Spectrum Connection CIC

06/02/2024

Happy anniversary to me! Today marks 15 years since I received my autism diagnosis. The autism world has changed a huge amount since then. I was put in touch with one of the very first autism mentors whilst at university (now there are thousands all around the country). There was a small group of autistic people that used to meet once a week. I really thought that the six of us were the only autistic students there! I felt so old, getting my diagnosis at 19. But now, 19 seems so young, and I know people in their 40s, 50s and 60s that are just being diagnosed. I am grateful to have spent practically my entire adulthood knowing this truth about myself. In 2009, we used to call ourselves ‘Aspies’, and one of the first books I ever read was Aspergirls, which was revolutionary at the time. I remember reading blogs written by parents about their young autistic children, and although I found these beautiful and insightful, I didn’t see myself anywhere. There was so little knowledge about autism in people like me, and yet I found people that saw my humanity everywhere I went.

Getting that diagnosis on the 6th February, 2009, changed the course of my entire life. I remember sitting in my university hall of residence, and I felt as though the entire world had just tilted 90° and I had to get used to this new way of living. Then as time went on, my whole way of being and seeing and doing shifted into that new 90° angle and then I couldn’t imagine it ever going back to how it was. I am so grateful that people being diagnosed in 2024 have a whole community and access to information and knowledge that they are whole and don’t need to change. I am also so grateful that I did get my own diagnosis in 2009 and have let my life be shaped by this knowledge. I imagine going back to tell 19-year-old Amanda what her life is like in 2024, and how that would be absolutely inconceivable to her. I wonder what 49-year-old Amanda will be like in another 15 years!

21/08/2023

🌼 We still have spaces for fully funded therapy! 🌼

We provide child-focused therapy that supports parents and children to connect, develop their understanding of one another, learn ways to support communication, and feel more confident.

I’ve been learning about other really important topics that can also support autistic children – particularly gestalt language processing, and using AAC. I would be thrilled to also share all this knowledge with you!

We are able to support families in receipt of certain benefits, with a child aged five or under, who live within Greater Manchester. Please share and get in touch 🤩

💓💓 I know this post won't show up for many people as I've not been active on here for a long time. If you see this post, please can you like and comment on it, or share it? I really want to be able to support as many families as possible and I can't do that if they don't know we exist. Thank you 🥰

We have generous funding from the National Lottery, and are now able to offer FREE, fully-funded PACT intervention to parents/carers on a lower income in Greater Manchester.

27/03/2023

We are recommencing our free support for families of autistic children! 🥳

We have National Lottery funding to provide free therapy to families of autistic children aged five and under, who are on a lower income (particularly those in receipt of benefits such as Universal Credit) and live in Greater Manchester. Children don’t need a diagnosis to access our service. Places are limited.

This therapy aims to:
- support families to understand their child’s communication
- support parents to enter their child’s world
- reduce stress and anxiety for both adults and children
- support children’s ability to self-advocate and communicate in ways that are meaningful to them.

Please click the link below if you would like to apply! 🌈

We have generous funding from the National Lottery, and are now able to offer FREE, fully-funded PACT intervention to parents/carers on a lower income in Greater Manchester.

24/12/2022

I’ve been struggling lately. For over half my life, I’ve found Christmas to be my most difficult time of year. I haven’t felt able to work with families for the last several months, and thankfully we’ve been able to put the Lottery funding on hold for now whilst I figure some of this out and look after myself.

Christmas has usually been a time where I’ve felt intensely disconnected, whilst surrounded by people, at a time when we’re ‘supposed’ to feel so intensely connected. The expectations of the season, the trauma surrounding it, and the contrast between what is projected on the outside versus what it feels like on the inside are all very challenging for me. I suspect others feel this way too, but social media drowns out our voices in a sea of wrapping paper, shiny trees and perfect families. If this is you too, at least you know you are not alone. 💙

However, there have been some bright lights in this difficult season. My wonderful partner has written a book, and it’s finally arrived!! Not quite in time to give as a Christmas gift (though she did try so hard to make that happen), but perhaps Christmas-specific gifts are overrated anyway?!

It’s the story of an autistic girl who uses an AAC device, and who goes on a journey involving both people and animals to try and find her voice. It’s a story of acceptance and celebration. It’s been written, edited, illustrated and informed by autistic people, and we hope autistic children will see themselves represented here. All the proceeds will go towards funding AAC devices and training for families. It’s also been published as an eBook if you would prefer to purchase it that way. Please click on the link to our website to purchase.

We really, really appreciate you and hope that you have the best winter holiday that is possible for you. 🥰

Our lovely Jen has written a book – Finding Raven’s Voice, a journey of acceptance. Raven is autistic and uses an AAC device, which is a tablet that some people use to communicate. Raven is on a quest to find her […]

07/10/2022

Suuuuuper exciting news! (plus, hi everyone, it’s been a while 🥰)

We got the Lottery funding for this year again! We will receive £10,000 to be provide 5 families in Greater Manchester with free PACT intervention - plus 3 sessions for the staff at each child’s nursery, playgroup or school. 🙌

You can apply via the website: https://spectrumconnection.co.uk/funded-therapy/ 💙

We have generous funding from the National Lottery, and are now able to offer FREE, fully-funded PACT intervention to parents/carers on a lower income in Greater Manchester.

05/09/2022

⭐️ COMPETITION TIME - NAME OUR NEW BOOK! ⭐️

It’s Jen here! Earlier this year, Spectrum Connection CIC ran a fundraiser to raise money to buy some AAC devices and provide training to parents. We received generous donations, and Amanda also wrote and presented a webinar all about AAC to raise further funds. We are proud to announce that we have recently been collaborating with an autistic illustrator to produce a children’s book to raise money for ongoing support for parents and children in need of AAC devices! We know that representation is so important for autistic children - that they see themselves in characters - and that difference is represented in a positive and judgement-free way. Everyone involved in writing, editing, illustrating and advising on the book is autistic, including some adult AAC users.

Now we need your help! We can’t think of a title for the book! So, we thought we would run a little competition to name it. We would like your suggestions. The blurb of the book is as follows:

Raven is an autistic AAC user. Raven is on a quest to find her voice. Will she find it? Who will she meet along the way? What will she learn? A heart-warming story of self-discovery, communication, and love.

The winner will receive a free copy of the book and a mention inside as a thank you.

We are excited to find a title so we can arrange for the publication and launch the book! Amanda, myself, Julie, and our autistic illustrator Sara will get together to choose the title as soon as we have enough suggestions. We’re so excited! ♾

26/07/2022

I realised recently that it’s been ten years this month since I graduated from university, and on the 1st August it’ll be ten years exactly since I became a dentist.

I found a picture recently that I drew when I started university, ‘My life in 15 years’. I needed some hope, I needed to be able to visualise what the future could hold. The picture had me in a circle of friends, some very happy looking guinea pigs, a rocking chair, a wool shop (believe it or not, owning a wool shop used to be my fantasy future job!), me as a dentist, a partner and a baby. Many of those things (or something in the same ballpark) have happened so far, but actually I never would have envisaged most of what WASN’T in the picture.

My time at university were some of the darkest of my life. I was diagnosed as autistic, and I was told by someone very senior within the dental school that I would never cope in the world of work outside of university. Not many people there believed in me or saw what I could be. But some people did - they fought for me, cheered me on, and told off those who needed telling off. And so here I am, ten years later, a dentist, amongst many other things, surviving and thriving in the world of work outside of dental school. The intervening ten years have been filled with major life events too. I’m older, a bit wiser, a bit chubbier, a lot more accepting and so much happier. I’m stronger than ever. I’ve already achieved more than I could have dreamed possible with my life - some things that can physically be seen and others that can’t, but all valuable to me.

I guess I’m just here to say that life doesn’t always, or even often, work out as we expect. Other people’s expectations of us can make us or break us. Life can look so bleak, and yet there is always hope. It’s the things that we can’t foresee that might have the most meaning. Autism isn’t an ending to a life you expected for yourself or your child; maybe it’s an invitation to a whole new world of possibility.

21/06/2022

Yay! I finally got my Supporting Children and Adults using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) qualification! I took the course back in February and have been working with families using AAC since then. I’ve also done the Authentic AAC course through Learn Play Thrive - which I absolutely would recommend if you want to get a good grounding in respectful AAC.

16/05/2022

Now you can donate directly via the website and receive an instant link to our webinar, AAC and Autism - getting started with alternative communication methods for autistic children. 🥳

Please share this link if you've watched and enjoyed our webinar, we've had some excellent feedback so far! 🙌

Are you looking for our AAC and Autism webinar? We are excited to share it with you! This webinar discusses neurodiversity-affirming practice in AAC, the problems with PECS, long-term goals for our autistic children and how they can be supported […]

10/05/2022

And it's done! 🥳 I worked so hard, firstly on learning, and then on writing and recording, and lastly (which took the most time!) on splicing, downloading and uploading!

Thanks to everyone that signed up! If anyone that didn't would like to see it, you are welcome to donate £11.37 or more and I will send you the link to view it. 😊

Or, if you are on a lower income or an AAC user yourself, please contact me and you're welcome to view it for free.

08/05/2022

It’s tomorrow! Our very first webinar, about one of my abiding loves - AAC! ♾

You don’t have to attend at a certain time, as the webinar will be pre-recorded and sent to you to watch at your convenience. All proceeds go towards providing AAC devices for autistic children and supporting their parents/carers.

Please come and join us to learn about how to get started with AAC for autistic children in ways that support autonomy, connection and confidence in communication. Link in comments 😊