Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1469338
15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 JUNE 2022 COMMERCIAL 'Connections' and autism, shedding light on the impact of encounters experienced by persons with autism RAISING awareness about au- tism, last month, Inspire Foun- dation organised a full day con- ference featuring some of the foremost speakers on the sub- ject, as well as persons who are on the spectrum. The event offered a unique mix of experience and exper- tise on how connections evolve throughout one's life journey for autistic persons. Dr Alistair de Gaetano, Chair- person of Malta's Autism Ad- visory Council, spoke about surviving vs thriving, the 'High Functioning' Curse and what we should be doing to empower au- tistic persons to be able to thrive throughout their life's journey. He also emphasised that the biggest challenge to thriving is for society to change and social barriers to be removed. Prof Richard Mills, who has a long association with Malta and Inspire Foundation spoke about the importance that teachers, clinicians and parents connect to, and engage with autistic people on what they found to be helpful or unhelpful. He said that the aim was never to try to fix autism, as what was helpful to autistic people was also help- ful to anyone else. David Perkins, founder of AS Mentoring (ASM), provider of specialist support to people with autism and other neuro- diverse conditions, spoke about the mission statement of the organisation he leads and how it supports clients to achieve their potential as individuals, through social inclusion and employment. Perkins explained the support they provide could be categorised into two – Facil- itating change for the individual and affecting change in their en- vironment. Charlene Borg who leads the Family Relations Department at Inspire spoke about the various family dynamics which are typi- cally affected by autism. Talking about the various family sys- tems, she said that a family is ul- timately a group of people with whom a person feels a sense of belonging and wellbeing - the people that hopefully help build one's resilience sustained by the care and support within the family system. For the second part of her presentation, Char- lene was joined by Marvic and Chris O'Dwyer, parents of Ro- nan and Joseph, both of whom are on the spectrum. Dr Jacqui Ashton Smith, expe- rienced educationalist and train- er with 40 years of experience in the field of autism, education and leadership spoke about the importance of resilience in sup- porting social connections and life changes. Underlining the importance of understanding young people, Ashton Smith spoke about issues of education pressures and expectations; Em- ployment opportunities; Social media and Peer pressure; and Mental Health Issues among other subjects. Dr Wenn Lawson, autistic researcher, lecturer, psycholo- gist, advocate, and poet shared his experiences of almost three decades active in the field of au- tism. Addressing the conference through a recorded presenta- tion, Dr Lawson spoke about his experience as an autistic person who is also a member of the LG- BTIQ+ community. Dr Gina Gomez de la Cuesta spoke about the Brick-by-Brick TM programme, a learning through play-based concept involving collaborative LEGO® play for children who need extra support with social communica- tion, such as children on the au- tism spectrum. She was joined by Jon Adams a contemporary Artist and Neurodivergent ad- vocate and researcher who has been actively involved in the de- velopment of the Brickby-Brick programme, Dr Ruth Moyse, Visiting Re- search Fellow at the University of Southampton, and a Direc- tor & Associate at AT-Autism spoke about the problem of girls with Autism who have a greater tendency to drop off the main- stream educational system. Dur- ing her presentation which pre- sented findings from a research exercise,and subsequent lessons on inclusion from autistic ad- olescent girls, she answered questions about language usage which shapes the narrative and perhaps expounds the problem. The event was held at Mont St Joseph Retreat House in Mosta and was supported by the Prelu- na Hotel. The event offered a unique mix of experience and expertise on how connections evolve throughout one's life journey for autistic persons Children to design piggies for L-Istrina BOV Piggy Banks Campaign A number of schoolchildren met Mrs Miriam Vella, wife of the President of Malta and Er- nest Agius, Chief Operations Officer at Bank of Valletta at the President's Kitchen Gar- den to draw and submit their paintings for the competition related to the design of the Pig- gy Banks used for the L-Istrina BOV Campaign.\Children had to submit an original drawing with the theme 'Be a friend not a Bully'. The best three draw- ings, will be selected by a pan- el of judges appointed by the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation, and will form part of the design of the eco-friend- ly cardboard Piggy Banks, used during the L-Istrina BOV Pig- gy Bank Campaign and distrib- uted in all primary and second- ary schools across Malta and Gozo. 'Bullying occurs everywhere, and it is hurtful to everyone in- volved, from those targeted by bullying and even to the bul- lies themselves,' said Mrs Vella while the children were creat- ing their works of art. 'We take this opportunity to thank all the children who have already submitted their drawing as this is an opportunity to have their work showcased among all their peers in aid of a good cause.' 'We are very happy that the L-Istrina BOV Piggy Bank Campaign, this year in its 19th edition, is helping to create awareness about concerns that are affecting our lifestyles, while being a source of sol- idarity with others,' said Mr Agius. 'At the same time, the children's artistic creativity is helping all the schoolchildren in Malta and Gozo to recog- nise issues and help tackle them successfully.'