Finding Flow in the New Year

Welcome back to Adventures with Autism Works and Happy New Year to all readers for 2013! After a much needed break and taking some time to settle back into working routine after the excess of mince pies, turkey and not to mention the generosity of giving presents, things are gradually getting back to normal at Autism Works this week.

Traditionally, at the turn of the year, when Earth has completed another orbit of the Sun, some of its human inhabitants often like to talk about resolutions that they have for the new year, such as what they would maybe like to achieve and what they may like to do differently. Though New Year Resolutions can be motivating factors, one sometimes also has to be careful not to become lost in them to the extent that they find themselves becoming anxious or disappointed that such resolutions can't be fulfilled, or in just trying to attain them, one becomes over-stressed that they forget the moment or situation they are in. This is why, in relation to mindfulness practice, I am going to attempt to without trying to hard, to be with each moment of 2013 as it unfolds with the journey that lies ahead of my with my duties at Autism Works as well as Asperger-related work and charity challenges.

One of the qualities that I feel I am beginning to experience more from mindfulness practice in recent months is in being able to find flow. As readers of this blog will be familiar, I have written much here about how the practice has enabled me to tune into the present so much more, but to experience the quality that the present moment can bring, it also helps to find flow in what one may be doing here and now in the present. Obsessive compulsive tendencies present in Asperger's Syndrome can sometimes see me become anxious about what stage I am at with a certain task, exercise or project or how much longer I need to continue with it to the extent that I may become obsessive about the time. This is where times and routines start to become almost a 'dictating' factor, inducing stress and anxiety.

When one finds flow in the present, goals and targets start to become factors for one to do the work to a achieve an outcome rather than doing the work to achieve the outcome. Applied to software testing, this could mean aiming to achieve a deadline to test the software rather than testing software to meet a deadline. This can enable one to be with each moment of the testing and hopefully produce better tested software for the developers, being able to identify bugs and defects early through applying eye for detail in each moment of the testing process. The other target that I hope to achieve this year through finding flow in a similar way with the ISEB Foundation Certificate.

Where I am also hoping to find flow this year is in the second part of the challenge that I am taking on for Daisy Chain, which is to hopefully summit Kilimanjaro (5896m) to raise much-needed funds for Daisy Chain.  To hopefully achieve my target, I am going to focus on the the summit being a factor to do not just the trek, but the fundraising activities as well, to enable Daisy Chain to continue to deliver the vital service that they provide to children and young people with autism and their families. To find out more or to donate, please visit my sponsorship page at www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/

If 2012 was about tuning into the present, can 2013 be about finding flow. Stay tuned to Adventures with Autism Works to see how 2013 unfolds. In the meantime, every best wish to you all for 2013.

     

Autistic Voices Conference, Brussels and Seasons' Greetings!

Welcome back to Adventures with Autism Works after what has already been a very busy December for me, not just with finishing off the last of my Christmas shopping, but also with talks and seminars as well as performing some exploratory testing.

Earlier this month, I spoke at a very inspiring conference in Manchester, Autistic Voices. Readers of this blog and those who know me well will know that giving talks and seminars on Asperger's Syndrome is not only a big part of my life, but was also a dramatic change in my life from my first such event back in 2002. From that day onward, I found that I had a new purpose in my life. At Autistic Voices, I had the privilege to meet Scott James, who talked about how signing had done for him what public speaking has done for me, after having been written off by so many. But the day he got up on stage and sang, his life changed. Scott has since appeared on Britain's Got Talent performing his single 'Through My Eyes' to raise awareness of autism and raising thousands for a range of charities including Help the Heroes, Cancer Research etc. To listen to Scott's song, see the following video:

It was the first time that Scott, who like me, was born in Stockton-on-Tees, had spoken rather than sung in public, which I was surprised about, as he looked as though he had been doing for as long as I have! Scott gave a very entertaining talk about his favourite music and comedy moments, just the sort of talk that I wish I could sometimes give where I talk about what I find hilarious, such as when Timmy Mallet was on Wacaday or how at one time I had to have therapy for feeling sorry for poor Richard Bucket, sorry 'Bouquet', constantly having to following Hyacinth's instructions in Keeping Up Appearances!

Elsewhere this month, I have also enjoyed a Christmas market's break in Brussels with Dan, one of Autism Works' Software Test Analysts. As some may remember, this time last year, Dan and I went on a similar break to Prague. Something that this break had in common with last year's was a false start. On arrival in Prague last year, Dan found that he had been issued with the wrong currency, Danish Krona instead of Czech Karuna. When flying to Brussels, our flight had to be diverted to Chaleroi (33km south-west of Brussels) due to adverse weather conditions at Brussels North Airport. We were 'marooned' at Chareloi Airfield for over two hours before the weather in Brussels improved and we were flown up in the air and back down again to Brussels, by which time it was almost midnight.

Guild Houses and Nativity in the Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium

Despite such a start, and after getting the hang of Brussels' metro system, we started to find our way around the city seeing the UNESCO Heritage site the Grand Place in the city centre and the Atomium on the outskirts. We also found some time to visit the battlefield at Waterloo where Napoleon was finally defeated by the forces of 7th Coalition led by the Duke of Wellington in 1815. It was somewhere that I had wanted to visit for quite some time in relation to my interest in history, with this being an event that largely changed the course of European history. Incidentally, something I learned from this visit was that, after his defeat, Napoleon escaped to Chaleroi, where we had been inadvertently flown to 48 hours earlier. After returning home from Brussels, I attended a carols service at the Sage, Gateshead, which featured performances from the Sage Chamber Choir, the Philharmonic Voices and the Femme Chorale. The audience was invited to sing along to the traditional carols while, appropriately, Jerusalem was also performed for an early Christmas present that the England cricket team has had this week - a test series win in India!

Lion Mound at Waterloo, Belgium 

Back at the Autistic Voices conference, I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was Scott James born in Stockton-on-Tees, but had also heard of Daisy Chain, and was thrilled to find out that I was taking on Kilimanjaro to raise much-needed funds for the charity, after having completed the Bupa Great North Run in September. Again, like singing changed Scott's life when he found that he had a talent through which he could express himself, for taking on physical challenges have also shown me that I am capable of more than I previously thought, as well as what mindfulness practice has aided. In the new year, I am hoping to organise one or two events with Daisy Chain, such as a quiz night or possibly also a karaoke night, which Scott sounded enthusiastic about, to raise much-needed funds - so watch this space! In the meantime though, to find out more about my Kilimanjaro challenge for Daisy Chain, visit my JustGiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/

With Very Best Wishes to All for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and Happy Winter Solstice for today!

Full Steam Ahead to New Contracts, Parliament and an Early Christmas!

Welcome back to Adventures with Autism Works after a week's break, and what a lot of things have happened since my last entry, from new software testing contracts to a mention in the House of Commons! For me though, the highlight was a revisiting some of my happiest childhood memories with a thrilling steam train ride along the East Coast Mainline from York to London King's Cross!

Sharon Hodgson

Following on from the partnership that Autism Works established with Camasco in October, the company is embarking on a new testing contract and just last week, to our surprise, we heard the company's name mentioned in Parliament by Sharon Hodgson MP during a debate about autism and the Autism Act 2009,and to my own surprise, I heard my own name mentioned! Highlighting the National Autistic Society's Undiscovered Workforce campaign, Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West and a Shadow Education Minister, talked about the efforts made by Autism Works to develop degrees of flexibility to make recruitment processes more autism-friendly. Mrs Hodgson, who previously came to visit Autism Works in 2010, not long after the company's inception and also attended the 2011 ESPA Graduation, made a very strong contribution to what was a lively debate. To see the Hansard transcript of this debate, click on the following link and scroll down to 6.28pm http://bit.ly/ScmvyR

As I write this entry, today is the last day of November. Normally, I don't like to do too much Christmas-related stuff until the beginning of December, but this year, Christmas has already come a month earlier, as I fulfilled a childhood dream of being steam-hauled down the East Coast mainline! Those who have read my first book and as others may have gathered from previous blog entries, may well know ho much I enjoy train journeys, including the train journeys to places where I am giving talks, seminars and workshops, but this experience was special. Though I have previously travelled on steam-hauled journey's on preserved heritage railways, this was my first ever mainline steam-hauled experience. The 'Tynesider Special' was hauled by A4 Pacific 60009 Union of South Africa, from the same class of steam locomotives as the famous 4498 Mallard, which holds the official world record speed for steam traction, reaching 126mph on 3rd July 1938. The moment Union of South Africa arrived at the platform at York Station, I felt like a child on Christmas Day! Christmas also came early for the children on board when Father Christmas and his elves came around handing out presents The atmosphere on board the train, with the Christmas decorations in old-fashioned carriages, was really run as the smoke flew past the windows!

60009 Union of South Africa at King's Cross, London

Steaming down the East Coast mainline, Union of South Africa passed Stoke bank just past Grantham, around where Mallard broke the record, doing a steady 80mph, before making a brief stop in Peterborough to take on more water, where Mallard had to be replaced after its record breaking run after one of its cylinders overheated. The best part of the day though was when just about all the passengers including myself, after getting off the train at King's Cross wanted to shake the driver and fireman's hands after such a great run!

Alongside providing employment, one of Autism Works other aims was contributing to enabling better quality of life to adults on the autistic spectrum. As readers of this blog may remember, last year, I took a city break to Prague with Dan Cottrell, one of Autism Works first two Software Test Analysts. Dan also accompanied me on the Tynesider Special for what was his first visit to London in ten years, which I was surprised about. Making use of out time in London, we visited the British Museum before being diesel-hauled home. For Dan, who has been with us for nearly two years, Autism Works has certainly been an eye-opener not just professionally, but also socially. Be sure to keep following this blog to find out about our next adventure - a Christmas weekend break in Brussels. Don't forget also to keep circulating the following link to my Kilimanjaro challenge to raise much needed-funds for Daisy Chain at http://bit.ly/L2eWtp

A huge thank-you to the Rt Hon Sharon Hodgson MP for highlighting our work in Parliament and her continued interest in ESPA and Autism Works. Special thanks also to the Railway Touring Company for their fantastic hospitality on board the Tynesider Special, and for 60009 Union of South Africa, a performance to be proud of! 

Social Values, Giving and Pudsey Bear

Since taking up my post at Autism Works, a major change that I feel I have noticed within myself, particularly from getting to grips with the concept of social enterprise and the recently-passed Social Values Act, which I have been exploring this week, is how much more socially aware I have become, which I also feel has reinforced my work as an Asperger trainer.

The concept of social enterprise and the Social Value Act may immediately sound like 'great ideas', but like with ideas that sound great on paper, the hard part comes when applying them to business practice, particularly when measuring their impact. A useful way towards putting such concepts into practice is for one to 'tune' their way of thought towards them, including applying a conscious awareness of the themes involved. A story from the early part of life of the Buddha that I found inspiring and that perhaps distantly relates to the themes in the Social Value Act was a time when the young Prince Siddhartha observed the annual ploughing festival with his father in the kingdom where he lived in what is now northern India and saw that when a plough overturned a stretch of soil, an earthworm was uncovered and a bird flew down from a nearby tree and ate the worm. From this moment, the young Prince Siddharta noticed the concept of inter-connection.

Inter-connection as seen from such a simple observation could be a useful starting point for applying the social value act, by looking at the inter-connection of values, and in the case of Autism Works, how values that the company has in relation to its social enterprise status, can have an effect on enabling other such values for the autism community as well as the Corporate and Social Responsibility element of the business community, including contributing to improved quality life for adults on the autistic spectrum. In turn, excessive dependence on their families as well as on professionals who may be pushed to the limit in supporting them can be reduced while employers benefit from inclusion of adults on the autistic spectrum in their workforce, helping to foster team culture and diversity.

Understanding the difference that you are making through a simple act is a theme that has great significance here and now as I write this blog, for today is Children in Need day! A part of my previous job with Durham County Council that I miss is dressing up as Pudsey each year and scouring the executive's offices at Durham County Hall for donations with two students from Durham Trinity School's Autistic Provision Unit. To do my part for Children in Need this year I have bought this year's beautiful BBC Look North 2013 Weather Calendar, the proceeds of which will go towards the charity. There are some spectacular images in the 2013 edition, including one of the Northern Lights over Northumberland. If you would like to contribute to Children in Need 2012 or if you are looking for any early ideas for Christmas presents with the festive season approaching, click on the photograph of me with Pudsey and Hannah Bayman from BBC Look North's weather team if you would like to purchase a 2013 BBC Look North Weather calendar. 

On the theme of giving, I have also visited the Vivekarama Buddhist Temple in Sunderland to observe the Kathina festival, a time of giving in Buddhism when the lay community express gratitude to monks with alms giving, including giving of new robes. If you feel in such a giving mood, you may like to visit my sponsorship page for my Kilimanjaro challenge to raise much-needed funds for Daisy Chain at www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR

Autism Works would like to thank everyone who has participated in any fundraising activities or has kindly donated in aid of Children in Need 2012. What I especially miss about dressing up as Pudsey was when people asked who was in the bear suit, and the Durham Trinity students would say: 'This is Pudsey Bear himself!'

Persistence and Organic Growth

Welcome back to Adventures with Autism Works. First of all, apologies for having to wait a little longer than usual for another blog entry as I have been away this week and last speaking at conferences and giving training on Asperger's Syndrome, first in Manchester, then back home in Sunderland and then in Derby. As usual, there were many interesting questions and responses that came my way, but I also got to see how the practical aspect of my training had an effect on another speaker.

In the ten years that I have given talks seminars and training on Asperger's Syndrome, not only has my content changed as my outlook on life has slowly changed in this time, but the role of the Asperger trainer is also gradually getting harder. For me, what is perhaps the most difficult aspect of giving training on Asperger's Syndrome, despite being diagnosed with the condition and experiencing living with it on a daily basis, I am not 'representative' of all people on the autistic spectrum. Not only are individual experiences of Asperger's Syndrome different, but different individual perspectives of Asperger's Syndrome and general outlooks on life also often vary dramatically. To experience a different life outlook on the autistic spectrum would involve me having to come right out of my own 'Asperger comfort zone', just like a person not on the autistic spectrum would have to come out of their comfort zone to experience what it may like to be on the autistic spectrum.

More recently though in the ten years since my first Asperger's Syndrome seminar, I have begun to notice more how Asperger's Syndrome doesn't only affect me, or others with the condition, but also effects people around us, particularly when it comes to communication. At the conference I spoke at in Manchester, I was pleased to find out that the methods that I have found helpful in coping with the ups and downs Asperger's Syndrome helped one of the other speakers. During many of my seminars, I give audiences a chance to participate in a three-minute breathing space exercise, which involves just focusing on this breath coming in and this breath going out, as well as noticing where the mind wonders, and just gradually calling the mind back to the breath, thus helping one gradually become more in tune with the present moment as it is. One of the other speakers later came to me and said that it was really good to speak after me because this short, simple and accessible technique had  helped her to feel more relaxed after feeling a little nervous about giving a presentation.

This theme continued throughout the talks that followed, together with incorporating being present as a person with Asperger's Syndrome here and now to personal goals which one may hope to achieve in the future. One of the best pieces of advice that I have had on getting the best from mindfulness practice is not to have any expectations as to what it may lead to, as the more you may expect it to deliver, it takes you out of the present to something that either hasn't happened or to how you may like it to be, rather than how it is. bringing this approach to personal goals, in this way, it helps to be realistic about personal goals enabling one to work in the present to reach that goal, rather than focusing on and going for a future goal.

The Arboretum, Derby

Visiting Derby to give a talk, I also had some time to visit Britain's first public park, the Arboretum, opened in 1840. Set aside from the pace of urban life, public parks provide an accessible space in which to not only step back from the flow, but also to observe and appreciate the rhythms and flow of nature regarding the horticultural aspect of a park. Such an appreciation of natural time is more conducive to noticing the effects of mindfulness practice than mechanical or digital time, or within projected timescales. Where noticing the effects of mindfulness practice in work situations, including plans for company growth, it helps not to expect such moment but rather persist with the development of Autism Works and allow growth of the company to occur organically.

As readers of this blog may remember, I have previously written about how the effects of mindfulness helped me complete the 2012 Bupa Great North Run. Where I can bring a mindful approach to the next part of my double challenge to raise much-needed funds for Daisy Chain, to summit Kilimanjaro, is rather than doing the trek to reach the summit, but to go for the summit not just to do the trek, but to continue with my training that I undertook for the Great North Run as well as undertaking some shorter treks closer to home. To find out more about my challenge, visit the following link http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-MitchellGNR/
       
I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my compassion to those who have lost their lives on active service with the Armed Forces as well as their families with Remembrance Sunday approaching.

Partnerships and 'Safe' Tweeting

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.

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.

With former PE Teacher Adam Walter

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).

With former Head Teacher Jim Farnie

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.

With England and Team GB international Jill Scott

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.