Glistering: B's Blog: autism spectrum disorders

Showing posts with label autism spectrum disorders. Show all posts

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Surfers Healing and an update

Hi everyone! I realize I haven't posted for a while and figured I'd better post something to let you know I'm still here! The second Glister Journals book is still coming but has been temporarily derailed while I revise Bronze into a leaner, shorter edition. It may even be in two parts (at least the paperback version) which will allow it to be cheaper and more portable. At least, that's the plan. The kindle version is no longer available, but the print editions will be available until the situation changes. More about that in the future. So if you haven't read it yet, I suggest waiting until the new edition is published. The second full novel will follow as quickly as possible! If you've already read Bronze, don't worry, the story and characters are exactly the same. I've mainly cut unnecessary words and description. The dialogue and heart of the story are still there!

If you are interested in autism spectrum disorder, especially from a female perspective, you may be interested in the more personal blog that I recently started, Lost and Found. I hope it will serve as one more positive, encouraging, and validating place for girls/women on the spectrum, who are often overlooked and left doubting everything. Still under construction, it welcomes guest posts, shared content, art, music, etc. of a positive or "this is the way it is" nature. Strictly "G" rated.

Some of you may follow The Glister Journals on Facebook, but for those who don't, I'm going to repost today's post here as it touches on a subject close to my heart. The Facebook page most often covers short, infrequent, and non-spammy posts of an equine or extreme sports nature and are usually completely separate from my blog posts.

More regular and book related posts are coming, I promise! For now, here's the Facebook post:

"I hope everyone's having a great weekend! We were awoken about three this morning by a lengthy, rolling earthquake. I hope everyone involved closer to the epicenter are okay!

In case you've never heard of them, I'd like to introduce you to a couple of little-known charities I hope to be more involved with in the future. We'll start with an awesome video from Surfers Healing. I'll post about the other next weekend.

If you've read The Glister Journals: Bronze, you may (or may not) realize that the main character, Allison, is a little different from most other girls. That difference is autism spectrum disorder. For her, the traits are mild, easily overlooked unless you experience them yourself or know what to look for. For the bronc-riding, dirt-biking, skating, surfer brothers, Dave and Chris Caldera, the difference is much more profound in their littlest brother.

Surfers Healing is a non-profit founded by ex-pro surfer Izzy Paskowitz and his wife Danielle, that "seeks to enhance the lives of kids with special needs, specifically those with autism," that teaches them to surf. The video says it all.""

Post by Surfers Healing.

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Monday, October 14, 2013

The Glister Journals: Bronze Tour

I'm so happy and excited to announce the start of the Bronze Kindle tour today. It will be on until October 25th with a new $25.00 giveaway too. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed me on Twitter, Facebook, and added Bronze to your shelves on Goodreads. I really do appreciate it and hope you get a chance to read it.

Make sure to stop by the tour kick-off at Kathy's site to learn about the Bronze soundtrack, a musical puzzle to solve. (And yes, there are prizes.) The following links will become active as the posts go live. I hope you'll come along and appreciate my gracious hosts by following their blogs. And I'd love to hear from you!

October 14th

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer – Tour Kick-Off: The Bronze Soundtrack

Kelly’s Lucky You – Bronze Spotlight

Christy’s Cozy Corners – Bronze Review

October 15th

Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews – Excerpt (Snow Day) and Character Interview: Allison

fuonlyknew – Bronze Spotlight and Excerpt: First Encounters Part One

Bookmarks, Spoilers and Happily Ever After – Bronze Spotlight and Excerpt (Snow Day)

October 16th

Spellbindings – Guest Post: Assumptions, Titles, and Judging Books By Their Covers

My Devotional Thoughts – Guest Post: My Top Ten Re-watchable (PG-13 or under) Movies

From the Bootheel Cotton Patch – Bronze Spotlight

Sweeping Me – Bronze Spotlight

October 17th

The Write Game – Character Interview: Robin

Every Free Chance Book Reviews – Author Interview

Wondermom Wannabe – Bronze Review

A Blog Hop Place for Books – Bronze Spotlight

October 18th

Sarah’s Reviews – Guest Post: My Writing Journey

Pieces of Whimsy – Bronze Spotlight

Reviews by Karen – Bronze Spotlight

Gustosa Giveaways – Bronze Spotlight

October 19th

Victoria Simcox’s Blog – Bronze Spotlight

Mythical Books – Guest Post: The Difference

Cuzinlogic – Author Interview

October 20th

Books Are Love - Bronze Excerpts:

Excerpts and Sketches: The Boys (Dave and Chris)

Excerpts and Sketches: The Girls (Robin and Melanie)

Excerpt: First Encounters Part Two (Gold)

October 21st

Books are Love – Bronze Review

Katie’s Clean Book Collection – Bronze Spotlight

3 Partner’s in Shopping – Bronze Spotlight

October 23rd

Simply Infatuated – Tens List: Riding Adventures

Peace from Pieces – Author Interview

Beck Valley Books – Bronze Spotlight

October 25th

Taking Time for Mommy – Author Interview

Rose & Beps Blog – Bronze Spotlight

Cici’s Theories – Bronze Spotlight

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and chapters at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Allison, Wreck It Ralph and PDDs

First I'd like to share with you the second Glister Journals piece drawn by a friend, comic artist Jeff Stokely, before he became famous and notorious (okay he's not exactly famous nor notorious beyond certain circles but he's working on it!) I love this drawing. This is closest to how I picture Allison (from my novel Bronze) and I love the way he has portrayed Robin too, though I don't see her quite this way. (The drawing of Dave and Chris is here.) What do you think?:

Jeff has been extremely busy and is working on two comics coming out this year, a reimagining of a classic pulp, Six Gun Gorilla, and his own (with co-writer/creator Chris Northrop) The Reason for Dragons which I am personally very excited about.

So, I finally saw Wreck It Ralph last night. It's not a movie that I would normally choose to watch, but I had heard about it when it came out from many kids that loved it. My daughter and her boyfriend just watched it last night and left it for me to watch too so I figured I had better make an effort. I have to admit that I wasn't at all interested in it and for the first half of the movie was wishing I was watching something else. But I persevered and I'm glad I did.

Now, I'm not going to list the reasons that I found the movie less than captivating. People have different tastes and this didn't appeal to me to start with. It really bothers me when people write reviews on books, films, whatever, that they wouldn't normally have read/watched and can't really find fault with but give negative reviews because they assumed it was something else (don't even get me started on assumptions) or just didn't like it for reasons outside the scope of what it is. Why do people do that? So I'm not going to say what I didn't like. If you like this kind of movie, you will probably love it.

This is a tongue-in-cheek 'behind the screens' promo that does not divulge much of the actual movie, but if you haven't seen it, you'll get the idea:

I will say that, though I felt 'meh' about all the characters from the beginning, Ralph himself, though completely predictable, did grow on me. But what I really sat up and took notice of was the character Vanellope. At first I couldn't stand her and not because she was obnoxious, but because she was so obviously meant to be too obnoxious so that you would have to like her later. The anti-princess. Ugh. But as I continued to watch, it began to occur to me that this throw-away child was like the neuro-atypical people I see every day. How she was like my character Allison Anderson from Bronze. And, apparently, like me.

Now Allison is quiet and introspectiv--not in-your-face obnoxious like Vanellope--nor is she homeless and lacking in personal hygiene. But that 'glitch' that keeps Vanellope from being accepted by the other kids--along with having very different ideas of what is attractive, valuable, and funny (not to mention questionable powers of self-assessment and style sense)--is what sets kids diagnosed with PDDs (pervasive developmental disorders) apart. It is also often what gives them heightened sensory perception and out-of-the-box creativity which Vanellope displays beautifully (her ability to see what others cannot, creative approach to problems, etc.) She is not just a quirky character that marches to the beat of a different drummer. I think a lot of 'normal' people like to think of themselves that way too.

No, there is something different about her; something in her code, her genetic make up and neural programming. This is PDD. This is what is at work with people with autism spectrum disorders. It is not something they control or choose and it does not necessarily affect their intelligence or ability to take care of themselves and others. It does often make it very hard to interact with other people, react in socially accepted ways, and cope with sensory overload. I don't know if that's what the writers had in mind but if you've seen the movie or watch it now, I'd be interested to know what you think.

*Small Spoiler Alert* I think the thing I loved most about the character in the movie was at the end, when she becomes accepted by the others (the reasons which I'm not going to analyze too deeply right now.) At first she appears to become a princess, as if she has completely changed and is 'normal' like all the others. PSYCH! Nope, she's just the same as she was, glitch and all. I LOVE THAT! If you are a person with ASD/PDD, you cannot magically be changed. There's no 'cure'. Why should we want one? We aren't 'wrong' or broken, just different.

I will leave you with a song and video I would otherwise never subject you to, but I love it. (Metaphors aside, whether this song is appropriate in a children's movie is also beyond the scope of what I want to deal with here!):

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and chapters at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com