dm2010

Don't ask the candidate, ask yourself: Is this person a really good teacher? An expert teacher brings out the best in all their pupils of course, but with Autism the effect of the teacher is magnified - be it good or bad.

Nothing to be gained by telling a boss, unless they are AS themselves. I would think most people would prefer an AS taxi driver. The taxi would be spotless, the driver would always use the fastest route and not engage the passenger in a pointless conversation. As for The Knowledge, the interviews can be awkward for most, not just those with AS. A West Indian student driver was asked to describe the most direct route from Blackboy Hill to the Race Relations Board.

Darth Vader Not just because he is a badass, he gets all the best lines. "I am here to put you back on schedule !" "He is as clumsy as he is stupid ...."

Plenty of well publicised films have flopped because the film makers did a mediocre job. Harry Potter succeeded because of the care and attention to detail lavished on every part of the production. My personal favourite - Wizard's chess from the first film. Ron Weasley is often stereotyped as stupid and cowardly but he is neither. He takes control of the chess game with the skill of a grandmaster, and is quite prepared to die so that Harry can succeed. It is a shock to the audience because what was a fun film suddenly takes a very dark turn, and in doing so forms the emotional core of the story.

"has become more and more withdrawn over the last month or so since finishing a two week work experience which he really enjoyed doing" Perhaps there is a clue there. He enjoyed the work experience so much more than schoolwork that he, quite logically, didn't want to go back to that schoolwork. But to develop that theme further. He really enjoyed the work, so what precisely was he doing, who was he working with and why exactly did he enjoy it so much more than school ? Getting answers to those questions could well be the key.

I remember very clearly those miserable years at school struggling with undiagnosed AS, it was another 10 years before I finally realised what had happened. But one thing I have learned. AS has great advantages in the scientific and technical fields especially as you get older. If I had my time over again, would I trade my technical abilities for popularity as a teen and young adult ? The answer is no, and I become more certain of this as the years pass. My technical consultancy business has turned out to be more successful than I ever thought possible - to the point where I am employing an assistant for some of the work. It is strange, the so-called big bad unfriendly world has turned out to be a far more welcoming place than I thought, and much more so than the educational system ever was. And business success has its perks. To paraphrase the song, the Lord no longer needs to buy me a Mercedes Benz.

Mulling over the options again . . . . I do like the Hyundai Santa Fe . . . . Even more toys and 194 bhp performance. Just as good as the Range Rover Evoke without the garage bills that vary from expensive to ridiculous. I did have an old Range Rover once. It was and still is a fantastic car to drive, providing someone else is paying the bills.

Anyone who is physically attacked has the legal right to defend themselves physically. And indeed, the law allows for pre-emptive action. If a bully shouts "I'm going to hit you" the potential target is entirely within their rights to hit first to prevent such an attack. The same applies whenever the attacker runs at you shaking their fist, the intention is pretty clear. The bullies have committed a criminal offence. It might be as well to remind the school of that. To punish a child for exercising their legal right of self defence is the school equivalent of a malicious prosecution. That is also illegal. The school will refuse to act until they get a solicitor's letter informing them that they are breaking the law - and in a serious way too. I would also advise giving your son a portable sound recording device to take to school. These are small, inexpensive but pretty sophisticated these days and can store a full day of audio.

'a man is defined by his actions, not his memories' Which of course is a quote from the film 'Total Recall'. And it's good advice. I have found that in the long term saying little and doing lots works rather well. Much as they might deny it most people judge you by your actions.

Aspies like anyone else are responsible for their own actions. The ASD problems fundamentally lie with how other people react to you and that is where help and support is needed. School refusal is not surprising. It was a miserable place for me. But bad behaviour I have no time for.

Asked the leasing company what I could get for another £200 a month and of course the reply was "walk this way sir . . . . " For now it's a 2 litre turbo diesel Vauxhall Insignia. Lots of toys and 130 mph performance if I want it. And an annoying electronic handbrake. Gone off the idea of a fun car because it's just so damn expensive. Rather pay for just one car, that is until I have so much money that I don't care. Regrettably that day is some way off !

I've decided to celebrate 1 successful year as a business owner with a new car in the next few months. But I can't decide on what to get. Perhaps this might be suitable. Bentley Arnage Red Label. 6.7 litre V8, 405 bhp and 0-60 in under 6 seconds, not bad for a car that weighs in at 2.5 tonnes empty. 2002 model comes in at around £20k. If I don't get this, then what should I go for ?

Marie Curie, winner of Nobel Prizes for both Physics and Chemistry. The most famous lady in the first half of the 20th Century - bar none !

I have a hunch that if the two boys were split up, both would benefit - a lot. Only then can improvements be a practical possibility.

Been a while since I posted on here, but I can now report something interesting - that is, starting a business that much to my own surprise, has had considerable success both financially and personally. I have had to turn down work several times too, which is a strange thing for anyone, let alone an Aspie like me. That old song comes to mind - and this time it is not a figure of speech : Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz ? My friends all have Porsches, I must make amends . . . Perhaps my Aspie characteristics are at long last a net positive. In my line of business, accuracy really does matter.

It's an excellent idea. Deflating the bubble the school have surrounded themselves with will go down well overall. I think it's relevant to say that the only really important grades are the ones you get in public exams. Not doing homework might get you into trouble at the time but deliver on the exams and no one will ever care afterwards. One of the key differences between school and higher education is that you have to take control of the decision making on what assignments to do and what can be left. In my own subject of engineering, so much work was set it was literally impossible to complete. A ruthless triage system was necessary to make sure that I only spent time on the most critical areas. Looking back being forced to learn this skill is one of the most critical lessons I learned during my education. In the world of work, it is often the difference between success and failure.

On my first day at secondary school there was a notice on the maths department board. "SCHOOL COMPUTER All bookings are to be made via the head of mathematics and are limited to 1 hour per week per boy. 6th formers only may book the school computer." This was 1982. The school had 1 computer. Things have moved on a tad since then. Should note though that the really useful part of mathematics from my point of view - numerical methods - was a second year university topic, even at A level there was no real acknowledgement that no one actually uses the techniques being taught. It's like the Navy doing cutlass drill, terribly traditional but quite useless.

So mathematics is your thing I guess . . . so you would know this one X^n+Y^n =/= Z^n for any integer Otherwise known as the Ribet-Taniyama–Shimura conjecture or Fermat's last theorem . . .

Homework at home is a nonsense. Most struggle with it I think - there are too many distractions. At university I gave up trying to work in my bedroom and went to the university library. Then I realised that everyone else had the same idea, and why not ? In those pre-internet days if you could not get work done surrounded by reference books and everyone else working then nothing could. Supervised after-school homework is great if the school does it. Failing that, the local library is very good.

AS people are frequently able to stand much hotter water than the average person. I know I can finish a hot cup of coffee before someone else can even start theirs. At least they think they can stand it. The pain receptors are dulled, but the damage effects are still there. A hot bath could well be far hotter than your body can really stand, but you may not realise it as there are no warning signs.

I take perhaps an unfashionably tough line with this sort of thing. Everyone is responsible for their own actions, aspies included. There is no excuse for aggression and anti-social behaviour. The problem I think here is nothing to do with AS - he has turned into a bully used to getting his own way. The most obvious solution is to have someone in the house who is bigger than he is (!) But probably not practical I guess. But you have to challenge such behaviour, does he want to go into residential care at age 18 or stay at home, you have to make that choice clear.

Oh dear. Train enthusiasts. Was one once, but went off the idea once I had had to travel on them. One hour to do 30 miles in a train that was 30 minutes late at least once a week. Once I had a car I averaged one delay a year, in fact in the last 3 years I have not been delayed more than 10 minutes. Seriously reliable car travel is in comparison to trains. As for steam trains, don't even get me started. Something like 5% of the energy in the coal makes it through to the wheels. The best diesel engines are 10 times as efficient.

That is a terrific video. And there are loads more according to the playlist ! The "give us a chance" part resonates powerfully for me. There are so many times where this has simply not happened. We are not aliens, even though we might feel like them a lot of the time. Prejudice against AS people is an Anglo-Saxon character trait. Go to Germany or Switzerland and it disappears. I don't think the Scots behave this way either. The difficulties AS people have getting employment are notorious, but it does not mean they are universal. From day 1 machines welcomed me into their world but people did not. And I've built a successful career on that. One day I will be chief engineer for a large multinational. And for those in the know, it may be sooner than you think.

The Nigel Mansell one was actually even funnier I believe. Because it was him they stopped, then delivered the "who do you think you are, Nigel Mansell ?" line. Casually dressed, unshaven and wearing sunglasses they did not recognise him at first.

Amor omnia vincit