Hi From Tara Kimberley Torme: LONG

[Guest guest]

Hi Everybody,

I have to most humbly apologize for not having written anything on this

particular list for the longest time. I have been extremely busy and I owe

everybody here an update of what I have been doing since August 2008.

As you have probalbly read in my email about last Wednesday August 27, 2008 my

Opa died in Rida, Latvia and my entire sum of $3000 + in my bank account was

taken out leaving me with a balance of $0.00. This, as I have related to you was

due to credit agencies acting on behalf of the Canada and the BC Student Loans

people.

I went to a local law society here in Vancouver, BC, CANADA who helped me with

this particular problem. Eventually I got all of my money back but the lawyers

who helped me made it like it was my fault for using my particular bank and that

it was my fault for my banking practices.

On the subject of my student loans, I have no intention of ever paying them off

as I had tried to have them forgiven a few years ago based on my disability

status but with no success. As well, from what I know, I graduated in May 2001

so by now, my loans should have been defaulted. But I am not paying them back -

I don't have the income or the means and with my disability status I should not

have to have them paid back ever.

In November 2008 I started a new part-time paid job with a branch of the

Government called Community Living BC. They work with people with various

disabilities such as autism and Asperger Syndrome. I work there one day a week

and my duties there are basically office work such as filing and data entry and

other various office duties. Recently my work contract was extended until

September 30, 2009 and I have also received a 2% pay raise increase. I go there

every Thursday and I really enjoy my new job. My co-workers are really great and

I love talking to them on my lunch break.

My supervisor had me filmed for their worksite and I have included the link here

for you to watch:

Link to WOW!clbc sponsor demo site

www.disabilitieswork.com/clbc/

You have also probably read about the death of my most beloved and cherished cat

Phantom who died on Tuesday December 23, 2008. It was a devastating loss for me

and though I know she lived for 16 years, 4 months and 10 days (born August

13,1992), her presence is missed and I think about her on a daily basis. Life

without my cat Phantom is just not the same.

On a monthly basis, on the First Saturday of Every Month I hold my coffee meets

for adults with Asperger Syndrome. It is becoming a very popular meet with 3-5

people attending every single month. Most people come to me through the Autism

Society Of BC and I'm really happy that my group is getting promoted by them.

Recently, I was contacted by a Chinese television station called Fairchild TV

who was interested in filming me at work for a story on individuals with

Asperger Syndrome & Down Syndrome and the work environment. However, I was left

with a bitter taste in my mouth from this particular experience as the reporter

had many assumptions about people with Asperger Syndrome and she had not done

her homework/resarch on the subject. We have an individual at my work with Down

Syndrome who is the receptionist and she works mornings. Based on this, the

reporter thought I must work mornings too. This is wrong, because I work from

8:30am to 4:30pm. She was also asking about my IQ, assuming that this is what

Asperger Syndrome is all about. Then, she wanted to know if I was " friends " or

" buddy-buddy " with the front receptionist because we are both individuals with a

disability, assuming that all disabled people only hang out with each other and

with nobody else. When I

was being filmed at work, the cameraman asked me if the filing I was doing was

" hard " assuming that I didn't have the mental capacity to do anything else but

that. I retorted back that a 2 year old child could do the work as I was really

insulted by the remark. The reporter had me posed doing certain activities which

I found to be quite degrading. She wanted me to " pretend " to file, " pretend " to

talk to my supervisor, " pretend " to read, " pretend " to write poetry. In

conclusion, this was a totally insulting and humiliating experience for me. I

declined having her film my coffee group people as I did not want them to be

exploited for TV in such a manner.

I have been experiencing for many years now extreme swelling of my legs. Finally

after lots of complaining and seeing my endocronologist in January 2009, he

wrote a stern letter to my GP to get my legs looked at seriously as he suspected

this to be a serious medical issue. With this letter my GP had be refered to a

specialist who looked at my legs and diagnosed me with a medical condition

called lymphedema. I had a tummy ultrasound and lymphoscintigraphy done on

February 19, 2008. The first test was easy, nothing to it. The second test was

painful and gruelling as they took radioactive dye and injected it - two on each

foot - in between the toes. That is 4 injections in total. My mommy could hear

my screams all across the hallway and I had to lie still 3 times for 3 different

types of tests. The first scan was 1hr long, the second was 30 minutes and the

last was 15 minutes. And in between I had to walk around and not sit down. By

the end of the day, I

was totally exhausted and I was happy to have the test finished and over with.

With the conclusion of the tests, I got an appointment for treatment for today

at Mt. St. ph's Hospital Ambulatory Treatement at 2pm. It is my first

treatment and I'm really looking forward to getting my legs solved.

In the meantime, my left leg had become really infected and from March 13, 2009

- April 5, 2009 I had undergone 10 rounds of different types of antibiotics and

5 types of antibiotics. It got so bad that I was rushed to emergency at Mt. St.

ph's from my doctor's office for a round of IV drip and oral pills for 3

days. Then a last round of aoral ntibiotics for one more week and now I am off

the meds.

I am also aiming to work with the government to get services for individuals

with Asperger Syndrome and those on the autistic spectrum - to get some

improvemnt here in BC and also eventually the rest of Canada. Our system here is

terrible and especially for those with Asperger Syndrome there is nothing out

there that is specifically catered to us and our needs. I have put out a

proposal to my supervisor and another co-worker at my work in the hopes that

they can put me in touch with other people who can help me with my quest. I am

also aiming to talk to schools and employment agencies and have an education

process done so people will better understand Asperger Syndrome and to debunk

all of the assumptions that come with the label. Another goal that I have is to

get my coffee group funded by the Government so that coffee and social outings

will be covered.

On one last important note:

Please distribute this part to all your email lists and forums and other places

that you can think of:

I am in the beginnings of writing my own autobiography about my life which will

also include a section of tips for individuals who are both on the spectrum and

not on the spectrum. I am also going to include the stories of various

individuals with Asperger Syndrome and I would really love it if you could

contribute to my book. Would you like to be part of my project?

I'd really love it if you could tell me about life story with Asperger Syndrome

and how you came to be diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. I'd also like some

information on your school experiences and your experiences with employment.

As well, if you have any ideas as to how individuals with Asperger Syndrome

might better get services and to what services they should be getting, I'd

really love to know so I could include this in the second part of my book.

I have the following questions that I'd really like it if you could answer for

me that would help me with my book for the section on your story with Asperger

Syndrome:

What were you like as a child?

Did you suspect that something was wrong with you before your diagnosis of

Asperger Syndrome?

How did you come to get diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome?

What was your reaction when you found out you were diagnosed with Asperger

Syndrome?

What was school like for you in elementary both academically and socially?

What was school like for you in high school both academically and socially?

What have your experiences been for looking, finding & keeping long term

employment?

What have your experiences been in accessing resources for individuals for

Asperger Syndrome - both for children, teens, young adults, middle aged adults &

seniors?

What would YOU like to see in terms of resources and employent plans for

individuals with Asperger Syndrome?

What types of tips do you have that would help to better serve individuals with

Asperger Syndrome both for elementary, high school, college/university & the

work environment?

With your experience with The Autism Society Of BC, what would you like to see

that would help all individuals on the autistic spectrum regardless of age in

terms of services?

Please make sure to forward this part of the email to other lists and to post on

other forums and such. To reply to me off topic on this, please email me at

tara_kimberley_torme@... with the subject heading " SILENT MEOW

AUTOBIOGRAPHY " so I know what the email is about.

Hoping to hear from you again soon,

Best,

Tara Kimberley Torme

2061 East 40th Avenue

Vancouver, BC

V5P 1J4

CANADA

Home Phone:

Online Journal: http://blog.myspace.com/aspergergal

The Silent Meow:

The Asperger's Difference:

http://www.aspires-relationships.com/writings_tara__Torme.htm

A Series Of Short Stories & Poems by T K Torme: www.tktorme.com

Asperger_Social_Support email list:

Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Asperger_Social_Support

Group email address: Asperger_Social_Support

Asperger Social email list:

Group home page: http://groups.google.com/group/asperger-social?hl=en

Group email address: asperger-socialgooglegroups

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