Just Jordan Newsletter October Issue

JUST JORDAN

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JUST Jordan

Tue 4 Oct IN THIS ISSUE

Introduction

by Jordan

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Fernando

Hello everyone and welcome to my 3rd edition of ‘Just Jordan’.

I’m over the moon with the response about my “JUST Jordan group and newsletter, so thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Lot’s more lovely feedback for my Newsletter and it seems you’d all like to meet some more characters I’ve created, so you are in for a treat!

The first couple of editions have had great reviews with the National Autistic Society, local libraries and café’s sharing my newsletter too!

Slight change to October’s issue, so please do send me some feedback and let me know what you all think.

Cover Girl is little ole me spending some time volunteering at 3TFM where I help out every week with the wonderful station manager Louis Ferguson. Read my exclusive interview with Louis and find out about the award I’ve put 3TFM up for.

Once again I’ve worked very hard on this Newsletter and I hope that you will enjoy and tell all your friends & family about “JUST Jordan”.

You will find information on my ‘JUST Jordan’ Facebook page and how to contact me details are also enclosed.

As always I look forward to your feedback, submissions and questions for next month’s Newsletter.

See ya,

Jordan Fernando xx

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Exclusive Interview Read my interview with Louis at 3TFM!

Art Corner One of my requests submitted by Fiona Bain, One Stop Shop in Kilmarnock.

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“ JUST Jordan reaches Parliament.

Introducing more Characters Come and meet more character Bears.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LOUIS FERGUSON – 3TFM

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I’ve been volunteering at 3TFM with the station manager Mr Louis Ferguson, who has taken me under his wing and shown me the ropes. I am really enjoying my time at the station, obviously I was rather nervous to begin with but I’ve settled in well. I’ve met new and other interesting volunteers and am totally flabbergasted at how hard Louis works and the very long hours he puts in too. I had no idea the work and commitment required to keep a radio station working efficiently and without flaws. Louis is definitely dedicated to his job and I can clearly see just how much it means to him and the devastating effect it would have on him if 3TFM no longer had the funds to carry on.

Which is where Mum and I have stepped in and took initiative by submitting an application for funding with Aviva to win anything up £25,000

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The Aviva Community Fund offers the chance to get funding for an important cause in our community.

We decided to enter 3TFM and explained what a difference these much-needed funds could make.

So with everyone’s help if we get enough votes from friends, family and supporters 3TFM could reach the finals, where a judging panel picks the winners and awards the funds.

he was a mobile Dj at night and weekends.

One day he showed me how to operate the disco unit, showed me how to cue records up etc. I thought this was fun and as it so happened the youth club I was part of had mobile dj equipment. I became one of the youth club dj’s and gained more experience.

I then at 15 decided to join the local Hospital radio station to learn more technical and presentation skills.

At 17 I got accepted by Westsound Radio and via a YTS Scheme learned more indepth skills and have had a very successful and interesting career in this side of the media since.

“JUST Jordan”: Tell me a little about 3TFM.

Louis: We are a community radio station licensed by the Office of Communications to broadcast to the 3 Towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and I gave Louis the good news and he was Stevenston on 103.1fm. We also absolutely delighted!

While at 3TFM volunteering I took some broadcast online at www.3tfm.org.uk.

With a primary focus of promoting time out to record an advert for JUST health, 3TFM takes volunteers from the Jordan to be played on air and had a three towns and surrounding areas who brief interview with Louis about 3TFM and what the funds would mean to him if are interested in different aspects of broadcasting. Providing training in live they won. presentation, radio production, Here’s how our interview went. administration and other key skills to this industry.

“JUST Jordan”: Firstly I’d just like to thank you for giving me this great The organisation also provides the opportunity to volunteer here at 3TFM facility for local community groups to with you, I’m thoroughly enjoying it. further there audience and increase Tell me how you got interested in participation by playing on-air ads and working in radio Louis? providing dedication pieces of Louis: Your very welcome Jordan and it programming targetting towards these groups and there users. More than 260 is a pleasure having you hear volunteering with us. Now let me think community groups including the elderly, as believe it or not I’m going back a while youth projects,credit unions,cancer support groups, football and arts here (chuckle chuckle) In the school organisations have promoted their work summer holidays during 1976 a relative was staying with my parents for a short “on-air” including your Mum’s Cervical spell. When not working during the day Cancer support group and not forgetting “JUST Jordan”.

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3TFM Community Radio have their studios in the Focus Community Learning Centre in Primrose Place in Saltcoats.

“JUST Jordan”: Are you still looking for volunteers? If so, for what purpose?

Louis: Here at 3TFM, we are always on the lookout for new volunteers. If anyone fancies taking on one of the many jobs such as: Presenter Technical Support Administration Studio Worker or Event Team We’re more than happy to help!

Don’t worry if you’ve never done something like this before, you’ll be trained in whatever you’re hoping to do!

If you’re interested, you can contact us at Telephone: 01294 608048 E-Mail: admin@3tfm.org.uk

“JUST Jordan”: Are there any age restrictions to volunteer?

Louis: No age restrictions. If you are under 16 a parent or guardian has to give consent to be a volunteer and the person under 16 will always be supervised by an adult.

“JUST Jordan”: What would you do with the funding and why? Bearing in mind it could be anything up to £25,000 Louis: With the funding 3tfm would purchase more up to date broadcast equipment, develop the marketing side of our business & promote ourselves more.

“JUST Jordan”: Thanks very much Louis for taking the time out of your ever increasing and very busy schedule, am sure my readers will get right behind you when the voting opens in October. I’ll have everything crossed for you and

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wish you the very best for the future.

Jordan xxxx

Listen into 3TFM here: http://aries.streaming.zfast.co.uk:2199/start/tfm0/

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Kids Zone

by Jordan Fernando

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This moth I’m going to share some of my own creations and explain my inspiration behind them as well as share some of yours!

“Meet Aspie Girl” I created Aspie Girl purely for us Aspies out there and to share some experiences I’ve gone through over the years and how I’ve overcome them. I find life much easier when putting pen to paper for some reason, so have used what am good at to the best of my ability, the same way we all can!

Aspie Girl is an extraordinary girl with powers, who helps to save aspies and autistics everyday with whatever situation they maybe struggling with.

Over the next few month’s I’ll be creating comics featuring Aspie Girl and some of my other characters too, so watch this space. Am currently working on them now and hope you all enjoy them.

Enclosed are some chosen entries submitted by you and a few of my own thrown in too.

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I’ve received a few requests for some anime drawings so my Sister Aaron (who loves anime) has drawn a couple for us.

Opposite is a black and white drawing and I think it looks awesome!!

Aaron’s second drawing is shown below.

Art Corner!

Fantastic artwork Aaron well done x

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“Fussy Eater” I bet as soon as many of you read that header you were all nodding and saying something along the lines of, ‘oh yeah that’s me, or yep been there got the t-shirt’… right!

From as little as I can remember I’ve had issues with food, even as a toddler I remember choking on lumpy foods and desperately wanted my Mum to go back to the smooth easy to eat foods….and in all honesty STILL DO! I know there has been articles lately about Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating, well I for one definitely do not have an eating disorder, yes am a fussy eater, yes I may like my food laid out a certain way on my plate, yes I hated it if my foods touched on my plate and yes I do prefer certain colours and textures…….So What…….I still have a good healthy appetite, take all the right vitamins/minerals and drink plenty water everyday.

I still to this day mostly eat plain foods and am particular about how my food looks and especially how it is cooked. My parents encouraged me to learn safety in the kitchen and how to cook under supervision which I’ll be forever thankful for as now I will at least attempt to try new foods, my favourite thing to cook is plain spaghetti and am getting pretty good at it if I say so myself.

Yes I’ve no doubt there are autists and aspies who suffer with a severe sensory overload regarding foods, but does that mean eating disorders and autistic spectrum are similarly connected?

What do you guys think, drop me a line and let me know as am really interested to hear what people think about this. jfernando_1997@hotmail.co.uk or suzfernando@yahoo.co.uk

If you have a sweet tooth like myself then you’ll have to agree that one of life’s little pleasures is home made chocolate!!

I had a great day out at the Lime Tree Larder recently making all types of chocolate, it really was HEAVEN!!!!

One of my favourite foods ever, Kraft Cheesy Pasta…mmm delicious!

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“JUST Jordan reaches Parliament” My parents had the privilege of visiting The Scottish Parliament recently and had the opportunity to promote "JUST Jordan" with MP Jamie Greene & The Presiding Officer for Parliament Ken Macintosh.

They were invited to watch the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon's question time from the Presiding Officers Gallery then escorted to the Members room for lunch where they were joined by members of the events team and Jamie Greene.

Due to my sensory issues I felt unable to attend but I knew Mum & Dad would do there very best, and they did!

I’m absolutely thrilled that in the space of 2 months “JUST Jordan” has already reached The Scottish Parliament!!!!

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Here are some of my characters that you’ll see incorporated into my comics over the next few months !

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“First Day at Uni” Hi my name is Heather, I'm seventeen but will be eighteen soon, and I've just started a new chapter of my life at university. Leading up to the moment when it was all about to happen, people would ask me, "are you excited?", and generally most of the time they were expecting a yes or no answer. However, the prospect university, presented me with so many emotions and feelings that it became hard to decide whether I was being honest when saying I was excited. While, yes excitement was a component of how I felt, it didn't express what I wanted it to. When I contemplated how I felt about it all, usually the first word that came to mind was nervous or anxious, not because I wasn't excited but because the happy and secure feelings that it represented weren't the ones at the forefront of my mind.

One of my main concerns was that in this stage of moving on and finding new interests and new friends, I would lose the people and things that I had already found. With everyone moving on to their own next stage it was easy to believe that I could move on completely. But after having expressed this concern we have all made as much effort to stay in contact as often as possible. All my friends have a wonderful influence on me and knowing that we were going to be able to stay in touch was a massive confidence boost for me, it gave me the belief in myself that I could make and hold working and healthy relationships (something i had always doubted about myself).

All in all the dramatic change that was about to happen in my life was terrifying me yet I was really looking forward to it. Fresher’s helped a bit with this as I got to experience the layout of the campus and meet people with the same interests. I was able to make some really good friends in those days that made me feel so much more settled into what I was doing. When my first day arrived, I was so nervous about everything; getting to lectures on time, finding the right rooms, being able to copy down information correctly. But I found to my surprise that my panic was unnecessary!

My day ran smoothly, it was everything I had hoped for and more, I honestly loved every single moment of the day and I felt definite and happy about my choices that led me to that point. I'm not saying by any stretch of the imagination that everything is brilliant, nothing goes wrong from time to time, or that I'm completely settled with everything, but I can say that I'm going to enjoy university and the challenges with which it will provide me.

“Bring it On….”

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Now I hope you all enjoy my first installment called, ‘Danger in the kitchen’ and I look forward to your feedback and requests for future stories !

More comics in next month’s edition of JUST Jordan x

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This month we have a poem submitted by Autist Kerry McGinn 19, Stevenston.

Behaviours Towards Autism.

Some reactions to autism are good But unfortunately some are bad It is these negative reactions That just makes me mad For many these negative reactions Can give them strife So I'm to give you some advice That will hopefully get you through life Sometimes social contact is tough Because some may think you odd and wierd And sometimes when they call you something worse You feel like you want to disappear Sometimes you feel sad, alone And even isolated too But that is not the case Because there are friends and family to help you through So here's my advice to you all And what I say is true Be kind, be strong And most importantly...........Be You!!

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Member Requests I received 2 requests, one from (my future Mother in Law heehee) Jan, who asked for something relating to fussy eaters and the other from my friend and colleague, Fiona Bain, who asked if I could draw anything related to anime so as a little surprise I decided to draw Fiona herself as an anime character. Hope you like them ladies!

Please do keep your requests coming in and I’ll do my best to feature them in next months edition of JUST Jordan.

To submit your entries please send to : Jfernando_1997@hotmail.co.uk suzfernando@yahoo.co.uk

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Hobbies!

My Mum and fellow aspie Suzanne loves to take photos of absolutely anything and everything, for as long as I can remember she’s never gone a day without taking photos. She’s not a professional photographer and has never had any training, she just loves it as a wee hobby so I thought I’d share a couple of her photos with you all. As you all know by now I’ve never let my disability stop me from trying new things, whether it’s a 150ft zip slide, renovation or learning to drive, and that’s exactly what I’m currently learning to do just now and absolutely loving it. My Mum surprised my sister and I at the weekend with a Lamborghini driving experience over at East Fortune curcuit racing track near Edinburgh. OMG………..it was amazing! My instructor kept telling me to ‘put my foot down’ but the Autist careful driver in me just wouldn’t allow it, none the less I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I can’t wait to pass my test now as the freedom and independence it gives me is just awesome.

For many of us we find it difficult to try new things, so when I first sat behind the wheel of a car I felt very nervous and unsure if I was doing the right thing, but I persevered with my anxieties and look at me now. Am so glad my parents encouraged me to try new things.

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I truly believe that children and young adults on the autistic spectrum need the chance to try new things. One of the greatest things my parents ever done for me was to provide me with opportunities to try out as many activities as possible, regardless of my tantrums or insecurities. Through this, children can find things they are good at, and learn new skills. It seems that from my observation, some parents do not think it necessary to take this view if their child has autism. Whilst there are many parents that engage their autistic children in new and exciting activities, it is clear to me that many autistic children are spending too much time alone and isolated in front of a computer for hours on end. This is not a healthy state of affairs, and can lead to a low mood. I've no doubt it is challenging being the parent of an autistic child (I was that child), especially when they exhibit challenging behaviour in public places. My mum was indeed one of those parents who lay down on the Asda shopping floor as I had the biggest meltdown in history, am glad she did though as it helped calm me very quickly. In my experience, the autistic children that have access to different activities seem happier than those that do not. I really believe that many children with autism could find an activity they could be really good at, thus boosting their confidence and self esteem. I know one young man with autism that developed a passion and talent for Kart racing after he was given the opportunity to try it out by his Dad. It makes him feel free, happy and independent just like driving cars makes me feel. People with autism generally tend to isolate themselves. We do not always have the vision to realise there is more we can be doing with our lives. It feels safer not to go out, experience new challenges and meet new people. But unless autistic children are encouraged by parents, they will not have the opportunities to learn, grow and lead fulfilling lives.

Aaron and I eager to get in the driving seat, love this pic with my sis thanks Mum!

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Heehee…I think my face say’s it all…loved it!

Do you have a hobby you’d like to share with our readers in the next edition of ‘JUST Jordan’?

I’d love to see you all in action so please do send me some photos and I’ll try my very best to publish as many as I can in our November issue.

Submissions via Email: jfernando_1997@hotmail.co.uk or suzfernando@yahoo.co.uk

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Dear Jordan……

Ask me anything and I’ll be as frank with my views as Coleen is on Loose Women!! I can be your straightest-talking agony aunt, giving advice on relationships, bullying, early diagnosis and any life problems you may have…..xx

Huge thanks to everyone who submitted questions for “Dear Jordan”

POLL: What would you like to read about in “JUST Jordan”?

Let us know by contacting us via email: jfernando_1997@hotmail.co.uk or suzfernando@yahoo.co.uk

“Dear Jordan: What autism/aspie related groups are available in Ayrshire? ” William, 30 from Kilmarnock.

Hi William: William, the National Autistic Society run social groups in Kilmarnock and you can find out more information by contacting a lady called Sandra Buckley on 0141 221 8090. She will be happy to talk to you about social groups. Or you can contact the NAS One Stop Shop and they will let you know more about the groups and support you to meet Sandra if this is easier. There contact details are ayrshireoss@nas.org.uk I volunteer within social groups and I am sure you will enjoy them.

Thanks Love Jordan xx

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“Dear Jordan: Is there a school available in Irvine for my autistic son?” Sammy, 27 from Irvine Hi Sammy: Sammy, there are many suitable schools for young people with autism in North Ayrshire. However, it would be a good idea to talk to someone about the key things you feel your son or daughter need before thinking about a school. Why don’t you contact your local information service, NAS One Stop Shop and they will be happy to discuss all your options and any other support available to you. There telephone number is 01563 520 317 or ayrshireosss@nas.org.uk A good website to access is – www.enquire.org.uk for education advice in Scotland.

Hope this helps.

Love Jordan xx

HOW TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE. If you would like to submit an article, picture, ask a question or offer support in next month’s newsletter please contact me via email: jfernando_1997@hotmail.co.uk or suzfernando@yahoo.co.uk

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What’s On in Ayrshire **Young Campaigners Group** The Young Campaigners are a group of young people in Scotland aged 13-19 who want to transform the way society views people with autism. In just two years, they have become an invaluable part of The National Autistic Society’s wider campaign work. They’ve raised awareness of autism by meeting MPs, speaking at events and featuring in national and local media. Contact Callum McCrossan, Befriending and Mentoring Coordinator Callum.McCrosson@nas.org.uk

Touchbase Ayrshire Sense Scotland have been providing services for people with communication support needs in Ayrshire for over 15 years.

For more information contact: Mairi Morrison, Head of Business Development Phone: 0300 330 9292Email: mmorrison@sensescotland.org.uk

KELBURN'S FAIRY TALE CSI – needs detectives!

SAT 24 - MON 26 SEPT Full details are found at www.kelburnestate.com or call 01475 568685 between 9.00pm and 6.00pm.

Coffee, Cake & Craft Fayre North Parish Church, Saltcoats Sat 8th Oct 10am-2pm

The Legendary Artie from Singing Kettle will be performing at the Seamill Hydro Hotel and Resort on Saturday 22 October. https://www.facebook.com/events/346686382336034/

Halloween Haunted Forest https://www.facebook.com/events/335088090162405/

Copyright of Jordan Fernando Jfernando_1997@hotmail.co.uk suzfernando@yahoo.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/groups/213071952427706/ https://issuu.com/justjordan19/docs/justjordan.docx__2_ Disclaimer: All articles and information in this newsletter are of the writers own personal experiences and opinions.

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