Category Archives: autism

How love of Billy the stray cat has finally brought four-year-old autistic boy out of his shell

June 16, 2012   autism, Carers
  • Billy has made a complete difference to the family home, bringing happiness and an air of calm

By Liz Hull

PUBLISHED: 00:04, 16 June 2012 | UPDATED: 12:11, 16 June 2012

Even simple tasks used to be fraught with difficulty for Fraser Booth.

The four-year-old, who is autistic, easily became overwhelmed by everyday events, resulting in tears and temper tantrums.

Then Billy the stray cat came along. Abandoned by his previous owner and rescued from a boarded-up council house by a charity, he had not had the easiest start to life.

Before Billy the stray cat came along, four-year-old Fraser, who is autistic, struggled with simple tasks

But since their first meeting, Fraser and Billy have been inseparable – and the moggy has helped bring the little boy out of his shell.

Now, whether it’s playtime, storytime or bedtime, Billy is there to offer a reassuring paw.

And he is the first to sense when Fraser is getting frustrated, calming him down with a cuddle or comforting purr.

Fraser’s mother Louise said: ‘If Fraser is around or playing in the garden, Billy is never far away. It is like he is watching Fraser and calming his behaviour.

He always appears when Fraser is getting upset and offers his head close to Fraser’s to reassure him and recently, when Fraser was poorly, Billy sat on his lap all day.

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The autism diagnosis that took half a century

June 6, 2012   autism, Carers, disability

It took 50 years for doctors to diagnose son with autism

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Plymouth Herald

GREAT-GRANDMOTHER Sheila Baker said it took 50 years for doctors to diagnose her son with autism.

Sheila, aged 75, of Whitleigh, cares for her son Paul and daughter Catherine around the clock. Both are in their 50s and have learning disabilities.

  1. FAMILY: Sheila and Bryan Baker with children Paul (r) and Catherine. Below left: Paul aged about seven or eight. Below right: Paul getting his gold medal in the Isle of Wight Special Olympics in 1987 (men’s 400 metres)

An earlier diagnosis may have helped other people understand and manage Paul’s condition, said Sheila.

The mum of six told her family’s story to raise awareness of a new Plymouth support group launched to help carers of people with autism (see panel).

Understanding of the lifelong disability, which affects how people communicate and interact, has changed dramatically in the past century.

Paul was diagnosed as ‘mentally handicapped’, a term no longer used, when he was four years old.

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Councils ‘failing to assess needs of carers of people with autism’

May 21, 2012   autism, Carers, ukcuts

Survey finds four out of five carers have not been through assessment process that councils are obliged to provide

Only one in five carers of people with autism have ever received the local authority assessment of their needs to which they are legally entitled, according to a major survey of carers’ needs.

Of more than 5,500 carers who filled in an online survey for the National Autistic Society (NAS), 80% said they had never been through the assessment process, which local authorities are obliged to provide and which helps them obtain the right assistance. Only 26% of those who responded said they received any help at all from a council or health authority.

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