This week has seen a major and exciting development at Autism Works. After successfully completing a testing project on time and to budget, the company has been invited to enter into a long-term partnership with Camasco.
Based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Camasco, who employ 20 people and export case management software to organisations in the UK, Europe and the United States, were so impressed with the service we have provided at Autism Works, feeling that it has added to the quality of their product. At Autism Works though, what we are especially pleased about is that as well as Camasco selecting the company to carry out the work for them in relation to their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), but also that they obviously appreciate our persistent and independent approach as well as quality of service we can provide. Camasco takes CSR and meeting business requirements very seriously, and by contacting with us Autism Works, they are well-placed to meet both.
In a wider context, this partnership could have a major impact. First of all, by valuing skills of workers with autistic spectrum conditions, including Asperger's Syndrome, it is supporting the Autism Act 2009 by contributing to not only spreading awareness of autism in the employment market, but also encouraging acceptance. Secondly, as Autism Works also strongly values the tangible social impact we feel it can deliver combined with Camasco's emphasis on CSR, the partnership is also an early supporter of the recently-passed Social Values Act. At Autism Works, we are especially grateful for the faith that Camasco have show in our abilities.
As readers of this blog may also remember that of previous major developments that have taken place at Autism Works, the company was selected for Social Innovation Pioneer status by Deloitte. This week we have had visits from representatives from Deloitte, including Warren Chester, who has been appointed a non-Executive Director at Autism Works and will advise us on Sales and Marketing. Together with the partnership we have just established with Camasco, this will hopefully put Autism Works in a strong position to bring in some more interesting and exciting contracts in the coming months.
Changing the subject completely, as you may seen in the news, there have been a number of high-profile controversial rants on Twitter over the past few months from cricketers, footballers, politicians and various other celebrities. As a Twitter user myself, I was interested to receive a tweet from the Post Office asking what Twitter users felt would be good guidelines for 'safe tweeting'. Something that immediately occurred to me was that practising 'safe tweeting' was a good opportunity to not only practice mindfulness by not acting on emotions and posting what turns out to be an offensive tweet, but also an area where Buddhist ethics can be applied in a modern and secular context, in this case, refraining from harsh or hurtful speech. One doesn't have to be a 'Buddhist' or even spiritual to practice this, but before tweeting, it sometimes helps to step back for a moment to think it anyone who may see and read this 140-max character statement will hurt, offend or upset. However, I will leave this for individual Twitter users to decide this for themselves.
Despite the so-called 'evils' that social networks can have courtesy of a very small percentage of irresponsible users, they are particularly useful in sharing links and in my case, promoting fundraising challenges, including my pursuit to summit Kilimanjaro to raise much-needed funds for the Daisy Chain project. For more information, be sure to visit the following link http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
Autism Works was also delighted to hear the news of Home Secretary Theresa May's decision not to extradite Gary McKinnon to the United States earlier this week, finally bringing an end to several agonising years of waiting. We wish Gary, his mother Janis Sharp and all his supporters the very best for the next stage of the process.
Friday, 19 October 2012
Friday, 12 October 2012
School Reunion
Readers of this blog will most likely be used to its 'present' tense focus in relation to the mindfulness descriptions, but this entry will be an exception to the rule, as in the last week I have been revisiting my past at a school reunion catching up with my former teachers and former pupils.
Monkwearmouth Comprehensive, the school in Sunderland I attended between 1989-1994, celebrates its 50th anniversary as a school this year and organised a 50th anniversary reunion party open to former pupils and current/former members of staff from the school 's 50 years. The event, organised by Adam Walter, a teacher at the school from 1975-2009, was a huge success and raised over £1000 for the school. There was a huge turnout of both former pupils from different eras and teachers from past and present. When writing my autobiography Glass Half-Empty Glass Half-Full, in which I describe the ups and downs of my school experiences, I did hint towards the end that wouldn't be so keen to go to something like this. by time time of my second book though Asperger's Syndrome and Mindfulness, I had learned how to see people from my past, including former teachers and peers, as they are now.
If anyone reading this blog has read my first book, they will possibly recall that I experienced some difficult times at school as a pupil with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome, with bullying and generally being misunderstood. As initially difficult as it was, I eventually managed to get over blame that I had towards people from my past who made my life difficult, directly or indirectly. This is has been very difficult for many adults diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome later in life, and I am no different. When giving a seminar with Tony Attwood, author of The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, I learned that some adults with Asperger's Syndrome are given therapy to help cope with the after effects of schoolyard bullying similar to that given to Vietnam War veterans to help cope with traumas that ensued following the conflict. By tuning to the present though, I began to realise in later life that my teachers and peers didn't know there was a reason for why my behaviour and social presentation appeared 'different' as much as I didn't.
Inclusion within mainstream education is a much more highly topical theme than it was during my time at school, but I do remember and also recall in Glass Half-Empty Glass Half-Full that attempts were made by the school to 'include' me. The most memorable was when I was invited to come along on the school football team's trip to Anfield to watch Liverpool play Southampton in 1990 and organise a quiz for the bus journey in relation to my special interest in football trivia. Despite not being good at playing the game, I got a run out that day! This is something that I will always be grateful to Adam Walter, PE teacher, for. For this, as well as the support I had from my former head teacher, Jim Farnie, I wouldn't swap the mainstream school education I had for a special education, having at one stage been offered a place at a special school (of which I wasn't aware of until my Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis).
Having seen how much support for school pupils with special needs in mainstream education has improved when visiting schools to give training, something that I felt my experience of undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome taught me was that it is possible for a pupil with an Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis to 'survive' mainstream school without formal support, while progress can be made with additional informal support. Most importantly though, what I like to make a point of when visiting schools to give training on Asperger's Syndrome, is the importance of early diagnosis, which can make a huge difference in enabling where necessary support can be identified and implemented.
Also at the event was Jill Scott, who represented Team GB in the women's football tournament at London 2012. A few former pupils from Monkwearmouth School went on to become professionalfootballers, including Martin Smith and Michael Proctor who played for Sunderland, Jill was the school's first full international footballer and has also represented the England women's team at two World Cups and two European Championships. In the meantime, I wish the school all the bets for another fifty years!
Special thanks to Adam Walter and to Monkwearmouth School for all their hard work in making this wonderful event possible.
Monkwearmouth Comprehensive, the school in Sunderland I attended between 1989-1994, celebrates its 50th anniversary as a school this year and organised a 50th anniversary reunion party open to former pupils and current/former members of staff from the school 's 50 years. The event, organised by Adam Walter, a teacher at the school from 1975-2009, was a huge success and raised over £1000 for the school. There was a huge turnout of both former pupils from different eras and teachers from past and present. When writing my autobiography Glass Half-Empty Glass Half-Full, in which I describe the ups and downs of my school experiences, I did hint towards the end that wouldn't be so keen to go to something like this. by time time of my second book though Asperger's Syndrome and Mindfulness, I had learned how to see people from my past, including former teachers and peers, as they are now.
If anyone reading this blog has read my first book, they will possibly recall that I experienced some difficult times at school as a pupil with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome, with bullying and generally being misunderstood. As initially difficult as it was, I eventually managed to get over blame that I had towards people from my past who made my life difficult, directly or indirectly. This is has been very difficult for many adults diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome later in life, and I am no different. When giving a seminar with Tony Attwood, author of The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, I learned that some adults with Asperger's Syndrome are given therapy to help cope with the after effects of schoolyard bullying similar to that given to Vietnam War veterans to help cope with traumas that ensued following the conflict. By tuning to the present though, I began to realise in later life that my teachers and peers didn't know there was a reason for why my behaviour and social presentation appeared 'different' as much as I didn't.
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| With former PE Teacher Adam Walter |
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| With former Head Teacher Jim Farnie |
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| With England and Team GB international Jill Scott |
Special thanks to Adam Walter and to Monkwearmouth School for all their hard work in making this wonderful event possible.
Friday, 5 October 2012
Chalet Lines and Preparing for the Push to the Summit
Welcome back to Adventures with Autism Works after a two-week break. After the euphoria of completing the world's largest half-marathon, which I had the joy of recalling in my previous entry, now is time for me to come back down to earth again and concentrate on more immediate commitments in the present and over the coming months, including continuing with the ISEB Foundation Certificate, speaking/training events that I have next month as well as next part of my fundraising campaign for Daisy Chain - the push to the summit!
After experiencing the elation of a personal triumph, it is easy to see why some may get carried away to the extent that the euphoria can take one out of the present. Sometimes factors such as the build-up of anticipation before a special event can lead towards an anti-climax, especially if there are feelings of jubilation or triumph at the peak of the event, from which there is a long way to come down from mentally. However, over the last fortnight since my last blog entry, I feel that I have strongly experienced the value of stepping back from the flow to tune myself back to the present moment with mindfulness practice, bringing the focus of my attention to matters in the present as well as my next set of commitments to prepare for.
Switching off from ISEB, speaking/training and fundraising, this week I have been to see an entertaining performance of Chalet Lines at the Live Theatre on Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Quayside. Set at Chalet Number 12 at Skegness' Butlins' resort, where the Walker family's women have been holidaying since 1961, Chalet Lines takes the audience through five decades of birthdays, hen parties, gossip, arguing, heartache remedied by laughter. Drama and entertainment goes hand-in-hand with much of the work I do with giving training on Asperger's Syndrome, including sometimes using drama workshops to give participants an idea of how it may feel to have Asperger's Syndrome.
The contrast of characters Chalet Lines, written by Lee Mattinson, provide for great entertainment with Abigail, the down-trodden daughter (Viktoria Kay) of Loretta (Sharon Percy) who is subject to 'put-downs' from her mother while her sister Joelene (Sammy T Dobson) plays the part of the apple in her mum's eye. As you may remember from my previous entries, I recently went to see the stage version of the Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time. This expression immediately brought back memories of when Christopher Boone said why do we say such an expression when an apple is too big to fit in someone's eye! Viktoria Kay's brilliant portrayal of young Abigail gave an insight into the 'trapped' world of a misunderstood teenager, similar almost to how a person with Asperger's Syndrome can feel, particularly when her Aunt Paula (Jill Dellow) asked her if there really is such a thing as 'normal', while teaching her the Macarena dance.
Retuning back to the present, I am in the process of preparing for speaking/training events I have coming up in November and I am also preparing for the next stage of my fundraising challenge for Daisy Chain, which is to summit Kilimanjaro in October 2013. When giving training on Asperger's Syndrome, I often talk about why mountains have base camps, and why an Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis itself is like a base camp, as it gives one an opportunity to step back and assess and reflect on their own journey so far, before continuing onto the next part of the journey. For me, completion of the Great North Run represents the 'base camp' in my double challenge challenge. The next part of the journey for is to keep up the training and maintain the confidence going into the next part, the push to summit of Africa's highest mountain. To visit my updated Justgiving page click the following link http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
After experiencing the elation of a personal triumph, it is easy to see why some may get carried away to the extent that the euphoria can take one out of the present. Sometimes factors such as the build-up of anticipation before a special event can lead towards an anti-climax, especially if there are feelings of jubilation or triumph at the peak of the event, from which there is a long way to come down from mentally. However, over the last fortnight since my last blog entry, I feel that I have strongly experienced the value of stepping back from the flow to tune myself back to the present moment with mindfulness practice, bringing the focus of my attention to matters in the present as well as my next set of commitments to prepare for.
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| Chalet Lines in performance at the Live Theatre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
The contrast of characters Chalet Lines, written by Lee Mattinson, provide for great entertainment with Abigail, the down-trodden daughter (Viktoria Kay) of Loretta (Sharon Percy) who is subject to 'put-downs' from her mother while her sister Joelene (Sammy T Dobson) plays the part of the apple in her mum's eye. As you may remember from my previous entries, I recently went to see the stage version of the Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time. This expression immediately brought back memories of when Christopher Boone said why do we say such an expression when an apple is too big to fit in someone's eye! Viktoria Kay's brilliant portrayal of young Abigail gave an insight into the 'trapped' world of a misunderstood teenager, similar almost to how a person with Asperger's Syndrome can feel, particularly when her Aunt Paula (Jill Dellow) asked her if there really is such a thing as 'normal', while teaching her the Macarena dance.
Retuning back to the present, I am in the process of preparing for speaking/training events I have coming up in November and I am also preparing for the next stage of my fundraising challenge for Daisy Chain, which is to summit Kilimanjaro in October 2013. When giving training on Asperger's Syndrome, I often talk about why mountains have base camps, and why an Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis itself is like a base camp, as it gives one an opportunity to step back and assess and reflect on their own journey so far, before continuing onto the next part of the journey. For me, completion of the Great North Run represents the 'base camp' in my double challenge challenge. The next part of the journey for is to keep up the training and maintain the confidence going into the next part, the push to summit of Africa's highest mountain. To visit my updated Justgiving page click the following link http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
Friday, 21 September 2012
Elation! Mission Accomplished Part One!
It is over a week ago now and I still can't believe it, but I managed to successfully complete the world's largest half-marathon! If someone had told me a few years back, when I much of my spare time was spent very inactively, either worrying too much, comfort eating or just watching television, that I would one day complete a half marathon, I would have been in hysterics.
After having some doubts about whether or not I would actually complete it or pick up a strain along the way, which had occurred twice during my training, I found that once I got going, and with the cheering crowd encouraging the runners on, I suddenly forgot any doubts that I had and when crossing the Tyne Bridge, I felt that was the part of the run that said 'welcome to the Great North Run', but it was when I got past Heworth roundabout, the highest part of the route and then towards the halfway point that I felt that I was actually 'doing it'. With the wonderful crowds who came out to watch handing out cups of water, ice pops and jelly babies, I found that I was able to forget any feelings of fatigue or exhaustion when reaching the last mile and eventually the finish. Each and every moment of the run was magic, and the elation I experienced when crossing the finish line was something I will never forget.
One of the biggest aspects of the challenge of completing a half-marathon in relation to Asperger's Syndrome, is that it is a way to cope with some of the difficulties that the condition can present regarding anxiety, much of which stems from doubt, by facing up to them. To face up to such anxiety, I saw it as an opportunity to practice mindfulness, where attention to the breath during the run helped me stay focused on the present during each of the 13.1 miles. I also felt that combination of simple yoga stretches and meditation practices helped me to keep my back upright while running as it had occurred in training where I had 'slumped' a little and it was putting strain on my knee joints, allowing me to run for longer. Attention to such bodily sensations can make a huge difference for such a challenge.
The crowds I felt were as much the stars as the runners. Without them, I probably couldn't have done it. What has been especially lovely though, is that as well as my own elation, it appears from the many messages I have had from family and friends that there are many people who are elated for me. What has made the Great North Run experience so special, as it no doubt has for many others taking part this year, is that it gives you both a sense of achievement and contribution for a worthy cause, in my case supporting many young people and families affected by autism at Daisy Chain. When I have given talks and seminars on Asperger's Syndrome, it has happened were people have found themselves in tears being so proud of me and in the weeks leading up to the Great North Run, many have told me how proud have been of me taking on such an ambitious challenge, but one thing that is for sure though, I had never felt any more pleased with or any prouder of myself than I did after completing the run!
Meanwhile, coming back down to Earth after the euphoria of the big day, I am continuing to work my way through the ISEB, learning about the difference between the users and suppliers, including possible problems with requirements-based testing and how ill-specified requirements can present problems. One has to be especially careful about vagueness of requirements, particular when a requirements document says that it intends the software to perform a particular function but doesn't specify how it does it. This where a requirements list from a customer may become more like a 'wish list' than a requirements list, but the supplier may not have the same assumptions as the customer. This is where applying strengths that Asperger's Syndrome can present, including eye for and attention to detail and specific accuracy, can produce specific requirements documents for customers to enable functional specifications for suppliers. For if suppliers identify features only from the requirements document, it may result in a system not performing a function users want that wasn't specified in the requirements they weren't contracted to meet. Attention to detail in a physical sense got me through the Great North Run, hopefully I can apply it in a technical sense to eventually pass my ISEB!
Completing the Great North Run represents 'mission accomplished' for the first part of my double challenge to raise much-needed funds for Daisy Chain. The next challenge is slightly more ambitious - to summit Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain at 5896m, in October 2013. Whereas the Great North Run was a step into the unknown for me, Kilimanjaro will be a challenge that I have been more used to having previously trekked to Everest Base Camp in 2009 to raise funds for the National Autistic Society, though the conditions along Kilimanjaro's Lemosho Glades route (the route I will be taking) will be very different to the Himalayas, and perhaps even more varied. Being slightly higher than Everest Base Camp (where the highest point Kala Pattar is 5550m), coping with the higher altitude will also be more challenging. To find out more or to donate to this part of my challenge, see the following link http://bit.ly/L2eWtp
To stay fit for my Kilimanjaro challenge, and also to possibly enter future half-marathons and maybe even a full marathon, I am certainly going to keep up with my training. In the meantime, a huge thank you to everyone who has so far donated to my challenge on behalf of Daisy Chain and to the crowds who came along to cheer on this year's Great North Runners.
I am equally as proud of all the other runners who took part in this year's Bupa Great North Run, raising funds for very worthy causes and making a huge difference to the lives of so many. Elsewhere, I would also like to extend my compassion to friends and relatives of the 96 football fans who lost their lives during the Hillsborough Disaster on April 15th 1989, after recently released documents shed new light on this human tragedy.
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| Coming down Marsden Bank, South Shields, just before the last mile |
One of the biggest aspects of the challenge of completing a half-marathon in relation to Asperger's Syndrome, is that it is a way to cope with some of the difficulties that the condition can present regarding anxiety, much of which stems from doubt, by facing up to them. To face up to such anxiety, I saw it as an opportunity to practice mindfulness, where attention to the breath during the run helped me stay focused on the present during each of the 13.1 miles. I also felt that combination of simple yoga stretches and meditation practices helped me to keep my back upright while running as it had occurred in training where I had 'slumped' a little and it was putting strain on my knee joints, allowing me to run for longer. Attention to such bodily sensations can make a huge difference for such a challenge.
The crowds I felt were as much the stars as the runners. Without them, I probably couldn't have done it. What has been especially lovely though, is that as well as my own elation, it appears from the many messages I have had from family and friends that there are many people who are elated for me. What has made the Great North Run experience so special, as it no doubt has for many others taking part this year, is that it gives you both a sense of achievement and contribution for a worthy cause, in my case supporting many young people and families affected by autism at Daisy Chain. When I have given talks and seminars on Asperger's Syndrome, it has happened were people have found themselves in tears being so proud of me and in the weeks leading up to the Great North Run, many have told me how proud have been of me taking on such an ambitious challenge, but one thing that is for sure though, I had never felt any more pleased with or any prouder of myself than I did after completing the run!
Meanwhile, coming back down to Earth after the euphoria of the big day, I am continuing to work my way through the ISEB, learning about the difference between the users and suppliers, including possible problems with requirements-based testing and how ill-specified requirements can present problems. One has to be especially careful about vagueness of requirements, particular when a requirements document says that it intends the software to perform a particular function but doesn't specify how it does it. This where a requirements list from a customer may become more like a 'wish list' than a requirements list, but the supplier may not have the same assumptions as the customer. This is where applying strengths that Asperger's Syndrome can present, including eye for and attention to detail and specific accuracy, can produce specific requirements documents for customers to enable functional specifications for suppliers. For if suppliers identify features only from the requirements document, it may result in a system not performing a function users want that wasn't specified in the requirements they weren't contracted to meet. Attention to detail in a physical sense got me through the Great North Run, hopefully I can apply it in a technical sense to eventually pass my ISEB!
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| At Kala Pattar, 2009 |
To stay fit for my Kilimanjaro challenge, and also to possibly enter future half-marathons and maybe even a full marathon, I am certainly going to keep up with my training. In the meantime, a huge thank you to everyone who has so far donated to my challenge on behalf of Daisy Chain and to the crowds who came along to cheer on this year's Great North Runners.
I am equally as proud of all the other runners who took part in this year's Bupa Great North Run, raising funds for very worthy causes and making a huge difference to the lives of so many. Elsewhere, I would also like to extend my compassion to friends and relatives of the 96 football fans who lost their lives during the Hillsborough Disaster on April 15th 1989, after recently released documents shed new light on this human tragedy.
Friday, 14 September 2012
A Curious Incident and Big Day Build-up
Welcome back to Adventures with Autism Works. Now that it is September, the first reminder that comes to mind for me is how much closer the Great North Run is. As I write this blog, it now less than two days away! However, aside from my training for the run, I have continued with studying towards the ISEB and I have also had the pleasure of viewing the stage version of the best-selling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which brought back a lot of phrases I am familiar with from my past!
Broadcast live from London's Cottesloe Theatre at Tyneside Cinema, the stage version of Mark Haddon's best-selling novel, adapted for stage by Simon Stephens was a fantastic and innovative production. Having previously read and enjoyed the novel, at around the time when my first book Glass Half-Empty Glass Half-Full, one of the aspects of adapting such a story to the stage while writing a book directly from my own personal experiences of Asperger’s Syndrome that I felt would be such a difficult task was to with much of the story being ‘in the head’. Similarly, when I am giving training on Asperger’s Syndrome, I try as best I can to give audience members an idea of how it may actually feel to be a person with Asperger’s Syndrome. Because the descriptions of events surrounding the death his neighbour’s dog Wellington by the central character, Christopher Boone (played by Luke Treadaway), are so individualistic, I did have questions about how this could be done on stage. From an Asperger perspective, I was very impressed with how this was put across.
The way that Christopher gave very literal answers to questions asked by his father and the policemen, as well as literal interpretations of literal instructions and metaphors (which he felt should be called ‘lies’) and how confusing he found people generally, reminded me a lot of my own childhood. Like Christopher, I did have a tendency to ‘regurgitate’ excessive facts and information about astronomy, but I did also hear the familiar phrases ‘Christopher please’ and ‘Christopher give it a break’ that his parents often would say to him almost as if they were coming back from my past! Also like Christopher, I did also have dreams about becoming an astronaut when I grew up for similar reasons, to get away from the excessive confusion of being around people and various other human conventions that I felt didn’t make sense!
What was especially impressive though about the production when putting across the story through the mind of Christopher was with the sensory aspect of autism, particularly when at the railway station, where they used a montage of different sound effects heard in such an environment from adverts, broadcasts and echoing tannoy messages where one struggles to make anything out, as well as flashing a list of different rail service providers along the stage floor, to illustrate confusion and anxiety. The concluding part of the story though, where Christopher achieves his A-Star in maths and realises that he could do more than he was capable of after finding his way to London from Swindon to see his mother was heart-warming, when he realised that he was braver than he thought!
Coming back to my own life experiences, I felt a similar feeling after reaching Everest Base Camp in 2009 to raise funds for the National Autistic Society, realising that I was capable of more than I thought. Before this, I had never thought of myself entering a half-marathon. As I mentioned when speaking on BBC Radio Tees this week*, just to complete the Bupa Great North Run will be a huge achievement for me, on the same level as reaching Everest Base Camp was. To donate to my effort, visit the following link http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
*To listen to my interview with BBC Tees' Mike Parr this morning about my participation in this Sunday's Great North Run at the following link http://bbc.in/TXinmc My interview takes place from 2.22.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Tyneside Cinema for their help in arranging a collection point for the Daisy Chain Project, as well as to the cinemagoers who very kindly donated.
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| Luke Treadaway as Christopher Boone |
The way that Christopher gave very literal answers to questions asked by his father and the policemen, as well as literal interpretations of literal instructions and metaphors (which he felt should be called ‘lies’) and how confusing he found people generally, reminded me a lot of my own childhood. Like Christopher, I did have a tendency to ‘regurgitate’ excessive facts and information about astronomy, but I did also hear the familiar phrases ‘Christopher please’ and ‘Christopher give it a break’ that his parents often would say to him almost as if they were coming back from my past! Also like Christopher, I did also have dreams about becoming an astronaut when I grew up for similar reasons, to get away from the excessive confusion of being around people and various other human conventions that I felt didn’t make sense!
What was especially impressive though about the production when putting across the story through the mind of Christopher was with the sensory aspect of autism, particularly when at the railway station, where they used a montage of different sound effects heard in such an environment from adverts, broadcasts and echoing tannoy messages where one struggles to make anything out, as well as flashing a list of different rail service providers along the stage floor, to illustrate confusion and anxiety. The concluding part of the story though, where Christopher achieves his A-Star in maths and realises that he could do more than he was capable of after finding his way to London from Swindon to see his mother was heart-warming, when he realised that he was braver than he thought!
Coming back to my own life experiences, I felt a similar feeling after reaching Everest Base Camp in 2009 to raise funds for the National Autistic Society, realising that I was capable of more than I thought. Before this, I had never thought of myself entering a half-marathon. As I mentioned when speaking on BBC Radio Tees this week*, just to complete the Bupa Great North Run will be a huge achievement for me, on the same level as reaching Everest Base Camp was. To donate to my effort, visit the following link http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
*To listen to my interview with BBC Tees' Mike Parr this morning about my participation in this Sunday's Great North Run at the following link http://bbc.in/TXinmc My interview takes place from 2.22.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Tyneside Cinema for their help in arranging a collection point for the Daisy Chain Project, as well as to the cinemagoers who very kindly donated.
Friday, 31 August 2012
Unique Perspectives, Team-working, and August Blue Moon
As I continue to work towards the ISEB Foundation Certificate, the more it opens me to where potential strengths of employees with Asperger's Syndrome can be applied not only to testing software itself, but to other aspects of employment, including indirectly to team-working. Team-working is an aspect of employment that people with Asperger's Syndrome are still often stereotyped as having difficulty with, often preferring to work alone. However, unique individual perspectives that a person with Asperger's Syndrome may apply when working alone can be transferred with great effect to team situations.
An area of software testing where unique individual perspectives in employees with Asperger's Syndrome can be applied is within acceptance testing. In software testing speak, acceptance testing is primarily concerned with whether it works or not from the users perspective. How a piece of software works if often individual to the user, an example being if Microsoft released a new or updated version of MSWord, a user who simply wants to type and print a letter may assume it works OK, but a developer writing code may need the product to be robust, so from the latter perspective, the presumption that it works is no longer safe. So whether or not a piece of software works has a personal perspective. It may work for one individual's purpose, but not for another.
Thi This is where a group of employees with Asperger's Syndrome can apply different and often unique perspectives to the project that they are working on as a team. The different perspectives can test different functions of the software which can give developers a good indication of how their product will or in some cases won't work with a diverse range of potential users. It is often said that people with Asperger's Syndrome are even more different as individuals than people not on the autistic spectrum, a quality that can indirectly apply to working in a team. Another quality that I like to think can help an employee with Asperger's Syndrome relate effectively to other team members is if they have experienced personal difficulties or hardships, including those in relation to their experiences of Asperger's Syndrome, it will help them understand and be sympathetic towards a fellow team member experiencing similar difficulties.
An area of software testing where unique individual perspectives in employees with Asperger's Syndrome can be applied is within acceptance testing. In software testing speak, acceptance testing is primarily concerned with whether it works or not from the users perspective. How a piece of software works if often individual to the user, an example being if Microsoft released a new or updated version of MSWord, a user who simply wants to type and print a letter may assume it works OK, but a developer writing code may need the product to be robust, so from the latter perspective, the presumption that it works is no longer safe. So whether or not a piece of software works has a personal perspective. It may work for one individual's purpose, but not for another.
Away from Autism Works and ISEB, today will see, literally, a 'once in a blue moon' event. Today, as I write this entry on the last day of August, there is a blue moon, though the moon is not literally blue! In astronomical/calendar speak, a blue moon month is month in which there are two full moons. A significant blue moon month for me was in May 2007. Full Moon in May is significant because it is symbolic of the birth, enlightenment and passing into Nirvana of the Buddha. May 2007 was the first time that I partook in a Vesak festival at Harnham Buddhist Monastery in Northumberland and I learned that if there are two full moons in may, Vesak is celebrated on the second full moon, or blue moon in May.
In September, I have Tyneside Cinema's live screening of the stage version of Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and then on September the 16th it is the big day - Bupa Great North Run Day! It is a huge step into the unknown for me as I have never done anything like this before, though I am relatively confident that I have made reasonable progress with my training to enable me to complete it on the day to raise funds for the Daisy Chain Project. Daisy Chain will have a stall in the charity village at the finish line in South Shields if anyone planning on coming along or are taking part in the event themselves would like to find out more. To donate, the link is http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
Happy Blue Moon Day to you all!
The other significant event the occurs on August Blue Moon Day (today) is the funeral service of the first human to set foot on the Moon Neil Armstrong, who sadly died earlier this week, a man who experienced the ultimate in stepping into the unknown with the iconic quote: 'That's one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind'. RIP Neil Armstrong (1930-2012).
jj
Friday, 24 August 2012
Systematic Coverage and Mindful Applications
Welcome back to Adventures with Autism Works. Since my last entry, I have been working on the ISEB Foundation course, as well as reviewing some of Autism Works' Operational procedures, including in relation to approaches I have come across in the ISEB course.
Much emphasis in the many books and guidance presently available on the subject of Asperger's Syndrome is on how the condition affects one in the working environment itself and during the recruitment phase, the latter which appears to be a particularly huge stumbling block to many candidates with Asperger's Syndrome. What I am finding though is that there appears to be very little guidance on induction, as a successful and supportive induction process can make a huge difference to how a new employee with Asperger's Syndrome, especially if they struggle with change including adapting to new environments, different practices and unfamiliar people.
When learning about approaches to software testing while doing ISEB, I have found some interesting parallels with developing Asperger-friendly operational procedures, including recruitment policies as well as approaches towards software testing that can be incorporated into the company's operational practices, including systematic approaches. When learning about different testing methods, I came across the waterfall method, which was at one time a standard model for testing software in the 1970s, but is seen today as too time consuming and inflexible to apply to current day large projects, and more flexible methods, including Rapid Application Development (RAD) and Iterative Incremental models, have had to be learned. Similarly, to recruit people with Asperger's Syndrome, employers need to learn different and more flexible approaches to their recruitment procedures, including asking closed rather than open or abstract questions.
One of the first questions software testers ask, especially when testing a big software project, is how much testing is enough? It is rarely possible to test everything due to time and budget constraints, so instead, testers focus on the parts of the software that are the most critical, or where the bugs are likely to cluster. Similarly, when offering support to new inductees at Autism Works, it may not quite be possible with available resources to offer comprehensive support, so instead, it will perhaps be more appropriate to take a systematic approach, focusing support offered during the induction stage where it is needed, including in relation to anxiety and sensory issues that an inductee may experience.
Readers of this blog will be familiar with how I discuss how I have applied mindful approaches to life, including in both my professional and personal life. Away from work, I have also found a systematic approach helpful in my home life, including in cooking. Though I have cooked Thai stir-fries for quite some time, I only recently found where I was going wrong, which was throwing all the ingredients in all together, which could often result in some of them, particularly those that cook quicker than others, being over-cooked or burnt. I found that the quality of my meals was so much better by adding different ingredients at different stages to give them the right amount of cooking, rather than some being overdone.
Another bit of news that I have is that I am now up to £500 with my fundraising for Daisy Chain with less than a month to go before the first part of my challenge, the Bupa Great North Run. As well as the meditation practice, I am also finding yoga practice helpful in finding my balance when running as sometimes your posture can slip to the extent that it can put a lot of strain on the calf muscles. Meanwhile, as demand for Daisy Chain's services continues to increase, if you wish to make a donation, please visit the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
Much emphasis in the many books and guidance presently available on the subject of Asperger's Syndrome is on how the condition affects one in the working environment itself and during the recruitment phase, the latter which appears to be a particularly huge stumbling block to many candidates with Asperger's Syndrome. What I am finding though is that there appears to be very little guidance on induction, as a successful and supportive induction process can make a huge difference to how a new employee with Asperger's Syndrome, especially if they struggle with change including adapting to new environments, different practices and unfamiliar people.
When learning about approaches to software testing while doing ISEB, I have found some interesting parallels with developing Asperger-friendly operational procedures, including recruitment policies as well as approaches towards software testing that can be incorporated into the company's operational practices, including systematic approaches. When learning about different testing methods, I came across the waterfall method, which was at one time a standard model for testing software in the 1970s, but is seen today as too time consuming and inflexible to apply to current day large projects, and more flexible methods, including Rapid Application Development (RAD) and Iterative Incremental models, have had to be learned. Similarly, to recruit people with Asperger's Syndrome, employers need to learn different and more flexible approaches to their recruitment procedures, including asking closed rather than open or abstract questions.
One of the first questions software testers ask, especially when testing a big software project, is how much testing is enough? It is rarely possible to test everything due to time and budget constraints, so instead, testers focus on the parts of the software that are the most critical, or where the bugs are likely to cluster. Similarly, when offering support to new inductees at Autism Works, it may not quite be possible with available resources to offer comprehensive support, so instead, it will perhaps be more appropriate to take a systematic approach, focusing support offered during the induction stage where it is needed, including in relation to anxiety and sensory issues that an inductee may experience.
Readers of this blog will be familiar with how I discuss how I have applied mindful approaches to life, including in both my professional and personal life. Away from work, I have also found a systematic approach helpful in my home life, including in cooking. Though I have cooked Thai stir-fries for quite some time, I only recently found where I was going wrong, which was throwing all the ingredients in all together, which could often result in some of them, particularly those that cook quicker than others, being over-cooked or burnt. I found that the quality of my meals was so much better by adding different ingredients at different stages to give them the right amount of cooking, rather than some being overdone.
Another bit of news that I have is that I am now up to £500 with my fundraising for Daisy Chain with less than a month to go before the first part of my challenge, the Bupa Great North Run. As well as the meditation practice, I am also finding yoga practice helpful in finding my balance when running as sometimes your posture can slip to the extent that it can put a lot of strain on the calf muscles. Meanwhile, as demand for Daisy Chain's services continues to increase, if you wish to make a donation, please visit the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
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