Tally

To prevent over-filling, you could draw a line in marker pen. No one will ever know it's there

Hubby and I are going away next Christmas. No family, no presents, no turkey (although there will be food). Just a small group of friends who all hate Christmas More people should do this in my opinion.

Hi Skywalker, and welcome. I left home, well, ran away from home, when I was 20. There was no boyfriend involved, so there are many differences, but sometimes parents and children just do not get on living under the same roof. I think it was difficult for my younger brother, since he was there with my parents, but it wasn't him who had caused the problem. If you keep asking her to come home, or telling her that you are upset, it could just make her angry. It might be best if you just try to keep in touch in a friendly way. If you have a mobile phone, text messaging is a great way of staying in touch. You could tell her about something to do with yourself (rather than your parents), maybe every couple of days or something.

I have some problems with this, especially if I see someone in a different context to usual, like seeing a colleague out of uniform, or seeing my parents in the shop where I work (they live 200 miles away and were visiting for the weekend, so this is a very rare occurrence, but it took me a minute to work out who they were). I also have problems if a customer asks me for something and I have to go away and look/find out. When I come back I often don't know who I am looking for. I try to make a deliberate attempt to remember something particular about them, for example, short woman wearing pink coat, but if someone else happens along also wearing a pink coat, I get very confused. I am good at recognising the people I know, or see regularly, and I am good at remembering the names of those people, but I cannot for the life of me put the 2 together.

She must be upset that she did not get the place at Oxford, but it doesn't have to turn out to be a bad thing. There is a huge amount of pressure on students there to achieve (both academically, and in activities run by the university), I understand that it is not very enjoyable to study there. My uncle went to Oxford, and hated every minute of it. He completed the course because he is hugely motivated by his own personal goals, but he was desparately unhappy. Durham is a top university. She has fantastic AS results, and I really hope she gets her place there.

I work in a supermarket. If I didn't, I would definitely be staying far, FAR away from the evil places. Last year 2 women had a fight over the last turkey at 5pm on Xmas eve. I mean, really, if you've left it that late, you don't deserve a turkey anyway.

You have them well traned fiorelli!!! Can I borrow them for the day please?

I think PDD-NOS is a useful diagnosis, assuming it is the correct one. It acknowledges that the person has autistic-type difficulties, even though they don't meet the full criteria to be diagnosed as autistis. Without it, people with genuine difficulties would go unrecognised.

Car accidents are horrible, really upsetting. I'm glad you're all reasonably unhurt. Modern cars are designed to crumple to absorb the blow. This protects the people in the car. Don't go replacing it with a Ford Focus. I smashed mine (unintentionally) into a wall at 40mph, and the airbags did not go off. This worries me somewhat, but I can't afford to replace it.

I had one too, but I don't know why.

As an AS grown-up (in legal terms anyway), I talk in my sleep. Hubby (NT) does moreso though, also walks, and has been known to mistake the radiator for a toilet in his sleep too

My mum never let me do anything, like she did with Christopher. When I was 20 I left home, and that's when I did my growing up. Need to give this some thought before I can say anything else really.

I was an angel once in the school nativity play. My mum has all these photos of all these cute little girls posing for the camera, and in the middle is this horrid, scowling thing, refusing to look at the camera . . . that's me! I managed to avoid being on stage since then, and it's probably for the best.

If it were MSG, she would probably react to many, MANY other things though, as it's so commonly used.

Who's town has the tackiest Christmas lights?

Hi David, Those things could all indicate Asperger's, but could also indicate other things. Regarding the eye contact, I have the opposite problem - find eye contact really hard to do. I find that watching people's mouths helps. Maybe this could help you as well. The National Autistic Society may be able to offer you some advice. Here is a link to details about their telephone helpline, but the rest of the website could also be helpful to you: http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=617 If you want to seek a diagnosis, it would be useful to find a list of the symptoms of autism/AS and tick off the ones that you experience. It can be difficult to get a diagnosis as an adult, but it could be helpful if you are struggling with things.

I've recently started seeing the term "flexibility of thought" used instead of "imagination." I think this is better, as "imagination" can be misleading. It usually refers to making up stories, or picturing certain situations, whereas in relation to autism it really means the ablilty to do things in different ways and to change routines. "Flexibility of thought" is far clearer.

I'm glad to see dyslexia being recognised properly. My brother in law has it quite severely and can barely read or write. Despite this, he is very quick-witted, amazing with practical things like building work (has rescued us after a number of DIY disasters), and is able to fly an aeroplane. My husband also has it in a mild form, and even this affects many things he does.

How about something along the lines of, "thank you very much for providing the records I requested, however you seem to have forgotten to include a copy of the email . . . "

Hi Das. I used to have this problem. I also have depression, which was much worse at that time. I found the contraceptive pill helped immensely. It also keeps everything completely regular, which is good too! Apparently Prozac can be used to treat severe PMT. It's actually marketed under a different brand name for this purpose. It's not for everyone, but it might be worth looking into.

You are not wasting anyone's time. Your girlfriend has genuine difficulties, and has the right to have them recognised, and has the right to support which will help her to cope with them. You have difficulties and frustrations in your relationship with her, and in being a support to her, because of her difficulties, and you have the right to friendship, support and advice on these difficulties. Just because she can speak and function on many levels that other people cannot, does not mean that these difficulties are any less real.

My cat is called Mr Cat, so I am probably not the best person to ask if you're trying to think of something original.

That comment makes me want to vomit. I liked the 1st comment that was left. Have added my own, but he said it all really.

I'm 24 and I eat the same sandwiches for lunch every day It does tend to change from time to time, but I've been eating sandwiches of tuna, cheese and tomato puree for about 3 years now. I like it better now that I make it myself, since I know exactly what to expect.

Can you sit in the room with him while he falls asleep? You could gradually move a little further away each night.