Christmas Party

We have a choice of two dates for our Christmas Party this year ...

Saturday 15th downstairs or Sunday 16th Upstairs, the reason being there is another party booked in on the Sunday so we would have to be upstairs.

I was thinking 2 - 4 again.

Personally I don't see this being a problem, it gives the kids a safe space, and we can still use the bar downstairs, and we will have heating this time !

Please let me know ASAP which day you would prefer so we can book it officially.



On the day we will have another super craft Idea from Krisztina, this time in the shape of a tree !

we will also have plate painting ( I will post some picture examples soon ) and of course lots of pen and paper to color and draw.

Also, I have checked with the club and found that their social membership is a mere €10 a year per person.  this would give us insurance and also show our support to the club who have provided us with the space free for the last year.

I know times are tight but would really appreciate if some of you could sign up for this membership.

There will be no meeting December because of the party and it being a very busy time of year all round, so if I don't see you at the party I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year.

Aine

Meeting Postponed

Apologies for the last minute change of meeting but circumstances were beyond my control.

Hope some of you can make it next week instead, it's that time of year when we need to decide on date, time etc for x-mas party and book it with the club so every ones input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again

Aine

School of Holy Spirit Sale of work and Coffee morning

Folks,

Therese asked me to share this with you.

It's the school of the Holy Spirits coffee morning and sale of work on Sunday 25th November from 2pm till 5pm.

If anyone has and unwanted DVD's, books, bric and brac etc She is happy to collect . You can text me for her contact info.

Also on this Sat 2pm until 5pm is the O neill Centre " Previously loved clothes " sale.

Aine

CoderDojo

CoderDojo is an Irish led, global movement of coding clubs for young people. Come learn or teach to code, hack, develop websites, apps, games and more!Ireland

Time	Saturdays 2pm to 6pm
Location	St. Josephs Studios, Waterford Road, Kilkenny
Country	Ireland
Notes	A pack lunch. A laptop. Borrow one from someone if needs be. A parent! (Very important). If you are 18 or under, your parent must stay with you during the session.

Find out more here : CoderDojoKK

Halloween Party !

Proposed Date for Our alternative Halloween Party is Monday 29th ( time to be decided ).

Krisztina has very kindly offered to arrange a giant pumpkin sheet for the children to Decorate.
Two other Ideas are to make spooky Eyes that glow using loo roll/ kitchen roll tubes and glow sticks.

and to make traditional spooky pumpkins.

I can supply patterns for the pumpkins, so all you folks need to do is bring the supplies !!

Kids can come dressed how they like and as we did with the X-mas party if every family brings something to share we should have plenty to go around.

We are trying to steer as much towards healthy eating as possible so please keep this in mind.

Hope to see you all at the next meeting where we can finalise any ideas .

Aine

Proposed changed to the DSM form IV to V

Just an interesting link I found with regards to the changs being made in may next year to the DSM.

Some of you know already about the proposal to do away with the Diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, changing it instead to ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder and it seems there may also be classes with 3 levels of severity.

Below is a link to the DSM V Website, showing the proposed revision and the old DSM IV Criteria.

See what you think ....

DSM V

When Good Kids Behave Badly: Is Your Child Starting to Push Your Buttons?

When Good Kids Behave Badly: Is Your Child Starting to Push Your Buttons?

5 Simple Homework Tips for Kids with ADHD

5 Simple Homework Tips for Kids with ADHD

Homework Hell? Part II: 7 Real Techniques That Work

Homework Hell? Part II: 7 Real Techniques That Work

Homework Hell? Part 1

Homework Hell? Learn Effective Techniques You Can Use to End the Nightly Battle Over Homework

Disrespectful Kids and Teens: 5 Rules to Help You Handle Their Behavior

Disrespectful Kids and Teens: 5 Rules to Help You Handle Their Behavior

4 Ways to Handle Back to School Behavior Problems with Your ODD Child

4 Ways to Handle Back to School Behavior Problems with Your ODD Child

5 Back To School Tips for Your ADD or ADHD Child

5 Back To School Tips for Your ADD or ADHD Child

10 Ways to Motivate Your Child to Do Better in School

10 Ways to Motivate Your Child to Do Better in School

Calm Parenting: What to Do When You Dislike Your Child | Parenting Advice

Calm Parenting: What to Do When You Dislike Your Child | Parenting Advice

Empowering Parents Course

DESSA - Disability Equality Specialist Support Agency ,  are running the "Empowering Parents" training course for parents of disabled children throughout the South East from September.
It will run in one location in Carlow, in the Co. Carlow Childcare Committee Offices & two in county Kilkenny, Callan & Urlingford.

For more details please check out the page Titled " Empowering Parents ", if you are interested in signing up you can send us an email and we will forward on the Booking form, or if you would like to speak to Kay Teahan the organiser, drop me a line and I will send you on her Phone Number.

Aine

Next Meeting

Hi Folks,

Hope you are enjoying the holidays as best as possibly with this miserable weather :(.

The holidays seem to have flown by and can't believe it's already time to start planning our return.

I also can't believe we have been going for almost a year now and it's really all thanks to the effort every one of you make by coming to the meetings when possible and sharing your thoughts and experiences.

The social gatherings have also been a huge success and I know the kids love getting together and causing mayhem !

I have been in touch with Tommy from the GAA club and fingers crossed we will finally get into that room for our first meeting back which should be 12th September.

We also have some new members joining us who have ties to a couple of the special school so hopefully that will help to spread the word.

Can't believe we are already having to think about this but given that our next meeting will be mid September  one topic of discussion will be ... The alternative Halloween party.
We hope to follow along the lines of last years x-mas party and have some appropriate alternative and soothing music, lots of traditional games but with the added twist of the kiddies coming dressed however they like, as many of them don't enjoy the 'scary' costumes.

so, looking forward to caching up with you all and having a good natter and see you on the 12th .

Aine

Hi folks,

Just a quick reminder there will be no Meetings July or August due to Holidays etc.

I also wanted to confirm with as many as possible that the proposed change to Wednesday night will suit.

It's impossible to please everyone but due to the clash with the Early Bird courses we really feel this change of night is needed to help the group continue to grow.

I will also be starting a list of literature that people have found to be helpful so once that page is up and running please feel free to add any books you feel have been helpful to yourselves.

toying with the Idea of at least having a picnic again in August to get the kiddies together so feedback on this idea be appreciated too !

lastly .. facebook .... we havent really been using this page but now a lot more members are using facebook I'm wondering if it might not be a good way to quickly chat and comment on ideas as I think a lot of us use it fairly regularly !

Thank you all again for your continued support. We have been going for almost a year now and I still get calls from people wanting to find out more so lets hope this next year we can grow and help more families .

Aine

Meeting 12th June

Hi All,

just to let you know that from the next meeting onwards we will be meeting in a different room.

This room is above the club and has a kitchen and separate entrance via the gates to the left of the front doors, so this means we have our own key.

Hoping this more friendly and accommodating room will help people feel more at ease.

Topics of conversation for the next meeting are :

If I could improve one habit / difficulty for my child it would be this ....

and also ideas on how to help cope with this hot and sensory overpowering weather !

Look forward to seeing you then.

Aine

Family Picnic April 1st

Family picnic will be going ahead on Sunday 1st from noon to 2pm.

We will be meeting in the kiddies playground behind the Castle and taking it from there !

( ie probably drinking lots of tea and coffee while the kids take over )

The idea is for each family to bring a picnic lunch plus one small Easter egg per Child.

Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Aine

Carers Association to meet Politicians ...

The Carers Association  are meeting with politicians tomorrow wednesday 7th to discuss the Domicillary care allowance for children.

Please ring your local politician to attend.

It's to be held in the Av room at 2pm and then again at 3pm.

I will be texting everyone with the relevant numbers needed to contact them.

Aine

Kilkenny Arch Club

As discussed at the last meeting Therese asked me to pass on the following with reference to those interesting in joining the club :

Hi ladies / gents Take two we would love you to come and see  the club in action . Our next club takes place this saturday 10th march and to avoid too much disruption and distraction to other members we would ask that only one parent comes and no children at this stage . Looking  forward to seeing some of you on Saturday . The Fr . mc grath centre is the building in front of  the O'neill centre . Tom one of our volunteers will be on the door if you wait with tom either noreen or myself will come down and bring you up as a group .

If you fancy coming along on Sat 10th March at 12pm you would be more than welcome.  You could have a look around the building with a view to a suitable room for children interested in chess and also to have a look at the set-up of our group activities which starts c. 12.20
Age  groups of club These age group "members" include siblings as members so therefore ages apply to all.

Junior Members:  age 5 to 13  (this is the only age group up and running at present)
Intermediate Members:  age 14 to 17
Senior Members:  age 18+

All these club members would operate under the 'Kilkenny Arch Club' banner, but run at different times so that it would be 'peer appropriate'.  The current idea would be to run them at these times although this may well change in due course: 
Sat 11am to 1pm:   Junior Members (age 5 to 13)
Sat 2.30pm to 4.30pm:  Intermediate Members (age 14 to 17)
Sat 7.30pm to 9.30pm:  Senior Members (age 18+)

Autism Awareness Day - Preperations

We have been in contact with the events organiser at KK castle and will be meeting with her next week to discuss the formalities of holding a family picnic in the grounds on Sunday 1st April to celebrate Autism awareness day. Hopefully we will have full details in time for the next meeting on the 7th.

Aine

Kids Social Club !

On Tuesday we discussed further the idea of starting up a club for the children where they could come along and 'hang out' play games etc.

I received a call today from Noreen who runs the Special needs support group, and she told me they have sucessfully started up just such a club based at the Father McGrath centre.

I have invited her along to the next meeting so we can have a chat about the possibility of joining forces on this project !


Aine

Text Service

Following on from discussions at Tuesday's meeting ...  it was decided in order to keep the text service running as smoothly as possibly and to avoid nuisance texts, that everyone on the current list should be sent a sms to ask if they would like to continue receiving updates for the group.

If you would like to stay on our text list please either reply with 'yes' or contact us using the email address provided under the contact tab of the blog by Friday 20th Jan.

Many thanks

Next Meeting Tuesday 10th Jan

Topics to be discussed include .

Further discussions on the DCA and possibilities of tackling it as a group.

Some kind of 'Saturday or Sunday Club ... maybe just once a month, given the huge success of the party .

and finally ideas for fundraising and days out, plus the xbox/ps3 challenge for the older children

Looking forward to to catching up with you all.