Mooni

Hi, It's been a while since I first posted on this website. Fast-forward a year, and I'm about to start a part-time teaching job in my current workplace, and I've failed my driving test 3 times. I was diagnosed with ASD at the end of last year, and am no looking to take my test again (fourth time lucky?) When I applied for my Provisional licence 2 years ago, I wasn't aware that I may have ASD. Nor was I really aware until recently. As such, my Provisional has no information about disabilities etc. On the DVLA Test booking site, it requires that medical conditions are disclosed. How does that work when the diagnosis is only made after the Provisional Licence has been granted? Do I need to change anything? Do I need to submit the DVLA M1 form before I apply for another test? I'm so confused. Any advice will be greatfully received! Thanks M

I'm not a teacher, but I am a teaching assistant attached to the SEN department in my school. Our Senco has AS, and it is thought that I do too. Doctor certainly seems to think so, but I cannot really afford to get a private diagnosis as there isn't funding for over 18s around here. I struggle with social aspects of the job- communicating with staff. I have no trouble working with the students though, and I seem to be good at my job. I also find it very difficult when there are last minute changes of plan. People seem to think that I'm a bit kooky, but that it doesn't affect my work.

Whilst I lack an official diagnosis, I have always got into trouble for being too honest. I'm forever saying inappropriate things about myself and other people. Luckily my family half expect it Outsiders just think I'm aloof and sarcastic.

I had an appointment yesterday with my GP, who told me that there is little to no funding for AS assessment in our PCT, and that unless I were to go private, I would be undiagnosed, although he is fairly confident (as are my family) that I have AS. How much would a private diagnosis set me back? The fact that the doctor suggested, unprompted, that AS might be behind my difficulties has helped a great deal, because finally someone externally has voiced the opinion. Seeking confirmation wouldn't be a life changer, so I don't see a reason why I should seek that piece of paper..

Hello Gareth, welcome to the forum. Like you I live in Suffolk, and like travelling. Good luck with your course

In my school, the student is given a copy of their IEP, with a date for review written into it. The school then works as best they can to meet that deadline, although they are sometimes a week or so off the mark.

I'm learning to drive at the moment. I've had 22hrs of lessons so far, and I passed my theory test on Saturday. I am finding the driving part a bit of a struggle. I am petrified of losing control of the car, and I slow down too much when going around bends and corners. I also hesitate too much because I struggle to make quick decisions and judgments. I find that talking myself through moves is helping a little, but I fear that I will be learning for some time to come. I originally hoped that I would be able to pass by my birthday in May, but alas that seems unlikely My instructor is fantastic. He's patient, and I find him really helpful with his explanations. I find that he's one of the few strangers that I have been able to gel with. But I suspect that is because I have a clear expectation and the understanding of his role.

Hi Kitty, My mum came with me to see my GP 3 weeks ago. She didn't stay for the whole appointment, she came along just to give some information that I couldn't- stuff about my early years and childhood development. After that, she went back to the waiting room and left me with the GP. Maybe your mum could do something similar? It may well be necessary for them to get information at sometime about your early years development. Good luck!

ISTJ Introvert(89%) Sensing(38%) Thinking(75%) Judging(67%) You have strong preference of Introversion over Extraversion (89%) You have moderate preference of Sensing over Intuition (38%) You have distinctive preference of Thinking over Feeling (75%) You have distinctive preference of Judging over Perceiving (67%)

Wow They look great! I had to bake on Friday at work with my year 7s. There was flour everywhere, and it wasn't the most successful. They had fun though, and I started half term with 18 cupcakes

I love baking and making sweets. My repertoire includes: croissants, cupcakes, blueberry sponges, korvapuusti (a Finnish cinnamon/cardamom bun), chokladbollar (oaty chocolatey truffle-like things from Sweden), and I enjoy making fudge and coconut ice. At Christmas I make Finnish gingerbread and joulutorttu, a pastry star with jam filling

So, I went to the doctor's today. Took mum with me for back up, so she could talk to him about my early years. He's prescribed me a course of anti-depressants, and given me a follow up appointment for three weeks' time. We spent a great deal of time talking about how I cope on a day to day basis, and how I interact. He has said that I am "highly likely" and that it's a "very strong chance", that I have some form of Aspergers. The follow up appointment is to see if the antidepressants have any effect on me, and that at the next appointment, we will look further into AS, and then depending on what transpires, I will be referred!!!! Mum has always suspected that I may have some form of ASD, and she is very relieved to have had her suspicions echoed by a medical professional who is willing to investigate the possibility further. I also feel quite relieved to be told that it's not all in my head.

I'd be up for the baking thread, too!

Thanks to everybody who has replied to my rather rambling message I cannot express how it feels to have found people who understand how I feel, it's a huge relief knowing, even without a diagnosis, that I'm not alone. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, about my depression, and mum has promised to help me raise the issue. She is a tenacious woman, so she won't be fobbed off. With any luck, I may soon find some answers. @Kelly83: I saw that you bake. Me too!

Hello, I'm Jo, and I'm a 24 year old woman living and working in the East of England. I've joined this forum because I'm concerned that I may have some form of ASD. I've always struggled with social communication, and outside of my immediate family, I have maybe 3 people I consider friends. I don't make friends easily. All my life, I've had these problems, and as I've got older, people have often told me that there is something 'wrong' with me. I completed a degree in Languages and I now work in a school where I work alongside SEN pupils, including a number of young people who have ASDs. Languages are the one thing in life that I'm good at, and I speak 4 languages fluently. I collect words and information about different languages, and enjoy reading and listening to foreign languages being spoken. I get on well within my job, and I am able to understand and see huge similarities between me and the kids I work with, to the point where I'm seriously considering seeing my GP. Socially I'm described as awkward. I make inappropriate jokes, and comments, and am forever inadvertently offending people, including my family, who see me as a bit odd, but they know I can't help it. I also find it impossible to lie. Even when someone cold calls the house, and often I get told off for handing the phone to someone. People think I'm cold and distant, and unfriendly. I would dearly love to make friends and forge relationships, but I just can't. I speak to my colleagues about work, but I can't talk about my life outside of the school. Lately, I have become depressed and frustrated with my inability to function. The school I work in is subject to last minute changes to my schedule, and it has become increasingly upsetting. The lack of consistency makes me anxious, and it takes me time to accept what is going to be different. As a child, my parents wondered if I had an ASD. As a baby I avoided touch and screamed when held. I learned to speak at 11 months and up until the age of 2/3, I would engage with strangers. At 18 months, my mum tells me that I talked to strangers in my pram about the Prime Minister. When I started school, I struggled with everything except for English. I speak fluently, articulately and idiomatically. People consider me to be sarcastic. My voice is pretty monotone and I don't show much emotion. My vocabulary and written skills have always been above average. In year 2, I had to visit the junior school to get reading books appropriate for my skills. This marked me as different to my peers and it made my school life difficult. I became obsessed with archaeology and languages. I could speak some French aged 7, and I read about archaeology as often as I could, begging mum to take me to the library to feed my thirst for knowledge. I can't remember phone numbers (only mine and my parents' house number), but I can remember the registrations on our old cars, and other things which people consider irrelevant. There was a gulf between myself and other students. They picked on me for my awkwardness and strange interests, but it didn't bother me so much. As I've got older, it's become harder. I still avoid eye contact with all but a few people (family, close friends) which has made job hunting difficult. But I've adapted. In my part time job, I used to have 'wobblies' if someone rearranged my tills (it had to be in a certain way, with all the coins face up), or if someone changed my routine without prior warning. I was passed up for promotion because I was negative and unfriendly. It took me 3 years to be able to spend time with colleagues I worked with 37hrs a week. I'm aware of myself becoming more anxious. I feel very low and depressed, and I spend alot of time crying, and seeking refuge in my room. I can't bear to be touched, even when sobbing. My mum cannot comfort me, which she finds upsetting. Anything can ruin my day. Today for example, my day was ruined because at 6:30 am, my bus pass was in the wrong place. I didn't speak until I was at work, and after work, I must have spent a maximum of half hour/45 minutes talking with my family. I can't tell them the small details because I don't feel it's their business, and that offends them. All these quirks are characteristics I can identify with when I read information about ASDs. I've been reading statements of students at school and we're so similar it's scary. I have taken the AQ test on two occasions, scoring 35 and 37. I'm worried that if I were to be diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum, it would affect my job in some way, even though I'm in the SEN department at work with people who would understand. But I feel it would be a huge relief because there'd be an explanation for all my struggles, and it would enable me to see that it's not really my fault when I say things that upset others. I cannot be anything but honest, and it's cost me friends. I would really appreciate some advice in how to proceed. This is the first time I've really sat down and written these things out, and I apologise for the lack of clear structure. Best wishes, Jo.