My name is Kevin .
I have been Sean's Dad for 18 years now .
Sean has a diagnosis of autism (high functioning) .
I taught Economics for 25 years prior to becoming Sean's home tutor - nearly five years ago.
Sean at that time was showing signs of 'meltdown' .
He was in his second year of secondary school in England.
We now live on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland .
Somebody once glibly said that ' it's better to light one candle than curse the darkness'
but a diagnosis of Autism invariably means that the darkness and the cursing comes first .
Thereafter , you have to stumble about in the dark - often on your own - desperately seeking that bloody candle .
The aim of this website is to share my experience with others who may be just starting to look for said bloody candle .
For our children's sake we can't afford to go under - or waste all our energy in angry lambasting of systems that really don't know that much and 'care' only on a 9-5 basis .
At the risk of sounding a bit 'hey-man' , I do think there is a candle for each of the 30 million neurologically different folk sharing the planet with us .
Often , in spite all our bumblings, they find it and light it themselves .
But when they don't find it - or somebody's ignorance snuffs it out - the outcome can be bad.
So ... if we can collaborate with them in the search for their very personal 'solution' - all the better .
We need to feel we are doing something . But it isn't really about us - is it. So just latching on to the latest 'silver bullet' may not be the best use of our time . And it implies a desire to be rid of the child we have - rather than nurturing their huge strengths and passions through to a natural and holistic conclusion .
All a bit airy fairy ? I don't think so .
Our childrens ability to focus on their 'passions' can be the achilles heel of 'the problem' . It's more a matter of getting the excellence out than putting the mediocrity in.
The single biggest factor associated with progress is Time . It is a great healer . If we let it do its job .
Talking of life with his autistic son , Nobel prize winner Kenzaburo Oe reflected ,
"I feel human beings can heal themselves, the will to be healed, and the power of recovery are very strong in us .
That's the most important thing I've learnt in my life with my son."
I have been Sean's Dad for 18 years now .
Sean has a diagnosis of autism (high functioning) .
I taught Economics for 25 years prior to becoming Sean's home tutor - nearly five years ago.
Sean at that time was showing signs of 'meltdown' .
He was in his second year of secondary school in England.
We now live on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland .
Somebody once glibly said that ' it's better to light one candle than curse the darkness'
but a diagnosis of Autism invariably means that the darkness and the cursing comes first .
Thereafter , you have to stumble about in the dark - often on your own - desperately seeking that bloody candle .
The aim of this website is to share my experience with others who may be just starting to look for said bloody candle .
For our children's sake we can't afford to go under - or waste all our energy in angry lambasting of systems that really don't know that much and 'care' only on a 9-5 basis .
At the risk of sounding a bit 'hey-man' , I do think there is a candle for each of the 30 million neurologically different folk sharing the planet with us .
Often , in spite all our bumblings, they find it and light it themselves .
But when they don't find it - or somebody's ignorance snuffs it out - the outcome can be bad.
So ... if we can collaborate with them in the search for their very personal 'solution' - all the better .
We need to feel we are doing something . But it isn't really about us - is it. So just latching on to the latest 'silver bullet' may not be the best use of our time . And it implies a desire to be rid of the child we have - rather than nurturing their huge strengths and passions through to a natural and holistic conclusion .
All a bit airy fairy ? I don't think so .
Our childrens ability to focus on their 'passions' can be the achilles heel of 'the problem' . It's more a matter of getting the excellence out than putting the mediocrity in.
The single biggest factor associated with progress is Time . It is a great healer . If we let it do its job .
Talking of life with his autistic son , Nobel prize winner Kenzaburo Oe reflected ,
"I feel human beings can heal themselves, the will to be healed, and the power of recovery are very strong in us .
That's the most important thing I've learnt in my life with my son."