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shonad09

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About shonad09

  • Rank
    Salisbury Hill
  • Birthday 10/17/1974

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  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    Scotland
  1. Hi guys, I'm not going to pretend I have any real knowledge of this, however, for me it makes no difference what new 'label' they give my boys or what 'label' they remove from my boys I know they have Aspergers and I love them as they are. These bureaucrats can do as they wish, but, as far as I am concerned they only wish to remove specific titles, labels etc to withdraw their commitment to services.
  2. Hi Special_talent123, I have been told this before. It is absolutely absurd I think to keep changing the names. My research is not isolated to Aspergers I have in my proposal used 'ASD' frequently so as not to isolate the research.
  3. As a result of speaking with others I thought it may help if I added the following information for those who may be interested in participating. Research aims and objectives • To examine the issues adults with Aspergers deal with when navigating city centres, museums, shopping malls and their workplace. • To establish which public spaces present most exclusion to adults with Aspergers and why. • Recognition of what possible changes could be made to public spaces and work places. • To provide evidence to urban developers, planners etc to rethink planning which will support individuals with ASD: The need for ‘safe’ places/ spaces. Significance: • The UK Aspergers population is double that of individuals registered blind/visually impaired, however, urban planning fails to implement features beneficial to urban navigation by individuals with Aspergers. • Extensive research has proven that as much as Aspergers has been researched by Geographers there has been very little research on the adult population. What I am looking for: Adults willing to participate in keeping a field diary of their daily experiences when in (i) Urban environments eg city centre; (ii) Parks; (iii) Museums; (iv) Shopping Malls and (v) Working environments. Adults willing to participate in interviews either in person, via telephone, or online. The Diary would involve: Reporting issues when in the aforementioned locales such as : sensory problems, feelings of exclusions, changes/ alterations that could make the location Aspergers friendly. · To be filled at your own leisure and in your own way and can report on other public places · Will be supplied by me with my contact details should they be needed. · Have as much or as little entries as you wish and can be anonymous.
  4. Hi Both, I have sent you both private messages with relevant information. I look forward to hearing from you both. Best Wishes, Shona
  5. I am currently a third year student of Human Geography at the University of Strathclyde. I am doing my dissertation over the summer on adults with Aspergers and their experiences and difficulties when navigating the urban environment and public spaces. I have already been in contact with a few adults with Aspergers who have listened to my proposal and are very keen to become involved in my research as they believe it may aid in having some affect on city planning. I have also made contact with urban planners, designers, architects and council officials who are very interested in participating in my research. My hope is to make contact with other adults with Aspergers who may be interested in participating either by interviews, field work, or keeping an individual diary recording the issues they experience whilst in the urban landscape and in public spaces. It may be worth mentioning I have 2 young sons with Aspergers and therefore, I am sensitive to Aspergers on a personal level. I am also in my late thirties which may make some adults more comfortable with speaking to me. I would be most grateful if anyone would be willing to participate in my research. If you wish confirmation of my identity and intentions please feel free to email my dissertation supervisor Dr Allyson Noble. allyson.nobel@strath.ac.uk I look forward to hearing from you. Best Wishes, Shona Davidson
  6. Hi Sally44, This is helpful and these are some of the things I believe need to be included in urban planning along with many others that are easily adapted into our cities and public spaces. Thank you so much for responding.
  7. I'm overwhelmed by your honesty and openness and thank you for this. I try so hard to understand my own boys and try to always think ahead when organising an event or day out with them. My eldest (8 yr old) is by far the most sensitive. He struggles in social situations, in particular with his peers. He tends to enjoy the company of adults much more or if with peers he carefully selects them opting for the quiet kids. I used to think this was because he was a bit controlling, I now wonder if it is because of his hypersensitivity to noise. He is also very intense and needs his company to be as intense for example, when he has his closest friend in (a wee girl that is a complete tom-boy and very quiet) he controls their play, the amount of time they spend together and the excitement levels. When they are on a game for instance on the computer, he plays and she watches, he controls the volume, and if she gets excited he calms her down. Does this make sense? Both my boys have panic attacks before leaving the house if we fail to give them an exact schedule of what our movements will be, should we fail to follow that when out they become very stressed. My eldest was memorising routes by the time he was 2 and should there have been road works on our route creating a diversion he was so distressed until we were back on the route he recognised. He also hates being in the car on motorways, I thought this would have become easier as he got older, but, it hasn't changed at all. I was doing research last year on Museums and investigated 2 completely different museums in Glasgow for contrast reasons. Anyway I took both boys to both museums to observe their reaction to both and observed their navigation eg whether they followed the deliberate discourse within the museum. One of the museums they loved an almost claimed it as theirs and the other they hated. The one they hated was very unorganised, no clear footpaths to follow, areas were clustered with too much going on, parts of the museum had stenches of dampness and oldness, cases were uninviting (my opinion), loads in the background walls behind cases...I could go on and on, however, the other was very precise, orgainsed, clear footpaths, wide corridors, plain walls, high ceilings etc. My kids visit this museum every other week and never get bored of seeing it. When they enter it is almost as though they are the only ones there and they claim ownership to it. They have developed their own sense of meaning for that particular space in that if they observe a NT behaviour they have not witnessed before in the museum, they find it absolutely unacceptable and will pass comments all day about in a way that expresses their disgust that someone should behave in such a way in "their" museum. Are you comfortable with me using your post as part of my data collection? I would not use if you were uncomfortable with it.
  8. Hi LancsLad, Firstly thank you so much for your response and best wishes. You have provided me with some incredible information for which I am extremely thankful. I have never came across the book by Simkins and Thwaites, but, I will most definitely be searching it out in our library now. It sounds very interesting. I will also try tracking Kevin down, if successful will pop off a wee email. Thank you again for your help. Best Wishes, S
  9. Dear All, I am a year 3 Human Geography student at the University of Strathclyde. At the moment I am designing my dissertation proposal. I hope to do my dissertation on the Geographies of ASD and the making of space and (re)shaping of public places. I also plan to investigate the urban landscape and the relationship individuals with ASD have with it. As part of my investigation I am linking up with planning technicians, urban developers and designers in the hope that my dissertation may also offer a proposal for changes to the urban city that will allow those with ASD to navigate public spaces with more ease. I would also like to present proposals for changes within workplaces that could easily be employed to alleviate some of the issues adults with ASD face everyday within their work environments. I would love the opportunity to speak with individuals in Glasgow and surrounding areas (over 18 years of age) who either have ASD, carers, professionals and friends. I would be most grateful if you could pass my request on to members or advise me of those who may be interested in participating with my research. It may help to know I myself have two sons aged 5 & 8 who both have Aspergers, hence my interest and passion for this topic. I have experience of their difficulties coping with particular public spaces. It may also help to know that I am a 'mature student' in my late thirties and therefore understand the sensitivity required. Should you be interested in speaking with me I would be most grateful and can forward confirmation from the University as to who I am and my dissertation. Please feel free to contact me either through the forum or by personal email at shona.davidson.100@strath.ac.uk Kind Regards, Shona
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