Canopus

Jonathan I have encountered numerous people in the past who initially appeared as friendly but eventually turned against me. On the day they turned against me they usually did so for what seemed a petty trivial reason. I found it difficult as a kid to identify who were real friends and those who would use me then turn against me later on.

I have never heard of Nisai until now so I don't know anything about it. The online schools I was referring to are independent institutions. My findings are that the home ed community is generally anti examination. It is also anti science/technology as well. I'm not sure if the reason that few home educated kids use online schools is because they are reluctant to take under 16 year olds or whether they prefer to use their own textbooks. I think Nisai is designed to push the National Curriculum from the looks of things.

First things first, LEAs will almost certainly never recommend that a kid with SEN is educated using online virtual schools. This is because I am 99.999% sure that LEA bosses are bound by duty and contract never to recommend the use of an organisation that they are not in charge of. I haven't had the time to investigate online virtual schools in depth but they seem to vary. Some are designed for adults to study in their own time and are reluctant to take under 16 year olds, whereas others are willing to take under 16 year olds. Some schools offer a wide range of subjects but others focus on a handful of subjects. Some schools provide access to a tutor but others just provide course notes. The course materials also vary from school to school. Usually it is up to the students to arrange any exams as a private candidate because most online schools don't have the facilities to take exams. I think you are best investigating the issue with the home education community as they will know more about individual schools that I do.

My CV states referees available on request. I think this is the best approach because if you provide details of referees then the company could ask them all sorts of info without you knowing.

I have been informed that recruitment agencies are run by people who know very little about the technicalities of the careers that they handle. Their job is to try and find a perfect match between a CV and a job vacancy spec. In other words, they are more literal than people with AS. If the job wants 5 years experience in a certain area and the applicant only has 4.5 years then the recruitment agency won't send off the CV. The reality of the situation is that matching the job spec is only half of the story. Employers are also interested in whether one has good problem solving ability, is capable and willing to learn new stuff, and has a personality and an attitude that fits in with the company and its people. These are almost impossible for recruitment agencies to identify from a CV. Often the deciding factor whether one gets a job or not is whether the employer likes the person or not.

Are there any magazines specifically devoted to AS?

I want to know why at the age of 28 I am getting lots of zits on my face. I can pride myself on having an almost zit free face as a teenager. Any explanations?

I mentioned this last year but was forced to take the line that AS is a varient of autism rather than a condition in its own right.

I have applied for a career. The company uses an automated application system on their website where I have to fill in a form about myself and include my CV. Strangely enough I can update the details at any time. I was using the company website to find information about some semiconductors. There was a jobs page so I investigated and found a vacancy that appears suitable. I have also noticed a university vacancy in Manchester that looks ideal so I will phone them on Monday.

Can anyone recommend any really good fiction books ideal for kids with AS in the 10 to 16 age group? They can be from any era and don't necessarily have to be written for the adolescent audience in mind. They could officially be adult books.

A crucial question is whether the problems caused by AS emerge at school or happen at home as well. Some kids are fine at home doing their own things but become difficult children at school. Other kids exhibit bad behaviour at home because of problems at school. This is more likely during term time than holidays. Excessive peer pressure at school also causes some kids with AS to try and fit in with their classmates outside school, sometimes with undesirable consequences. This could be more commonplace if the kid doesn't know they have AS and thinks they are NT. If the kid knows they have AS then they might be more inclined to be themselves rather than try and fit in with classmates.

The original DARPANET was created in 1969. The term internet was coined in 1989 for what was then known as ARPANET. The modern day internet available to the general public came into existance in 1995. There is also a collection of discussion forums known as USENET that was created in 1981 and still exists today although use has declined badly since the late 1990s.

The situation has completely changed for the better since the days when I was a kid. If parents here are having a hard time because their kid has AS then they should thank their lucky stars they weren't trying to bring up a kid with AS in the 1980s. Even the 14 year olds here have no idea what it was like to be a kid of the 80s with AS because they weren't around back then, but I can assure you it was a misery. AS is now an officially recognised medical condition whereas it was completely unknown in 1980s in the English speaking world. Life for a kid with a hidden disability that doctors, teachers, and educational psychologists knew nothing about was sheer hell, and problems resulting from AS were all put down to bad behaviour or bad parenting. Parents would get stressed out badly as well because none of the professionals had an answer or an explanation what was wrong with their kid, and teachers would constantly punish and sanction them for their behaviour at school. To make matters worse the internet didn't exist until 1995 so a parent of a kid with AS would almost certainly be on their own and think their kid's problems were unique to them. They would have no idea that there were other kids with similar problems to their own because discussion forums like this were something of the future. Services for kids with AS still leave a lot to be desired but at least the condition is now recognised. Therefore a parent of a kid with AS will have someone who could be better described as different to NT kids rather than problem child.

I have seen go-karts in Halfords and Argos. A 4 year old is probably too small for a KMX but might want one in a few years time. http://www.kmxkarts.co.uk

Are there any fiction books that have a computer related theme?

Has he ever played The Immortal? On the last level you have to battle with a fire breathing dragon but strangely enough you don't kill it. When you hold up the amulet to the light your boss Mordamir appears. After battling with Mordamir he gives you a lecture on the past. If you cast the magnetic hands spell then the dragon will incinerate Mordamir and the game is won.

Is equipment for SEN standardised on a national or LEA level or is it decided on by schools? What I mean by equipment are things like computers, software, writing aids, and audio video machinery.

Does he like books where dragons get killed or do they upset him?

http://www.urinal.net

I am still unable to find a suitable career. I have been rejected several times for not having enough experience in certain things. The situation is made worse by the appalling service and bad manners of recruitment agencies. I don't recommend taking an electronic engineering degree. There are just far too few junior positions in the electronics industry. 99.9% of vacancies are for people with lots (line 10 years minimum) of industrial experience in specific areas. The software and computing sector is much better for junior positions so take a degree in computer science, internet technology, or Playstation games instead. Ignore anybody who tells you that x y or z degree isn't accredited and won't allow you to put CEng or IEng after your name. The most important thing is whether you can get a decent relevant career after you graduate at 21 rather than worry whether certain pieces of paper and letters after your name will be an advantage to getting a senior position in some massive project like building a city on Mars when you are in your 40s. I have a sneaky suspicion that electronic engineering is an elitist subject and a closed club for people who don't come from an engineering background. I think the computing and software sector is more easy going, less elitist, and probably better for kids with AS. I wish I had gone into that in the first place.

I designed and built a machine to improve physical co-ordination at the age of 12. It consisted of a vertical panel with a large number of LEDs mounted on it. A circuit would flash the LEDs in a pseudorandom pattern so you had no idea which LED would flash next. The machine was used by swiping the LED that lights up with a sword or attempting to punch it. The flash rate was controlled using a variable resistor so you started using the machine with the LEDs flashing slowly then gradually increased the speed as your physical co-ordination improved.

In the 1980s and early 90s you could buy concentrated pure orange and grape juice that had to be mixed with water in a 1:3 ratio before drinking. The concentrate resembled syrup but when diluted tasted better than most already diluted pure juices made from concentrated juice. Can you still buy soda stream concentrates? I don't think they contain aspartame but they are probably loaded with artificial colours. Then can be added directly to water.

Variable resistors can be used to control the brightness of LEDs in two ways: 1. By varying the current flowing through a LED. 2. By varying the mark-space ratio of a square wave oscillator that drives the LED. There's loads of USB chips on the market but I haven't investigated them for a few years so things will have changed since then. I will check Maplin as they might have something.

You can get ultrabright LEDs in many colours nowadays. The controller could be connected to the USB port. There are chips to interface the LEDs directly to USB port so there is no need to worry about the finer details of the USB protocol. A really neat way to control the brightness of the LEDs is to send a high frequency square wave to them and vary the mark-space ratio of the square wave.

I am an electronics expert. Could I be of any help?