World Autism Day Articles Featuring Geoff & Simone

xena · Last edited by xena on Sun Apr 05, 2009 1:36 am; edited 1 time in total

The Mail on Sunday's weekend supplement, YOU Magazine, are running a piece today about six mothers uniting for World Autism Day. This inspiring article features Geoff's wife, Simone, who speaks about their journey through Sienna's diagnosis, treatment and remarkable progress.

The section featuring Simone can be read below, but to read the whole article from the Daily Mail website, please click HERE

Mothers Unite For World Autism Day: "If you want to be heard, you have to get noticed"

Glamorous, confident and successful, these women are all mothers of autistic children. Their picture, by acclaimed photographer Terry O’Neill, was taken to raise awareness of the condition for Thursday’s United Nations World Autism Day. 'We live and breathe autism,' says Polly Tommey (third from left), who masterminded the photo shoot. 'When you look after an autistic child 24/7, you are in danger of becoming invisible to the outside world. We are can-do women who are determined to provide better lives for our children.'

Simone Lanham, 35, a former television journalist, is married to Geoff Sewell, also 35, a tenor and founder of Amici Forever, one of the world’s first opera bands. He left the group in 2005 after their daughter Sienna, now five, was diagnosed as autistic. They have another daughter, Olivia, aged three, and co-own entertainment company Incognito Artists. Both are New Zealanders who now live in North London.

I met Geoff at university – I don’t think we would have survived the past few years if we hadn’t had such a strong foundation. It is that whole Mars/Venus thing – after Sienna’s diagnosis, I was the one up all night worrying and he couldn’t bear to see me so upset. If you are going to weather the storm, you have to be kind to each other.

Geoff had been a banker until his sister died at the age of 22. Her death made him realise he had to pursue his passion in life – singing. He founded Amici and I became the group’s co-manager.

When Sienna was born, we were travelling the world. I wasn’t plugged in to any mothers’ network, I didn’t go to toddler groups, so I had no one to compare her with. When I took her at the age of two for a checkup, the health visitor said Sienna’s speech wasn’t developing normally. She also rocked a lot and had started to have terrible reflux and diarrhoea.

At the time, I had no idea that all the symptoms pointed to autism spectrum disorder. When she was formally diagnosed with it at the age of two and a half, I felt as though she had died. The paediatrician painted a bleak picture. When I asked if she would ever fall in love, he said no because she would never be able to relate to people.

Geoff resigned from the group and, when we explained why, the response was extraordinary.

We will for ever be in debt to one doctor who had an autistic child of her own. She gave Sienna blood and urine tests and suggested removing gluten and dairy products from her diet, which had an immediate impact. We subsequently removed corn, soya and sugar as well. At home, we installed a filter to purify all our drinking and bathing water, we avoid chemical cleaners, don’t cook with plastics and never use a microwave.

This may all sound extreme, but everything pointed to Sienna’s body being unable to cope with the unhealthy world we live in. The medical establishment will say I am talking rubbish, but Sienna can now talk and even tell me how she feels. I’ll never forget the moment, two years ago, when I was putting her to bed and she first said, ‘I love you Mummy’.

I don’t wish Sienna didn’t happen to us – she is an extraordinary girl who has helped me to realise what is important in life. But I do believe early intervention is crucial and that the support we have been able to give her needs should be available to all parents of autistic children

Source: The Mail on Sunday - YOU magazine

xena · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 1:32 am Post subject:

Geoff & Simone also feature in an article about World Autism Day in the Herald Sun from Australia, entitled " Celebrities help raise awareness of Autism"

To read the article please CLICK HERE

Source: Herald Sun