Ian Jordan

How are things going? Would appreciate final comments soon thanks Ian

Face blindness booklet coming out soon - and assessment method / treatment is now out on DVD available from Coventry University DVD entitled "Demystifying visual dyslexia" It is treatable in virtually all cases - we address it every day in practice - I will be speaking on treatment techniques at Autism medical conference in London in October at Royal Society best wishes Ian

Just confirming you all have got 1st draft How is is going?

Thank you - I hope it will be of great use to parents and those that have problems with facial recognition and expression recognition. I think it will be of great importance in the understanding of how communication can be facilitated in ASD - will contact you in a couple of weeks for email addresses best wishes Ian

I have been working on a booklet on facial recognition / expression recognition for around 3 months and will expect to have completed my first draft in about 2 - 3 weeks (around 40 pages A5). I think it may be the first booklet of its type and should be very helpful to parents etc. I am looking for criticism and would like to send a few people the draft for amendment and make sure that I haven't missed anything out. Would anyone be prepared to help me?

I have been asked to write book by publisher and before going ahead I would like to know two things Would book be of use to parents and professionals? Intention would be to make it easy to understand - not a neurological text book If so - could people on the spectrum please either post descriptions of what you see which does not make sense or makes you anxious / gives pain (or send privately) and variations in facial features (instability) We have a lot of info - but more would be helpful - particularly about movement, distortions and parts of the face appearing to change position Disappearance / distortions of other parts of the body / environment would be good too best wishes Ian

I am afraid that time to respond etc is becoming difficult and that I will no longer be accessing forum as I have to prioritize my time and the research and development has to take priority. There are lots of exciting things going on - and they will have significant effects in ASD - but are unlikely to be in the public domain for a few years. Good luck I will still be able to be contacted through website www.jordanseyes.com

There are a number of reasons for eye "ticks" - particularly in asd. Have you checked his thyroid and biochemical balance? Dystonia should also be ruled out. The most likely cause is tiredness though. Most kids will wear specs after a little while - but peer pressure can be critical. Get the teacher on side and explain to class the need to see well!

try looking at further reading on tabs near bottom of list.

website should be easier now

change child will change website - sorry - can't get into site at moment - will do later you may print out and change child as you wish

I have put a very short synopsis of the effects of visual processing on a new thread) that can be used by anyone. Hope it helps

Visual stimulus problems in ASD Ian Jordan Visual stimulus problems are a hidden epidemic which is common in the general population but endemic in those on the autistic spectrum. They produce a great variety of symptoms ranging from minor to life altering. The symptoms may be broadly divided into 10 types ? poor visual performance and visual stability disturbances ? visual information processing difficulties which includes aspects of dyslexia and dyspraxia ? auditory and vestibular (balance system) integration and processing problems ? touch and temperature control ? proprioceptive (positional sense) knowledge ? visio spatial awareness problems ? facial recognition and facial emotion recognition difficulties ? disturbance of timing and performance of all sensory systems ? pain threshold and processing problems (and physical pain) ? cognitive (understanding) responses The difficulties experienced vary from one person to another, and it is essential that anyone dealing with a person with these problems is has adequate knowledge in recognition and management of visual processing anomalies. It is impossible for someone that has no problems to relate their own visual experience to a person that has visual processing difficulties and is inappropriate. Training is essential. Management of visual processing problems has advanced dramatically from early (and now very poor practice) use of overlays to extremely complex 3rd generation lens designs which can have dramatic effects. All children on the spectrum should have a visual processing assessment - it should be considered essential at an early age as the effects of intervention may change the life of the child. A free download of a booklet which incorporates screening methods may be found on www.jordanseyes.com A more in depth book (but more general) is also available free for download on the site.

Post removed due to forum rules prohibiting advertising. Simon

A lot of people want to know when I am giving public lectures (most of the presentations I give are private) on the visual sensory world of the autistic child 3 talks in the next month - 2 from the National autistic society - 1 in London 19th Feb, 1 in glasgow 11th March This one is part of conference on sensory processsing difficulties - my presentation will be "hard hitting" and lots of new things will be shown. full details of booking etc - on NAS web site (content is going to be a surprise!) Second is a full day in Sleaford, Lincolnshire on 18 Feb. This has a reduced rate for parents and is an ideal introduction to understanding the critical importance of sensory processing in ASD. It is run as a non commercial course by a charitable oganisation "Blinded by the light" There are a limited number of places left. To book or get details, please PM Ian Jordan. There has been significant progress in the last year - and it is becoming more important than ever to ensure that visual processing problems are understood by all parents of children with ASD. Also advance notice - I've just finished recording a DVD with a UK university - make sure you see it - I know it is a plug, but there are things on this DVD that every parent of a child with ASD NEEDS to see!

Can be a problem with processing in visual vestibular proprioceptive pathways and can be addressed in most cases. There can be rarely underlying problems and all cases need to be assessed professionally. In most cases it can be treated immediately by appropriate visual intervention. We address these symptoms every day!

It can be treated - look up prosopagnosia on this site

You need professional advice (afternoon / tomorrow I'm filming a video so won't be available) Edited to remove personal phone number in line with Forum rules.Please pm Ian instead.Thanks Karen A.

I believe that I am ADHD (undiagnosed) and love it My life is exciting, fun, totally disorganised and I am very lucky. The only problem is how other people respond - but that's their problem - not mine. Carpe diem

As an ex rapper sword dancer (one of the fastest and exciting dances you can imagine - the geordie version of morris - but we used sharpened swords - and somersaulted over them) I can recommend traditional dancing for a great night out. Go to a ceildhe - its one of the best nights out! go to you tube and search for rapper sword if you want to view - the high spen dance is the way I remember doing it, the somersault, decapitation and star are all there. And they are fun!!! Much more enjoyable than the modern wobble dances

time sequencing may have two distinct meanings - 1 in which your child does not understand the concept of time 2 the other which is complex is temporal processing and sometimes its relationship with spatial processing. This is a complex neurological concept. Think of it as a neurological three dimensional map in which information matching and generation in both time and space may be mismatched and therefore sequence understanding or generation may be disordered. It usually uses the visual system as a refernce system, but this is not always the case in ASD. Sensory integration tests and interventions are essential if this is the case.

it needs to be said - assume all those on the spectrum have facial recognition problems / facial emotion recognition problems unless proven otherwise yes they can be treated! - and it would be nice if the BBC investigated this more fully. Training and intervention is needed - but it won't happen without media pressure. thank you

very simply the school has to make reasonable adjustments for disability - and that includes asd this means that they are obliged to adjust for his sensory problems - you must insist that they are addressed - school may be an abusive environment for your child, and if so it is a totally unacceptable situation.

Sensory interventions are likely to help - but expert advice is necessary on this one though, too complex for post good luck - access to the right assessments and treatments is very variable

physical problems can be caused by overwork - lactose changes in particular it may be completely inappropriate