I'm a mother of 8 children. 6 of them are still living.
We live in The Netherlands, a tiny country in Europe below sealevel.
I speak Dutch. English has become a kind of second language. I can understand German well, and French and Swedish a bit, and Japanese less.
I think I make terrible mistakes at times, but at least I try!!!

I like to do many things, but usually there isn't enough time for: singing, making music, knitting, crochet, gardening,etc etc.
I've been a dedicated balletdancer and -teacher, and if someone would ask me I would start teaching immediately. I love making choreographies.
I also like to draw, but there's not enough rest to do so.
Partly because I'm studying to become a bagpiper.
So I'll design my own pages and I value the work of others dearly. Occasionally I make an adoptable.

I don't have the easiest family and I feel that my studies in psychology and education are of great help.

Now I'm suddenly at the other side of 50, I feel more confidence to speak up when things happen that are not right.
I've always been outspoken for justice and peace, and I've been the intitiater of many changes around the care for parents of deceased babies and of funerals for children.
The last years I've studied a lot about autism and other autism spectrum disorders and ADHD, also focussing on what is done in other countries, and I'm starting on trying to change the system here in my country.

There's a lack of awareness, and a lack of willingness, with money as the excuse.

Nyo (15) is diagnosed as being autistic (or PDD-NOS with strong autistic features).

Thami (16) is suffering from an information processing disability, with symptoms like dyslexia, ADHD and short term memory deficiencies.

With him we went through the wellknown story of mom complaining about dyslexia and the school ignoring the problems.
I won't tell you how often the school looked at me in such a way so I knew they thought I was lying when I told them we'd been bussy with Thami's homework for hours and hours on end.
Two years ago he started at a school for special education, and things are going far better.
Since he's on Ritalin (not very willingly started by us) his behaviour has improved a lot.
Pity is that the school is not understanding at all, which leads to many confrontations.. with Thami and after that with me.
I want basic knowledge and basic care for kids like him and I'm trying to get politicians interested.

We expect one of the twingirls: Djenne (11), to battle with the same problem as Thami, but she doesn't show hyperactivity.
She's behind in reading more than 12 months!!! Can't believe that after all the effort I've put into it.
This schoolyear is a difficult one as the school doesn't have a remedial teacher and a pedagogue (an person diagnosing and treating learning disorders) anymore. Luckily she's very intelligent and has a great memory, so she compensates a lot.

Yinti, her twinsister, has a mind of her own.
She's a bit delayed in mental development and tries to escape from situations she doesn't like, even if it needs pretending to be ill. With strangers she often succeeds, as she is very thin.
But she eats tons! LOL!
Who would have thought that during the exchange transfussions after birth? (Both girls were rhesusbabies).

We see her big smile again every day as she twirls through life.
This year she got the teacher she adores untill january. After that a teacher we don't like, because we had a very hard time when Nyo was in her group.
We hope we can work better this time.

The oldest of 21 has got severe forms of Asperger syndrome and ADD.
There's nothing wrong with his intelligence, but his short term memory is very bad. (It's worse than Thami's.)
He went rather well through his first years of life, but the last years he seems to deteriorate.
He functions far behind his age and needs a lot of persuasion to do things.
The way it is now, he'll never be able to live on his own.
we're trying to find a facility where he can live in a house with young people with the same problems and where he gets enough guidance.
We already know that's a long and difficult road, but maybe he learns more from strangers...

He can cook well though and he's great at teaching elderly to use the computer.

Right now he's studying ICT.

And there's Lars (18), the second boy of the four.
He already crawled in his crib, much to the amusement of the nurses.

And when they turned him on his back he had such a look on his face that they called him "the mayor."LOL!
Well, we'll see if he'll ever be one. LOL! He went to the ballet-academy in another town (travelling long hours each day) untill he got a permanent injury.

Their father shows autistiform behaviour too, which became very apparent the last few years.

The first years of our marriage he seemed to be pleasantly calm. LOL!

Two years ago we were in the middle of a divorce, because we have no partner life at all, but we stopped the procedure after the government changed some very important financial things, and it became clear that after a divorce we wouldn't be able to provide enough support for the children to go through their schooltime.
So we stopped the legal divorce.
He lives here and with that all is said.
We agreed that if ever I'll meet someone I'm free.

He works in another town and leaves early and is at home late.

So almost all decisions and actions for the family are mine.

So I'm the leader of the nuthouse, the therapist of my husband and children, trying to change the world on my own. LOL!

Straight lines between the squares: me
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