PLT Test Blog

  Some parts of the world are trying to get back to some sort of Covid normal, while others are in crisis.   Where we live 40% have been vaccinated and likely 50% have already had the virus. Monty, aged 17 with ASD, is a big fan of swimming in the sea and where we live that means crossing borders.   Crossing borders is much easier if you have had a Covid-19 vaccine and it looks like for children the best option is the one from Pfizer-BioNTech.   BioNTech is the clever company set up by a Turkish husband and wife team in Germany. They licensed their vaccine to Pfizer for distribution outside of China, in China they have a deal with Fosun Pharma. Last week Monty had the opportunity, at very short notice, to go and get the Pfizer inoculation. I collected him from school and took him to a clinic in the city centre, that he has never been to and which undoubtedly would have a long line of people queuing outside it. Monty knows all about injections and syringes, courtes...

The Great Wall of China, two hours north of Beijing Monty, now aged 15 with ASD, continued his travels recently with an Easter visit to China. Long haul travel can be much more demanding than shorter trips because of the change in time zone and simply the fact that you are stuck on the plane for such a long time. Many people with autism, and indeed Asperger’s, have problems with air travel, while some other people even with severe autism have no issues whatsoever.   Some people with severe autism never go on holiday, travel being such a problem.   Some people repeat the same holiday every year.   It does not really follow any pattern. One issue I came across at the recent conference in London was that some people cannot even consider a far-away medical specialist or enroll in a clinical trial, due the travel required.   But what to do if the autism doctor does not make house calls? Some people do take their child thousands of miles to see a specialist, but many...