Mumble

No, but I left my favourite teddy-bear behind on the ferry when I was 5 and I never quite got over it. In all seriousness, yes, but I suspect everyone does. If you look hard enough (and let's face it, you sound as good as me at finding evidence of your negative points! ) you'll find someone who did something faster/better than you. However (and this is important) there will also be plenty of people who didn't achieve what you did or who superficially looked to have achieved but actually haven't. Also, we all have different life experiences and histories and whilst I'm very clear that these are not excuses, they can be reasons and they can help you understand why you appear (that's an important word) to be/feel behind. For instance, I'm currently in the 5th year ... of a 3-year uni course. I've done the 'everyone's better than me, I'm useless' thing, but then I've been helped *tries not to plug CBT! * to think about this differently. I've tallied up the time I've been in hospital for instance and actually when you take that off I am doing things in the normal time scale and so am doing bl**dy well. Further, how many people haven't managed to achieve what I have achieved at all, regardless of the time it has taken me? Just so this doesn't come across as a 'get over it' post, I was where you were in terms of negative thinking for a long while after my dx. It's taken a huge amount of effort and a huge commitment to change/CBT to get where I am now and I'm still terrified of falling back into my old ways of thinking. I do hope you can get some help to address your thinking patterns too.

No, it was on the ground floor, so may have been a consideration as he left the building. Just to make it clear, I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here (love that phrase since finding out its origins ) not heading up IDS's fanclub The alternative is that the centre manager misheard 'IDS' as 'IBS' and had just completed disability awareness training so knew that IBS = need to use disabled loo...

I'm not convinced that this isn't just a nice bit of journalism. It seems to me highly probable that IDS (or his assistant) had asked if there was a loo IDS could use and had been told to use the disabled toilet. It's certainly happened to me when the disabled toilet has been the only one on the floor and I'm sure it has happened to others too. Of course, there's no excuse for him not flushing after use...

That counts me out!

Mangrove

Zombie attack!!!! :star:

Beer

The problem with such a question is that the 'traits', 'symptoms' whatever you call them of an ASD are traits of human-ness, i.e. everyone has them. The issue with ASD is that the individual has them all to a much higher degree to the point they become impaired by them. It's why, even though I really hate the 'everyone does/has that' comments, there is some truth in it to an extent. It's also why online tests are pretty useless, because it's about degree of interpretation - a full thorough ASD diagnostic assessment needs to consider objectively the extent to which an indiviual has each trait and the extent to which the collection of strong traits has an impairment on their lives.

Chocolate. And lots of it.

Grey wouldn't make the rules stand out at all...

Great idea Darkshine, however there are a few issues. I've tried in the past to explain to some members how to quote etc. and have got there but it's taken a lot of trial and error and really having to think about what people are doing wrong - the main issue is that you can't show someone directly in type what to type because that works to quote/bold/etc. So you end up saying things like type [ quote] What you want to quote [ /quote] but leave out the spaces and that can be confusing to some people. The best way round it would be if admin or the mods (coz of 'cause they have nothing better to do! ) could put up something with screen shots showing what to do - we can't give instructions this way as we can't post images. Another issue is that some features work differently depending on which Internet browser / version you use. For instance, since I upgraded my IE, multiquote no longer works (clicking it works the same as quote, i.e. there's no option to click another multiquote). It would be very frustrating to someone if they didn't know this, followed the instructions, and it still didn't work. I'm glad you've found the word list for the emoticons, although I really don't think it matters if you get it wrong as most people use them totally randomally anyway (always wanted an excuse to use that one!) Plus there's some that no-one will agree on the meaning of. This one we had a long debate about a while back. I think in the end we settled on it being a jaffa cake. I can understand the reason for 'redding' (yep, making up words again! ) the rules but as far as I'm concerned most of them are just common sense and polietness and I think people know when they're breaking the rules - I don't think making them stand out will change that. If people want to be difficult, they'll be difficult. Much of it is down to interpretation anyway - if people feel attacked/upset/etc. they will often find a way to twist things to say they're against the rules when this isn't the case. Generally there's a 'nice' (for want of a better word) atmosphere here (try some other ASD forums for proof of that) and I would be concerned that this may change if too much focus is put on the rules. One thing I would like to encourage people to use is the 'Preview Post' option - this may guard against some of the unintended posts. I'm at a loss to understand how people quote others' posts with no addition of their own - if I understood why this happened I could explain how to avoid it.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" Loved the little bruv egging on big bruv to steal the biccies - looters of tomorrow? I didn't agree with Frosty's advice on dealing with the little girl who wouldn't eat. I can't believe she was suggesting that it was okay to let the girl starve to the point she ended up in hospital on a drip. That isn't no big deal and could be quite traumatic to the child. No, I don't have an alternative, but I'm not an expert in child rearing and there must be some less drastic alternative.

So long as we don't all have to dress up like Noel Edmonds to take part...

To be honest, I'm not sure what you were expecting - though that may just be to do with missing details in your post. You state that: but that doesn't actually give anything to work on. It's a diagnosis. The only way really to read that would be "I have AS and I want it cured" - you haven't actually explained why you want CBT and what you hope to achieve from it. CBT works by addressing your thought/feeling patterns and responses to situations. When I started CBT, one of the first things I did was produce a list of 'now', 'short-term', and 'long-term' issues I wanted to work on / goals I wanted to achieve. Many of these could be read in terms of difficulties related to my ASD, but the focus was on the issues. I noticed too that you talked about keeping the diary taking up too much time. CBT does involve homework (for want of a better word) and is something you need to be prepared to commit to and work with if you want it to work. It's not a cure that someone can give you, they're supporting you to find ways of fixing things for yourself. Often I've read people saying they've had CBT (or other counselling) and it didn't work, but then also making comments like, I didn't do the task, I didn't think it would work, I was thinking about something else whilst the therapist was talking, I thought the therapist was talking nonsense/wasting my time. Well dur, why do you think it didn't work...

Firstly apologies if the following makes no sense, I'm on drugs (medicinal ones!! ) that make me completely dopey (Yeah, yeah, I know, no chanmge there then. Ha ha. ) Anyways, if I remember correctly, this is your meeting with multiple professionals? If so, I would be tempted to kinda twist this a bit by looking helpful but making them do the work (that's what they get paid for, damn them!! ) So, on a clean document, I would (if they're all relvent to this meeting) type your 4 categories as headings, numbered and bolded (yeah, I know, I'm making up English again there...) Under each, I would give a concise example, perhaps using something from your original list. Then under the example, what you would ideally like to achieve, i.e. I want to manage going to x without feeling x Then you could put either if relevent to some or if all then at the bottom, something like "I'm currently awaiting CBT which I hope will help me with x, y, z, however I would be grateful to discuss other options you have that may support me in achieving my aims and either work alongside or help me to benefit as much as possible from the CBT work" Then print copies of this document for everyone and when you get an opportunity to speak near the beginning (or even better if you have a key worker or someone you can speak to before who can then disrtibute it on your behalf) you say "I thought it would be helpful to have an agenda for this meeting in order to ensure we're all working together on the same issues for the best possible outcome and as such I've put together an outline of what I see as my major issues and how I would hope thy can be addressed." Ta da! One thing I was thinking - am I right that you're at uni? If you are, does your uni offer counselling services? That's how I access longterm CBT which has been useful and I've been able to get more help than the standard support offered by the NHS, and I've now been referred on to external NHS services for ongoing support. Being in contact with the uni service, who have also liaised with my GP, has really helped in pushing the NHS referral forwards.

What tells you that when we only know the statement/question they made/asked? I thought you would need to know the tone to know if it was sarcastic?

Nah - you just need to eat more chocolate and cakes so you're heavier and hence the chair can't move! Or super-glue under the wheels. Have you tried ear-defenders? I find them pretty good with ear-plugs (they're doing building work on the flats opposite me and seem to love their pneumatic drill! )

Really?

Asperger's.

Use Inspiration to create a pretty picture of your needs! I know you like the programme really. Step one - turn off forum at night... EDIT: Just wanted to add, sorry if the above comes across as flippant, it's not meant in any nasty way, I'm just bloomin knackered and my sense of humour gets even more warped when lacking sleep.

Can you group this into say 3 or 4 major groups and have the above as sub-points, i.e. 'I want to improve X which I think needs to involve addressing Y and Z' Can you identify who is best placed to help you with each, rather than taking such a long list to every person which may be over whelming to them? Or can you prioritise this list - if you could only have 1 or 2 addressed, which would they be? Then which? BTW, I know I go on a bit about it, but most of your list I think could be addressed through a CBT approach to work on how you think about things and finding alternative ways of thinking. Have you tried this?

Well that's okay, 'cause that's what they're asking. You state clearly what you want, it's their job then to see how feasible it is and work out the best way to go about implementing it.

Something else I do that may help with some appointments. I always write down some brief notes under specific headings for appointments (changes depending on who I'm seeing, context etc.) but stuff like history, symptoms, effect on daily life. Depending on who I'm seeing / how I'm feeling I'll either give it to them to read or use it to help structure what I need to get across. Because I know to expect the 'what do you want me to do?' question, I sometimes put on the writing 'what I would like' (and if applicable 'what I do not want') - this aids a discussion and ensures I go away feeling that my needs are considered. It also helps with adding some realisticness (yes that is a word - I say so! ) and kinda eases into the feasibility discussion I hate having.

I'm really glad to hear that from a parent. Sure I agree BD that aisles should be wide enough for wheelchairs etc., but I really can't agree that people (that'd be me) should be 'accepting' to the point of having to put up with being kicked/shoved or having someone talking/screaming during the film. That would upset me - where's the acceptance of my needs? Personally I feel that the unwritten 'rules' of cinema attendence have become too relaxed already - people now don't seem to think twice about talking, phones ringing (and even answering them! ), coming in late, gorging on smelly/noisy food, wearing tall hats (! - really) etc. I don't think we should be relaxing them further - in fact I think that would continue to lower expectations of the children you're trying to teach to 'do' cinemas, etc.

Damn. Thanks for the 'I'd like a luxury yacht please' idea though. I'll give it a try at the next available opportunity. Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it Read it