mossgrove

Welcome to the forum! Having a young child , especially one with special needs, can often mean that a lot of the other things you used to do go on hold while you deal with what is in front of you. This is a normal part of the process and happens to Parents whether or not they are on the spectrum themselves so there is no reason to believe it is happening because you have Aspergers. Getting late in life diagnosis does not change who you are or what you can do. It may help you to understand things but it is a label. I have seen adults who come to believe they have Aspergers or Autism suddenly start to believe they can no longer do things that they were able to do relatively easily before, at least until they regain their equilibrum which can take a few months. The feelings yopu have now are not unusual, but much of the angst you feel now will pass. If you could do all those things you used to before you can do them now. You may no longer have time or energy to do them because you are devoting that energy to your children, but a potential diagnosis does not mean you are now incapable of doing them. Simon

He(or she) has now been suspended indefinitely and can no longer send PMs Simon

Sorry about this! As I posted on the other thread Moderators cannot ban people only the admins can. I have alerted them and hopefully he will be banned as soon as possible. Simon

Apologies to everyone who has been targeted! As a moderator I cannot ban people but hopefully one of the Admins will be along shortly to do the necessary. In the meantime I strongly encourage you to block all further PM's from this member. Thanks Simon

You have had some good advice here. Services like AA or Marriage Guidance can only help in your situation if your husband has accepted that he is the one who has a problem and he needs to do something about it. Sadly there is nothing at all anyone can do to change an Alchoholic unless they have accepted at a fundamental level that things cannot continue as they are and that they need to change. You may need to separate at leastn for a while before he can get to that point. Simon

I have four children, two NT and Two on the spectrum. They all tell me my jokes are awful and not funny! Simon

It' a shame all those people who voted LibDem to keep the Tories out can't have their votes back!

DS #1 has a triple diagnosis of Aspergers, ADHD and Dyspraxia (A potent combination!) DS #2 has an ASD diagnosis and does not suffer fro Dyspraxia (so I am not sure I agree with the statement above). DS #3 has yet to be doagnosed with anything but has been referred to the Consultant pediatrician and are expecting a diagnosis of ADHD. He also has great difficulty with fine motor skills (Handwriting, buttons etc.) but no difficulties with gross motor skills so we will wait and see what that adds up to! Simon

I am older than David Cameron, younger than Barack Obama. Simon

Congratulations, it must be a huge relief! Just make sure that you don't get so caught up in the euphoria and relief that you forget to read the statement VERY carefully when it arrives. Simon

I understand where you are with the socialist principles as I held them for many years and in some ways still do. Having said that I found myself in a very similar position to you, the only difference being I had the option to go private nia a work healthcare scheme. The test involved having a scope inserted 'fore and aft' to have a look what was going on.(all was well as it tuned out) My options were wait a month or so for the NHS or have it done privately in matter of days. I took the private option. I had a general anasthetic, slept through the whole thing and woke up in a nice bedroom with a cup of tea. Had I gone down the NHS route I would have been awake for the whole thing including swallowing a large tube with a camera in it d and something much less fun at the other end! .I would have then been sent back to a (potentially crowded) ward. If you ignore the waiting list issues you will almost certainly find the whole thing less traumatic in a Private Hospital. Less people about, less waiting, less noise, more privacy etc. and I am certain your doctor will have taken this into account when offering you the private option. I think you have enough to cope with in your life without having to make things more stressful on a point of principle and I do not believe anyone reading this thread will feel that you have let yourself or anyone else down. Simon

You are right! I signed the form for him a few weeks ago but it looks like he didn't follow through.

I have had a work laptop, two desktops and a home laptop from them and had vary few problems so your friend may have been unlucky! Simon

A true foodie would have done both!

I was in a second hand game shop yesterday and an XBOX 360 with Hard disc, wireless controller etc. was £120 all inclusive. A laptop that will play the latest games (rather than a laptop that will play some games) can be an expensive beast so an XBOX360 and a budget laptop may be a better use of funds, especially as she won't need to repurchase her favourite games or learn new controls. Comcentional CRT televisions can be picked up for nothing or next to nothing on eBay or freecycle. Simon

I came of age in the 1980's when a political dinosaur called Margaret Thatcher still stalked the earth and legislation like the infamous 'Clause 28' and the banning of Unions at GCHQ found it's way onto the statute book. For many people of my generation voting Tory seems like an act of betrayal, and whatever the ins and outs of the parties current policies I don't think I could ever bring myself to do it. The problem with parties like UKIP, apart from the Xenophobic undertones that make me very uncomfortable, is that they only seem to have an idea of what they are against not what they are for, leaving no idea of how they would run the country if elected. As I live in the 3rd safest Labour seat in the country, none of the above makes any difference to the result. One of our neighbours is standing for the Green party and asked me to be one of hs nominees so I feel morally obliged to vote for him in the sure and certain knowledge it will make no difference to anything! Simon

I am really glad things are going well for you! Simon

Great News!

It all depends on what you want to do with it. Assuming you can live with the keyboard and monitor you have, and you don't need to play the very latest and greatest games you can buy an ex-corporate base unit on eBay for around 40 punds delivered, or you can get a full system with a 15" flat screen monitor for about 100 pounds or so including carriage. This one below is a random example, I have no knowledge of the seller but it gives you an idea what is possible on a limited budget. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PENTIUM-4-DESKTOP-CO...=item414cbeac51 Simon

Beer and whisky are both caffiene free so must be good for you! Simon

Less X-Files, more "Life of Brian", "He's not the Messiah - He's a very naughty Boy!" Simon

The trouble with conspiracy theory arguments is that they are almost impossible to engage with on a rational basis. Any criticism of Andrew Wakefield becomes part of the conspiracy and is therefore dismissed. It is oversimplifying in the extreme to assume that all of the actions taken against Andrew Wakefield are motivated by vested interest. I discussed the case a while ago with a GP (not mine) who I share a common (unrelated) interest with. He is, (as are all GP's these days) well paid and more than happy with his income. He has a close family member who is profoundly Autistic. He will continue to be paid well whether he is instructed to gives the triple vaccine, single vaccine or none at all. He is scathing about Andrew Wakefield because he considers him to be publicity-seeking and a bad scientist, and has caused parents all over the country to make decisions about their child's vaccinations based on an incorrect understanding of the issues involved. That is his genuinely held private belief not what he has been told to say publicly. The conspiracy theory doesn't wash because he has no reason to be a part of the conspiracy. He is rational, well-informed and detached enough to reach his own conclusion and has done so. My late mother (A retired Consultant Radiologist)held similar views on Andrew Wakefield and as she was retired could not possibly of had any incentive to be part of a conspiracy, nor was she the kind of person who could be intimidated into failing to give an honest opinion! There are people out out there who have a financial interest in the single vaccine. There are also many more men and women of integrity who have no such self-interest who are profoundly unhappy with the way in which Andrew Wakefield went about his business. Put bluntly there are clear rules and regulations surrounding how such studies should be conducted. The rules are there for a good reason and Andrew Wakefield did not follow them. Whatever your views on the safety of MMR Andrew Wakefield is the Villan here. If you think MMR is unsafe Andrew Wakefield through his actions has given the pro-MMR campaign enough ammunition to last several years. If you think MMR is safe he has caused a massive reduction in Vaccinations on the flimsiest of evidence. This reduction in vaccinations does not appear to have affected the steady rise in numbers of children with Autism. What is clear to me is that Andrew Wakefield is a shameless media manipulator who was in the (paid) employment the anti-MMR campaign before his research even started (he somehow failed to mention this minor detail when publicising his research). His approach to research was highly opportunistic at best , and drove a coach and horses through ethical guidelines. I just can't buy into the idea that he is some kind of heroic campaigner for truth and justice, and I find the 'Conspiracy Theory' defence doesn't stand up to scrutiny, therefore I don't believe the GMC hearing was a 'Kangaroo Court' and hope to be hearing much less from Andrew Wakefield in future. Simon

It will be watchable without 3d glasses in the sense that you will still be able to see what is going on, but you will find the pictures a bit fuzzy. I suspect the glasses will help even if they don't give you the 3D effect. Simon

Saw the 3D version last night and it's stunning. All the trailers before the film were 3D too and good fun, so it's worth turning up in time to see them. Simon

The short answer is security. This site has been targetted by hackers in the past who have been succesful in causing the forum to crash so we have adopted an ultra-cautious aproach to web site security. As a site allowing in-line links to external picture etc. is less secure than a site that allows them the pictures had to go. You can still add your personal choice of Avatar and there is a reasonable range of smilies, but that is as far as it goes. Simon