DaisyProudfoot

:lol: Good grief it's gotten very noisy in here all of a sudden - it's enough to waken hibernating fairies. Didn't you know we don't wake up till springtime ....now where in h**lls me lycra boots - or are we into platforms now?

Hello everyone <'> I hear you've been wondering where I'd got to Yes I'm absolutely fine just up to my ears at work (which is the only opportunity I get to access the forum these days) and can't get on at home as the kids spend their entire life on World of Warcraft and the new one Lord of the Rings Online. Martin's coming on OK at the moment - we seem to be going through a reasonably good patch but he goes into high school in September so be prepared for daily threads on the woes of Martin again. We've also "fostered" another nephew (now 10 months old) so he's taking up a lot of my time too and brings the total number of kids in my family to 6 ranging in age from 16 to 10 months . Hello to everyone who doesn't know me - have I been away for a while? Time passes so quickly you just don't notice do you? Hope everyone is well and the schools are being kind to your kids. Will promise to pop in more regularly. Cheers Daisy

This is so sad - I read a shorter version of this in the Metro today. The bit about failing the suicide pact with her hubbs is especially sad. It looks like God just keeps telling her it's just not her time to go. I've been suicidal - it becomes all enveloping and you really can't think properly. The strange thing was in the end I was too cowardly to do it - because it's a sin against God and I know it's one of the things he's dead set against and I'd probably go to Hell. So better to live Hell on earth really rather than in eternity. It's not like that now - much improved - but I do feel for this poor woman immensely.

Keep up the good work - its not an easy addiction to escape from Why should you give up smoking? 1. You might live longer 2. You might not wake up every morning coughing your lungs out 3. You won't smell 4. You'll save a bundle on dental fees 5. You'll have loads of money - my friend gave up smoking but saved all the money she would have spent on smoking and went on a superb holiday 6. You'll be at less risk of heart disease, thrombosis, lung cancer etc 7. Your children will be less likely to smoke 8. You won't need to redecorate your house so often as the walls and ceilings won't get nicotine stained 9. People won't mind riding in your car 10. Your children are less likely to contract asthma etc through passive smoking 11. Your sex life will be more fulfilling 12. You won't be a social outcast 13. You'll be able to breathe properly 14. You won't cost the NHS a fortune 15. You'll discover that life doesn't have to revolve around the next cigarette and you'll get your independence back Best of luck and if you fall off the wagon don't worry just get straight back on again

<'> <'> <'> <'> He's still Tom and nothing changes that Take care x

Oh dear. Good Luck. We went on one family holiday with my in-laws and hubbs siblings plus all the kids. It was fine except for one of his brothers and his partner who made live horrendous! Kids enjoyed it though

Have a look at the link to this news article and tell me what you think. It's an interesting idea - beating the bullies - but I don't see how popularising school violence could be a good thing http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6046932.stm

Does any of your family work close enough to pop back home and give you their keys? Does a neighbour have a set you could borrow? We have a permanent set of house keys which is kept in the house for this very eventuality. Perhaps it may be worth doing it for you too.

I don't know if Martin is aware that his differences may hold him back (he's ten). He does say things like: "I'll never be in top set like my brothers because I'm stupid" (which he isn't) but he's got to the point now where he knows things will be different for him and he looks at how well celebrities with AS are doing and reckons he'll turn out ok. I do get upset when he says things like: "I wish I was dead" and "I'm so depressed" but what we do is make him focus on the skills he is good at like computer games (Bill Gates started out like that and he's a billionaire), he's very good at Maths (look at Einstein) etc etc. One of my older sons is dyspraxic - he's 13 and still can't ride a bike - he just doesn't have the balance. When he was younger it bothered him but now he just says: "I'm dyspraxic - born clumsy - I'll probably never ride a bike." and shrugs it off. Again he has talents in other directions. When your child gets down about his shortcomings just boost him up with his positive skills whether that's as a loyal friend or a top notch Playstation gamer.

I once got a text from an unknown number at 1am in the morning and this is what it said: "Hi Sexy, the rugby tour is finished what are you doing Saturday?" Following my I showed it to my husband and said: "Look's like Johnny Wilkinson wants to meet me." Luckily hubbs knows I'm faithful and I didn't ring the number back just deleted it which is a good job because had I phoned the number it would have wiped all the credit off my phone (discovered this on a consumer programme some time later).

RUSH - Hemispheres. It cost �40 to get the CD player in the car fixed Somehow we got two CDs jammed in it - but it works better than ever now so I'm pleased

Good Grief TN you've just described me. I get so wound up by certain situations that I can't rest until its happened and have terrible anxiety problems. My husband is always telling me to let be but I can't!

This is an interesting question. When I'm filling in forms for school outings it asks whether your child has a medical condition - I actually answer no to that question but I do add that Martin does have AS. To me a medical condition is something like asthma or heart disease. To me AS is a mental health condition or a learning disability but it's not medical because it's part of his personality make-up IYSWIM. Physically there's nothing wrong with Martin he's a happy, healthy little boy and his AS alone is not enough to be a medical condition.

<'> <'> <'> Oh Paula and Con, all I can do is keep

<'> <'> <'> <'> Aunty Daisy says off to the docs with you now. I was very reluctant to take anti-depressants but my doc finally persuaded me and they made a fantastic difference - they don't remove your problems they just help you see them in a fresh light. That downward spiral is a horrible thing - please don't end up there. I'm not on the anti-depressants now, you don't get addicted to them you know and you will know when you feel able to cope without them again. Please go pet. <'>

Martin's a nightmare if he has a timed appointment but strangely enough not when he waits at A & E. The last time he was there because he had fallen on his arm and was complaining about the pain so being a good mum I took him up to A & E. We were waiting in the children's waiting room for ages and Martin waited relatively patiently - then the wierdest thing happened. A child was pushed past on a trolley - he had oxygen tubes up his nose - Martin took one look at him and said: "Mum, there are children here who a really very ill, my arm's not feeling so bad now, lets go home." ....It wasn't broken by the way but as he went three days on a broken leg I'm always extra wary

Hello Claire and a very warm welcome to you Sounds like you've been very lucky with the support you're receiving - lets all move to Norwich! There's loads and loads of friendly advice on here and a good support network when you're feeling down or alone. If you're having trouble explaining your son's behaviour - though god knows when any of us should have to - you can get cards from the NAS or just tell them he has Autism that usually stops them in their tracks

That leaves enough for a very nice holiday somewhere or some new furniture or a very fancy car We bought our house six years ago for �53k, then we got an extension built at a cost of �40k bringing the cost of our mortgage to around �90k which will be paid off in about 14 years time. The property is now worth around �150k to �160k, so we've made around �50,000 profit so far..... and as if that's not good enough the council are doing up all the houses on our estate so that'll up the value too Not moving though, like it too much. Well done TN, hope your ex keeps her side of the deal.

Hi Paula - how did the phone call go? Did you get the news you were looking for? Still Take Care <'>

Martin follows rules as long as they're HIS rules. Everyone else's rules are stupid as far as he's concerned - but he does stick to his own rules very well.

Martin's teacher's fairly good on homework too. They get about four pieces a week but nothing at the weekend because she believes "weekends are for spending time with your family not doing homework" Still get all the usual wingeing over homework anyway. He got a computer ban the other day for making us late for school and his compromise was: "if I do my homework tonight can you lift the computer ban?" Well he tried ...... I did lift it for tidying his room though - looks lovely although I haven't looked under the bed

Great news! Long may it continue

My brother became a chiropodist (private) because he had so much bother from in-growing toenails when he was a kid. He's very good and sorted out my eldest ingrowing toenails no problem. Unfortunately he doesn't live in the midlands or I would recommend him.

That's good TN, I think it explains your condition very well. There's a bloke in my office and I've been positive for some time that he has AS (un-dx) because you've just described him too. I'm one of the few people in the company he talks to, most people find him arrogant and rude - I just find him different, but he's exceptionally good at his job. There are days when he blanks people out entirely (myself included) but as you say that's because he's either intent on what he's doing or doesn't know how to start 'small talk' I like him and have time for him even though he does say some very hurtful things to people (I think it's unintentional really - he's just very matter of fact and tells it like it is which is a hundred times better than talking about someone behind their back). Get him on a subject he's interested in and he's very talkative

I'd be interested to see what was written. I think it could be very useful. Hope your lunch goes well too