Hercules' mountain - by Steve Simons |
Some people who see this
posting, including those based beyond the UK, might wonder what I mean by an
autism ‘Week’ – as opposed to World Autism Day, which is an established world-wide
event held on each April 2nd. This could be because, although ‘world’
is the title I am pretty sure that World Autism Awareness Week is an initiative in the UK – from the
National Autistic Society It feels right, and timely,
to be engaging with a UK initiative, and one that, while growing out of the UK –
if I’m right – is looking beyond Britain.
On the one hand, to date, my
work has been UK-focused. For instance, I have been doing a pilot study of the
activities with primary school children at the autism unit of a school in
London. I’ve also consulted with UK-based academics and practitioners specialising in autism.
On the other hand, what I am
doing is not confined to the UK. Since I started blogging on the topic I have enjoyed
correspondence from beyond the UK, particularly in the US, from where the most
hits to this blog have consistently come. What’s more, I am producing the activities
as part of the global Our Mythical Childhood project, headquartered in Poland, and I first presented my activities in a café in Warsaw run by autistic people.
The postings I write this
week will, likewise, have both a UK and a global focus. For example, I shall
report on something that happened close to home, when I ran a session relating
to the project with Classical Civilisation students at Roehampton.
I shall also be reporting on
the things that I’m doing this week, both of which have an international
dimension. Firstly, later in the week, I’ll be meeting with Dr Lisa Maurice who
will be over in the UK from Bar-Ilan University, to discuss the initiatives she
and her colleagues are developing to support autistic children in Israel.
Secondly, on Saturday I shall be
part of a panel on classics and disability at the CAMWS (Classical Association of the Middle West and South) conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. My paper
will discuss my autism project. As soon as I press ‘publish’ for this current
posting, I am going to put the final touches to my paper for Lincoln. Once it’s
been delivered, I’ll share it here – to mark the culmination of this week.
During the Week, I'm also going to share some of the artwork created by Steve Simons for the first set of activities. Today's image, at the top this posting, marks Day 1, as I contemplate how I'll present my work between now and Sunday. It's Steve's drawing of the mountain to be climbed should Hercules choose the path offered by one of the two mysterious women he meets as he deliberates where to go next in life.
During the Week, I'm also going to share some of the artwork created by Steve Simons for the first set of activities. Today's image, at the top this posting, marks Day 1, as I contemplate how I'll present my work between now and Sunday. It's Steve's drawing of the mountain to be climbed should Hercules choose the path offered by one of the two mysterious women he meets as he deliberates where to go next in life.
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