning resources.
“Tiny things can make a huge difference, like simple stickers in shoes so a child knows which shoe to put on which foot, or skill games to encourage memory recognition.”
Jordan’s parents realised there was a problem when he was aged two.
His vocabulary was limited, he had daily tantrums, nothing could satisfy him, he was not interested in toys, would not leave the boundaries of the house and would destroy everything around him.
“The waiting list for referral to a specialist for diagnosis can take as long as three years,” adds Maria. “We waited 18 months. I know what Jordan needs to learn – things like brightly coloured letters and shapes that he can feel and a structure to his day, but a lot of what is done at schools is on white boards so he doesn’t always take it in.
“There needs to be more training in schools about autism but I don’t think the education system is set up to deal with these children adequately. That’s why parents like me are filling the gaps in their own way, because the system is not consistent enough.”
More info
* Maria Beard’s Tink n Stink website can be found at: www.tinknstink.co.uk
* The Island Project can be found at: www.theislandproject.co.uk
* Autism West Midlands offers a range of advice at: www.autismwestmidlands.org.uk or on 0121 450 7582
