whitbywoof

It's going to be on at 12:30. Unfortunately I will miss it.

Thanks everyone, I did print this thread off and show it to him - I think he was surprised that other people are as jumpy as I can be. As for the caffiene thing, I don't drink coffee at all. I love tea and mainly drink it in the mornings. I don't drink any sugary/fizzy drinks at all and don't drink any stimulants in the evenings. If I do have tea in the afternoons, I don't drink it later than about 4pm. I've had a few restless nights recently but on the whole I sleep well and have done ever since my doctor switched me from Prozac to Cipralex.

Kids? I'm 42 and I have the most terrible scratching and scab picking habit. I'm covered in scar tissue as a result. Sometimes I don't even realise I'm doing it but one thing is certain - I do it more when I'm highly stressed. I hate the way my hands look yet as soon as a scab starts to go hard, just can't resist pulling it off, which of course leaves the wound larger and messier than it was before. I currently have four patches on one leg, one on a foot three on my hand, five on my arm, one on my back and one on my scalp. I hate myself for it.

I have Aspergers, my partner is NT. He's getting used to me being nervous in strange and crowded places although he finds it funny when I sometimes walk around with my arms crossed defensively in front of me and jokingly calls me a Freak. Last weekend we went to an airshow. At first I was particularly bad because it was crowded, noisy and chaotic. I asked if we could have a drink and we sat away from the crowd which gave me chance to take it all in and calm down. Once I felt calm enough to walk normally we went back into the crowd, and once the flying began I was fine - because we'd gone there for the sole purpose of my photographing the planes - my favourite hobby at the moment. But sometimes at home, my partner accidentally startles me and makes me jump. The intensity of my reaction is sometimes so great that he looks really hurt and thinks that I don't like him. It happened this morning - I wasn't sure which room he was in and I went into the kitchen to get my meds. He stuck his head round the door without me hearing him coming and he spoke - I jumped out of my skin! He looked so upset. And a night or two ago, I almost screamed in fear when he came to bed. What can I do to stop being so jumpy around the house? It is after all, my home and the one place that I should be able to relax. Any suggestions? I seem to be getting worse at the moment, but then we do have a lot of stress going on with access to his children, the CSA on our case, my busiest time of year at work and my partner coping with chemotherapy. It's a lot and I think we're doing really well to cope with it all, but it's so sad when he scares me.

Is there anyway people can help without going to London? Can't you make the questionnaires available online or by post? London and other big cities are scary places for many people with ASDs.

Does anyone else have problems using terms of endearment? Even as a child, I baulked at the prospect of writing something like "lots of love" or "love from" in a birthday card, and alwas plumped for a straight-forward and heartless "From". As an adult, works like "darling" or "love" just don't come out of my mouth - I'm even self-concious about addressing people directly by name and tend not to gain the attention of the correct person in the room first by calling their name. I am in a permanent and stable relationship, but the best he gets when I'm talking affectionately is "mush" or "mister". The only time I'm able to use a traditional term of endearment is with heavy sarcasm when we're sharing a joke. And yet it's not the words themselves as I can pour out "I love you"s and "Darlings" to my dog, but it all seems so false for people, even when there is genuine affection. If I want to tell my partner that I love him, I'm more likely to do it through the dog - to be in earshot of my partner while I talk to the dog, saying something like: "Do you think daddy knows that I love him?" Does anyone else do this or understand it?

Any idea what hours it can be moderated?

I didn't know that zeolite could be used as a human remedy, but it is used in fish ponds to break down ammonia if the nitrogen cycle is imbalanced. I guess the theroy is the same - it breaks down the nasty chemicals that can harm or kill.

My head's been a bit all over the place since my last post on this thread, but somehow last night and this morning I began to 'visualise' the story of my typical day, and so may well begin writing tonight. I'd also be happy to help with cover artwork if that's of any interest as I'm a bit nifty with Photoshop.

Oh, good point. How stupid of me not to think of that. Thanks 'mum', that's very encouraging.

I have recently rekindled my interest in photography and have had a great time sharing photos and meeting (virtually) people with similar interests on flickr.com. I recently started a new group, specifically for people with an ASD to display their pictures and express themselves through their photographs - either natural or 'Photoshopped'. So far no one has discovered the group, so if there is anyone using this forum who has an ASD diagnosis and an interest in photography, please take a look at Flickr and consider joining the AAA group. AAA group Flickr has brought me a lot of enjoyment over the last few months and it's like having a social life without the bother of meeting people!

Has anyone ever had problems gaining contact with their (or their partner's) children as a direct result of either yourself or your partner having Aspergers? I am currently persuing a Contact Order and am worried that the adversary may try to use an AS diagnosis as 'ammunition' against contact with the children. Can anyone tell me if this is either likely or legally viable? Thanks.

Sounds like an interesting idea. Have PMd with an offer of help.

I get it occasionally. Usually just closing the browser window and opening a new one clears it. It's a program glitch, but pretty minor compared to the protection it offers.

Almost a year for me. It can be done.