thomas mg

Actually in Omega man it was a germ attack, not a neutron bomb. Same outcome though.

It wouldnt be so bad if it was a neutron bomb rather than a nuclear bomb (thats one where the explosion leaves all the buildings intact but vaporises all of the occupants). Imagine having free reign, being able to go anywhere and do anything? Granted it would get lonely after a while but i guess thats the trade off. I think there was a move made along those lines before called 'Omega Man'.

Is aperger's always inclusive of gluten intolerance?

How do I know if I am gluten intolerant?

Is there a specific part of cooking that you dislike? For me cooking is a series of components, and the dislike of one task can really blow my motivation. My bug bear is that I REALLY hate preparing potatoes. Buy some prepared potatoes, or even make a jacket potato. Stick some frozen vegetables in a bowl of warm water in the microwave for 3 minutes and fry up a nice steak (assuming you are an omnivore). Voila you have yourself a nice meat and 2 veg with very little fuss. I find wok cookery to be a largely painless, almost enjoyable task, maybe thats just me though.

I tend to obsess about particular bands and artists. It tends to make people think that I have an incredibly narrow taste in music which couldnt be further from the truth. I appreciate anything from Classical Italian Opera to Dubstep and electrofunk. The only music styles I really dislike are RnB, Happy Hardcore and Black Metal. The latter is just shouting over obnoxiously aggressive guitar chords.

Sorry if i have misposted this thread, it wasn't my intention. My hope was to discuss music that specifically strikes chords with ASD issues. In hindsight i probably should've named the thread diferentally. I'm talking not about music for music's sake, but relations with music that transcends purely the entertainment value. I wanted to bring up Radiohead specifically because the content of their work engages primarilly the feelings of alienation, confusion, isolation and social exclusion that most of us here experience. I'm interested if anyone else here has had similar experiences with the sort of music they've listened to. Something that makes you bond to the artist on an almost 'emotional level' for want of a better expression because it has engaged something within you regarding with your ASD tendencies. I've had similar experiences when listening to the likes of Led Zepellin, Joy Division and the Smiths but nothing compares to RH. This is opening myself open to mockery, but I feel that Yorke and I are some sort of kindred souls. I mean, look at the video to 'There There'. If you can appreciate the value of metaphorical reference it looks and feels like a freaking typical day in the life of an aspie.

www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=iq-VhfVwqp4 just replace the 'dots' with '.' it won't allow me to post the link otherwise unless its hyperlinked, sorry

thought this episode of 'Arthur' might be of benefit to those who want to educate NT friends and family

I find music is a great coping mechanism for the stresses and alienation we encounter in this NT world we find ourselves. What are your favourite bands/artists? I find that Radiohead in particular lyrically resonate the most with the autistic mindset for some reason. Growing up as a young adult their work struck a chord with me, especially their late 90's stuff OK computer era stuff. REM's retirement was a dark day for me.

I think you have to remember at the same time joy and depression are abstractions. We all have our own expectations from life from which we base them on. Level 4 does not mean to me necessarilly what it may mean to you, so its really kinda arbitrary. Suffice to say the issue is causing me enough grief to start a thread about it, so it is a problem. If i can overcome this thing, then the missing parts of my lifes jigsaw could fall into place.

LancsLad, if i was to apply your scale I would say I spend 90 % of my time in a state of melancholy around level 4. Somewhere between joy and despair, but not severe enough to consider suicide. Luckilly (?) I've only been a level 1 a couple of times or in a place where I would consider suicide. Its more the lethargy than the actual depression per sae thats the problem, however the depression is a strong component of it. Most of the time I feel completely tired and sapped of energy. If I want to do something simple like read a book I cant accomplish it because the walls of text seem like a mountain to read and the pages feel like ton weights. Is it just me that gets this?

Id have to say yes. My asperger's syndrome is severe enough to be a problem in my life but not so severe that I am in denial of the problem. I have an uncle nearing his sixties who remains undiagnosed but his ASD traits have dominated his life entirely without him being able to recognise any difference between himself and NT people. If there was such a thing as medium functioning autism, i'd place him around there. Ultimately i think the spectrum around the higher functioning is as diverse as the entire thing.

The subject matter of the thread is why I would encourage any autistic people with the wherewithal to do so; would be to go into business and self employment where they can build their own company built on mutual understanding between ASD and NT people. Autism doesn't respect race or social divide, it can affect white, black, rich or poor alike. My belief is the best thing for us would be for more autistics to join the employer community.

Um not that Im nit picking A-S but the reason they ask that is cause some people bring their own recycle-able bags. I don't think its just to rub your fur up the wrong way. What NT people do to really wind me up is asking ambiguous questions that can be taken in a number of ways. I really have a hard time trying to process an answer which is pretty tough considering i'm stuck in a call centre job.

Due to work and home related stress, i suffer from quite severe depression and lethargy making it hard to achieve tasks. Does anyone have any practical advice in this area? I have asperger's syndrome.

This is probably a stupid question so forgive me, but what precisely is the difference between Asperger's syndrome and High functioning autism? What is the medical authories rationale for removing Asperger's as a recognised medical condition?

LancsLad, thanks for your advice. Working for another company in the capacity of a game designer is not something I have overlooked. The reason I am looking more towards the self employment route is because of my geographic location and personal circumstances. In the county Down area where I live there are no development houses within commutable distance (the nearest one would involve a daily 6 hour train commute but they are never hiring anyway). Moving to England is impractical as my wife is fairly rooted here, we have children and getting a new house/intermediate job would create all sorts of upheaval both in terms of finances and stress. I lived in England 6 years, the cost of living is what drove me back home. Besides which i feel I am too far beyond the point of no return to go back. I've made some excellent contacts who are involved in my project, 1 is an electrical engineer and sound technician and I have contacts with 2 proficient programmers however their day jobs undermines their level of commitment. I've also made a network of contacts within the industry through a distance learning course i am partaking in. Taking into consideration all things i feel entrepreneurship is better as it will not undermine my creativity and allow me to dictate my own working terms. I just dont feel i can gel with employers anymore.

I can't prove that i'm being directly discriminated against. Excluded maybe, but thats different. At the end of the day its their word against little old mine. I have a diagnosis, my employers reaction was fairly indifferent. I've already been through the local enterprise course funded by the European development fund. As far as I'm aware this is the only help available at government level. None of the content was unavailable on the internet and at the end there was nothing in the way of financial assistance. It was a waste of time.

Designer/artist. I'm also teaching myself programming because its next to impossible to find help when you cant afford to pay anyone.

The sooner you contact your GP the better. From making an intial appointment with my GP to actually getting a diagnosis from clinical psychologists, I had to wait roughly a year and a half. Had i done this 15 years ago my life might be very different now. Saying that the Northern Ireland health system is chronically underfunded.

I have asked about support roles (non call taking roles) in the past. The problem is the company is downsizing these and the opportunities to get into these jobs are few and far between, most of which being ringfenced for friends of management. Its very much a 'jobs for the boys' environment. The company offers 'training' courses but the reality is these offer in effect lip service to the company providing meaningful promotion opportunities since the non call taking jobs are so sought after a discoordinated and reclusive aspie like me has no chance against a bunch of NT's with friends in the right places. Besides which, skilling up just to climb the ladder in that place is besides the point. I want to pursue external help, so i can acheive my real ambition of getting into the computer game business.

Going part time is an exhausted option which i did for about 6 weeks after my SSP leave. Unfortunately as a father of 2 I was unable to float my fair share of the bills and it was taking a toll on my wife. I've got an appointment with an autism society NI case worker this month. I'm hoping she can help me out. Failing that, i'll try the CAB as you suggest. Many thanks Tally.

Hi. This is in part a chest clearing excericise and in part a plea for advice. Due to a late ASD diagonosis at the age of 30, it has come much too late to avert much of my hardship. At school I didn't get the adequate or appropriate attention so with modest grades, I skimmed through A levels and into a university foundation course by the skin of my teeth. However due to the sum of all factors, not least the death of my mother I was far too emotionally fragile to perservere with my studies owing largely as well to my then undiagnosed ASD/aspergers. I'm sure i'm not covering any new ground and this is a carbon copy of other people's experiences here. Here I am, 10 years later stuck in a minimum wage call centre job and living a hell on Earth. Being customer service orientated in nature, my work aggrivates my ASD tendencies in completely the worst way possible. My ASD means that my social characteristics suffer and I have advanced creative abilities in lieu of this. I cannot relate to people easilly, especially when they are patronising or condenscending. Everytime I get asked by a customer "why dont you speak like a human instead of a robot" I die a little inside and want to scream out. In addition to the absolute foul management style of the supervisors, the nepotist promotion philosophy there is no way for upward mobility. A scalding last year by my supervisor was the straw that broke the camel's back and after a failed suicide attempt that my wife prevented, I had to take 3 months off on statutory sick pay due to depression. The annoying thing is I keep getting told by people 'I'm lucky' to have a job in this current economic climate. Am i that lucky, to have a co-erced position without any mobility hope, general job satisfaction or having a neurological condition that is being aggrivated by said job? Not having necessary cash to return to academia armed with knowledge of my neurology, my only hope is to go into business to pursue a career in game development. However being full time employed I do not qualify for a prince's trust subsidy (yet another catch 22) i struggle with the paperwork involved in running a business is something of a deterrent and what i could really do with is help in learning the necessary skills or applying for start up capital with assitance orientated with someone like me in mind. Does anyone know of such facilities? Or if i may be eligible for DLA or benefit to get out of my current job to invest my time into my business? Thanks for reading, and even more thanks for any constructive feedback.

Hi, I'm Thomas, I'm from Northern Ireland, I'm 30 years old and was diagnosed with High Functioning ASD last month. Hoping to rebuild my life, get some answers and meet like minded people. Thomas.