Ollie raises money for charity

As you all know so well by now, I am super proud of my son , Ollie and how he has gone on to study creative writing and publishing at university against all the odds and in spite of having his voice removed by those who simply couldn’t see beyond the label of autism.

 

Not only has my amazing boy gone on to find his voice but in true autism style he is taking this quite literally ! I Love it !! He is now using his voice to help others – something which has made me extraordinarily proud and emotional. How my son is growing ! How he has proved all the doubters wrong ! How he has burst out from inside the box others tried to cram him into , including professionals.

 

This week Ollie and some friends organised an open mic night in his university town to raise money for a charity close to their hearts. There really are some tremendous kids out there ! Ollie read out some performance poetry for which he had previously attained another First – the highest possible grade ! The evening was a resounding success with lots of money raised.

Ollie is building quite a name for himself with his writing.

I am staggered by how far he has come.

 

I am often asked to name the school who coldly refused to listen to me when I begged them to let Ollie sit the higher level GCSE English paper and who spent his funding , quite legally, elsewhere. I refuse because Ollie’s success has brought such joy  – and proved them all wrong . Ollie and I hope that those responsible for their  decisions back then will never ” see” a child with autism in that way again and that deep lessons have been learned. Sadly , Ollie’s old school is reflective and typical of a vast amount of schools all over the UK , and judging by the huge amount of emails I receive weekly, it is true of other countries also. To single out one school would be unprofessional and vindictive – it is the education system at large  – and more importantly the decision makers – who need to wake up to the enormous potential these children have and to channel for the good and the future.

 

This is why I am so passionate and dedicated to raising true awareness and understanding of autism and other special abilities and why I spend huge amounts of time educating people about just how gifted and ABLE these children and young adults are. Ollie is getting top grades at university – the boy who would ” never achieve ” !

Imagine the waste if as a parent I had just accepted the prognosis by professionals ‘ caring ‘ for Ollie ?

I have enclosed a copy of his latest poem here so you can judge for yourselves.

 

Ollie is living proof of triumph over adversity. He embodies that huge ability and endless possibility that so many of the young people I work with possess.

They are each so much more than a label.

So often it’s a different ability rather than a disability.

As the author of  “The Reason I Jump”  said, why can’t these labels simply be seen as just another character trait ?

 

It is my everlasting hope that Ollie’s success will encourage teachers and other professionals everywhere to rethink how they see children with different or special abilities – and to recognise the true weight of those precious futures that they hold in their hands. These children should have a voice in their own futures and not be held back due to ignorance surrounding their labels.

 

To see this blog in full please visit www.icare4autism.org where I write weekly blogs.

Regular Blogs can be found there and at different brains.com

Links to these can be found in this section or on the home page – just click on them and you will be taken straight there. It’s like magic !

 

Atoms – By Ollie March 2017

 

Someone says they are particles of salt sailing on the hot azure

Don’t undermine the vastness of the outer brink

They will hover in a fleecy mass above the trees, in love with a hundred leaves strung out from branch to branch in a green waving flag.

 

O rare incidents, I will see their o shapes drop from birds’ claws,

palming volcanic ash before it fades too soon.

You don’t want to get too close to it, or the nucleus dot will give out.

That is why only some of us can see it , a task for the un – searching eyes.

 

Tomorrow I probably won’t see them , but that doesn’t mean they won’t vanish into my worn flannel shirt.

I see a girl’s polka dot skirt while she is swinging , it reminds me of their rhythm as it blows softly on the wind .

How old are those O’s , will my mind ever know .

 

The belly skin of the sky bloats as it is filled to the burning sides

Trillions of them pushed together chanting  upupup upupup

Don’t make a joke of their ” the world is too small theory ” because when you know everyone , you learn to look in different places.

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