Autism Speaks

Don't pass this off. Let it helps you get some understanding of people with special needs.

Courtesy of Mei Leng.


View Autism Everyday video at http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/autism_every_day.php
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I think this is a great video clip of explaining to someone how autism is and how it affects a family's life as well. I thought they did a great job with this video.

This video made me cry because it is so close to heart. It reminded me of how much we had also been through when Joel was a baby and later a toddler. There was so much struggle in handling him and also bringing him out to public places. There was also so much time, energy as well as $$$ in trying to teach him how to communicate and making him talk and sit down. The stress of finding him a school since there was limited vacancy and waitlist was long too. There were also disagreements and arguments with my husband about how best to handle Joel and how to educate him etc.

Life was really tough at that point.

But the video also made me realise that Joel has come a long way now and that he has indeed improved a lot. He may never be a normal person or he may never be able to communicate with me other than his immediate needs or he may never be able to be fully independent and he still exhibit autism like traits like flickering of fingers, jumping or shrieking at times with public staring straight at our faces (which i am quite use to it already.. i too have developed a really thick skin..lol!), but on the whole he has indeed improved a lot. He is now more compliant with our instructions and he is a lot calmer and also understands a lot more too. Although his vocab is still limited to 2-3 words sentence structure, at least he still tries to communicate his immediate needs. His handwriting is atrocious but he is still improving. From not being able to hold a pencil properly 5 years ago to being able to write his name and A-Z 1-10, so to me I think he has indeed come a long way. I do not entirely buy into the idea that before 5 years old is the window of opportunity or for them to turn around, because i still see Joel improving everyday and learning new things as he grows older.

Now that Joel is 13+, i still see the years ahead as a challenge for us and but most importantly, even though he is autistic, he is still our son and we love him all the same, autism and all. :)

Peggy

Limited Edition

Limited edition for You Are Special cast and crew. For those who wants a copy, download it from gilbert.tbh.googlepages.com. Special thanks to the Producer for getting it printed.

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

Sent Joram to Temasek Polytechnic this morning and we went for a walk at Bedok Reservoir just beside TP. Pretty still morning without wind but lots of students doing a walk round the reservoir. A school event - some ran, most of them leisurely strolled along.

The still waters provided a great mirror image for the scenery. JZ will be familar here. This is where she does her DB - dragon boat. Wondered what makes her sign on this sport. Don't mess with her biceps.

Colour Be Wrong

This may change the way you blog. Colors are beautiful only if you use them correctly. Be creative in your colors and some understanding helps. A poor combination turns people off and nobody is gonna sit around and try to decipher your posts. You want eye balls right?

Rule #1. Two colors that contrast sharply against each another makes them more discernible.










Rule #2. Use colors of different lightness.










Rule #3. Avoid colors of similar hues.










Use these guidelines and see if it works on those sites that you enjoy reading.

By the way, forget tiny fonts unless you ain't attracting eyeballs. They are posts killers.

Happy Blogging

Holy Pizza

Was in Bangkok for two days. I stayed in Novotel @ Siam Square. Nostalgic, as I stayed there fifteen years ago. The place had gone through a make over and it is pretty hip now. Siam Square is where the young Thais hang out. The place is always full of students and young working adults. Chulalongkorn University is right beside and the students are the brightest from all over Thailand. I had dinner at a cozy restaurant run by a former architectural student from Chula. He is from North East and the restaurant serves a variety of yums - papaya salads. Usually call papaya pop pop - a much loved spicy salad. Ask any oversea Thai, what is the first thing you will eat when you go home? The answer is a sure yum (no pun intended). Don't be fooled, you need to take a queue number and the wait is a long forty-five minutes. If you happen to be there, try the garlic fried chicken too. Don't forget to tell the service staff - mai ped when you order the yum. As you guessed, less spicy.

Paragon Siam. The new happening place in Siam Square is a huge upmarket mall. The management uses carts to move around. Ferrari and Lamborghini showrooms are in the second level and Bangkok Underwater Seaworld is in the basement! There are two Star Bucks store and plenty of food outlets. Bakerzin is there too and so is BreadTalk.

Rotiboy is in Siam Square and there are already copies around. Definitely have to bring the Pasir Ris kakis back to Bangkok for a shopping spree.

No pictures this time round cos my Sony K700i camera was set to a small resolution :((: and it is not worthy of the great pictures here :)) Saw a food outlet - HOLY PIZZA in Siam Square. The I in between PIZZA is a cross. And the menu has a Holy item. Wondered what they served in the pizzas. Must be a heavenly experience I think.

Sawadee

Another Take

Another take from the bookshelf. Books to read to make you like Mrs Incredible.
 

Take Picture Easy Ma!

Totally flat out!. Why are you so tired? Take picture very easy ma. Who said so? It looks simple but to take good pictures takes time to plan. In You Are Special, there were rehearsals where you can get familiar with the sequence and the lighting conditions and there is always a second or third show to go back and shoot those you missed or wants a retake. Not for Mothers' Day. You only got one chance. Missed it and it is gone.

To plan a shoot, some questions I usually ask - what theme do I want to capture?. What is the mood of the event and what's the program like? Who is coming and what is expected. Photography is a know-how. There are ISO (in digital camera - sensitivity), focal lens, speed, aperture, F stop, EV .................

ISO, the smaller the number, the finer the image
Aperture, the opening of the lens to let light in
Speed, how fast the shutter is open to allow light in
Lens, from wide angle to telephoto or a combination - zoom lens

In short, on a fixed ISO, there is a fixed amount of light to make an image. This amount of light is based on the aperture and speed. So it is a combination of ISO, Speed and Aperture. From here you create the image you want. Different setting of ISO, Aperture and Speed have it's pro and cons.

There are more, spot metering or overall, natural balance or white balanced to environment..........

Today's compact digital cameras comes with 'brain' inside the firmware and it takes the 'thinking' out of the user. Just point and shoot. But if you understand photography, you can get a lot of mileage out of your digital cameras. Read your manual and go to the library and get some books on this subject. It will change the way you take pictures. You will be amazed.

SLR are much fun though.

Cheese

Mission Impossible III

Got a surprise from DHL this morning. Wonderful thing in small package.

Joy in the Box.
The Box has Come.
It's Only A Carton Box.

Delightful moments.
Did you get yours?

Soft Touch

Did you notice the recent soft focus pics? Got a 100mm soft focus lens. Neat for portrait shots. Soft focus can be tune to your preference.

Now, MP, Bodyguard or Waiter?

Tag your answer.

Ai Cheong

The hair designer is smart now. She catches the photographer to catalog her work. Belle and her hair creator.
 

Friends

Some companions that watch over me when I sleep. Cute little stuff on the bed head.
Good nite.
 

She Deserves It

Mother's Day Menu.
 

Mei Lan Mei Lan

Today, the Mandarin Service invited Mei Lan, one half of the well known ChopStick Sisters for Mother's Day celebration. The ChopStick Sisters were popular back in the 70s. Now in her fifties, she sang to the crowd and her 91 years old mum gave a testimony of her healing. How the grand dame preach. Her legs maybe weak, but she got the voice of thousand choir.

Pretty Little Thing Call Love

Happy Mother's Day.

Got a shoot today. For Mandarin Service Mother's Day. This pretty little basket was made by the ladies. Doris make the rose. It is edible and the basket full of Ferror Roche. Sorry guys, for mums only.

Mums out there. You are great. 

Saturday Night Out

Had to drive Ning for a wedding dinner at Furama Hotel @ Riverside. After dropping her off, went for Teochew porridge at Havelock and later to Tiong Bahru Plaza Burger King to kill time. Read Celebration of Disciplines by Richard Foster. Highly recommended. Here is a sample of the introduction - one of the discipline is fasting. Click on the book to get a brief.

Nice lighting at Furama Hotel and beside is a KTV lounge. Looks like it is out in the desert at Las Vegas.

The drive home through CTE tunnel. Beam me up Scott.