matzoball

I hope today goes okay for you <'>

air duster!! you can get a massive can for about 8 quid in tescos, and it lasts for ages - it comes with a straw like attachment and you literaly blow all the dust and crumbs from the keyboard

i always do this to try and get impartial treatment after a particularly bad experience at my gp's - phone the surgery, and ask what form of photo id is acceptable. more than likely your driving licence will be absolutely fine, as it sounds like you got someone in a bit of a bad mood!

i also really think you need to talk to your parents about it, you need someone in your corner.

you need to leave. ask the NAS for some help, ask the local department for work and pensions for help - just get out. even tell your landlord that your flatmate is doing all of this - just do something and get out.

have been told i can't wear headphones or earplugs as they would interfere with my job - not sure what to do now!

if you can't talk to him, you need to move out. he is too unpredictable and you can't live with someone who has friends like that! perhaps having someone who you trust with you when you tell him your concerns might help as he will be less likely to try and treat you like a soft touch. then if he still persists - time to look for somewhere else.

that's fantastic

how did you go about getting your dsa?

am on amazon pricing them as we speak

i work in a busy office - and am finding it increasingly hard to cope with the amount of noise. there is the normal office hubub, and a few individuals who sit near me who make noises such as tapping and low humming which at first irritate me but then it becomes almost unbearable to the point i want to tear my hair out. i try to focus on different things - such as playing my ipod on speakers but now i can't even have that on because it is also starting to overwhelm me. my manager is aware i can have 'sensitive days' but he's not very sympathetic - does anyone have any tips on how to block out the noise?

there will be an article in That's Life magazine sometime in March offering a first person perspective (written by the journalist) - i was going to be the subject but it put across having AS was having something wrong with you so i backed out. they are using someone else now, so keep an eye out if you are interested.

thanks tally - i'm going to be very guarded about who i speak to in future!

it sounds like it could be the combination of a few things one of them being that simply put marcus is now experiencing teenage rebellion, i went through the same thing with my dad and stepmum when i was a teenager! would you be able to perhaps sit with marcus, just yourself and him and maybe ask him if there is anything wrong? if he feels he is being listened to it might make all the difference?

just a wee update - the national autistic society arranged for a photographer to come to my house this saturday - they gave the photographer my direct dial at work! the photographer then told me not to worry and that it would be an 'edgy portrait' which we all know means 'as unflattering as possible'. I emailed the nas to tell them clearly that i didn't want the article to go ahead, and phoned the photographer to tell her not to come to my house. i just got a phone call again from the person at the nas, and when i wouldn't relent about not having the article published she stopped being nice and more or less hung up on me. i'm not good at picking up on tones of voices etc - but even i could tell the difference! i feel so angry about how i've been treated - the nas are supposed to support me not use me!

mazel tov!

i don't know if this will help - but these guys investigate social workers and care homes conduct - which in this instance i really think you do have a case. Conduct Group General Social Care Council Myson House Railway Terrace Rugby CV21 3HT Telephone: 01788 532 405 Email: conduct@gscc.org.uk

i did some checking up with their publishing company after i posted and they can't publish it without my written permission - apparently i have to sign a release form allowing them to do it. so will definitely be giving them a resounding no

hi bd they said that the magazine will read the final version over the phone to me - at that point i will be telling them i am not happy regardless and that i don't want it printed. they've offered me money but i've told them to put that somewhere else if you get my drift.

I'm really sorry to hear that you are poorly - I have bells palsy myself, and it comes and goes when I am stressed. It displayed when I was 13 for a month, then for a year when I was 16 - after that it comes back when i am extremely tired, ill or stressed. I know some great physio exercises that will help stimulate the muscles in your face - i was paralysed on the left side of my face too! They are really simple, and you can do them anywhere(although you might get funny looks). It's all about stretching the muscles in your face into their natural movements. Raise your eyebrows as high as you can - hold it and count to 8 then relax. Frown with your eyebrows as hard as you can - hold it and count to 8 then relax. Try and smile with your mouth closed(this is to raise either side of your mouth) - hold it, count to 8 and relax Turn the smile upside down with your mouth closed (to push either side of your mouth down) - hold it, count to 8 and relax Puff out your cheeks and hold it - count to 8 and then relax. When your face starts to ache it is time to stop. You may also get a bit of tic-ing happening but this is natural. When i had it for the year this is what my physiotherapist got me to do when I wasn't getting the electric stimulation at home - it really really helped. I hope this helps you too. If you want to talk about it please message me xx

Last year I went on the plinth in trafalgar square to try and raise awareness of asd and as such, the nas kept my name on file as they helped me get publicity to raise money for them. About a month ago they passed my name on to be interviewed about women and aspergers which i had no objection to as i think it is important to educate nt people about what we go through and promote understanding. it turned out to be an interview about my life and going through the diagnostic process which in itself was alright as again it shows what people with asd have to go through. the 'journalist' sent me a copy of her article and it was awful, kept going on about how i was 'always different', that my partner 'knew something was wrong with me' - didn't mention a thing about all the positive things that have happened since i got diagnosed and how i have actually gained a lot of confidence. she used all the wrong terminology and basically wrote a really patronizing article. and it turns out it's for that's life magazine, who's readership has a reading comprehension of a 6-7 year old. i decided against it and emailed her saying i didn't want it published, and all of a sudden the nas were involved again saying that they wouldn't publish it if i was really upset, but they think it was important to get it published because it offered a first person perspective which has never happened before(yes it has) - so they went through the article and corrected the things that upset me and more or less made me feel obliged to let them publish it because i didn't want to let anyone down. i feel like i have been strongarmed into this just so they can get asd mentioned in the media again if it goes ahead i just want to let people know that this isn't something i am happy about - i'm actually pissed off because they are showing a skewed perspective and that is not what having asd is all about. we're not to be pitied or patronized.

you should talk to the people who run the place where this course is held, as i'm pretty sure asking someone with AS to leave a course is breaking the disabilities discrimination act. i don't have many NT friends)or many friends at all), the ones i have took ages to bond with, but they understand why i am the way i am and have been very patient with me. these people sound like they are not worth your time. it hurts to lose people you consider friends, but as other people have said by the way they are acting they don't deserver your friendship. i've had that done to me before(saying they are busy then finding out they have went out to the thing you wanted to go with them to) - and it hurt. but you are better than a bunch of people who could take the time to know you - they are losing out. we are loyal, and trustworthy and great friends to have - stuff them they aren't good enough for you.

i agree with what was said about violent games being an influence on the people who play them who already display aggressive tendencies - my brother has had the various consoles over the years and they were all violent games. his aggression is off the chart - my mother never kept it in check as she was over compensating for an absent father and the subsequent isolation he felt at school. however even after he made friends he continued with his aggressive behaviour to the point now where he destroys the furniture in the house or is extremely verbally abusive and intimidating if he cannot get his way - and he's now 28. keeping with what the other members have said it is best to keep up what you are doing as if you get the game for him, he will assume that if he does this everytime he can't get his way it will result in him eventually getting it anyway. when he is calm and you have explained why then hopefully he will understand. children are cruel as hell to other children, but there is always another game to obsess over so he may forget about it in time. it makes a person miss the days of ataris! hope it works out for you x

thanks for all of your kind words, as it happens my brother has decided to leave with the girl tomorrow. if it happens that is. i think however i should still look to move out (with the right help of course) as it will be easier to have my routine uninterrupted and get some privacy and quiet!

i tried talking to my mother again, and i wrote how i felt down so i didn't get distressed like last time, and she actually listened. my brother was asked to take her home, and given money to do it as he has none - he spent it on a game and cigarrettes last night instead of taking her home. i've contacted the homeless unit in my area as i feel it's pointless to argue anymore.