Good to see someone else with learning difficulties [Rob] on the show today.

IMO, though, having learning difficulties should not affect how successful you are at things. We are all equal. It's just, those of us who do have these difficulties find it a bit harder.

People will mock us, but usually they do that because they don't know what it's like to actually have it. A couple of lads have mocked me for pronouncing Aspergers with a soft G. I mean, what's the difference?

People with learning difficulties like Rob and myself (to name a couple) should be respected as much as anyone else! Hope you all understand!

Agreed. I'll add emotional/other mental difficulties to the brew here - of course, from personal experience these things can affect life greatly. Having said that, I'd much rather be a kaleidoscope of different faces, feelings ETC than live a conventional, average life.

Spices things up, I've found.

Hope everyone is doing well!!!

I'll report from my neck of the woods...other than a current loss of form in the comedy department, personally I'm doing brilliantly. I'm fortunate that I'm not professionally funny, or I'd be quite poor.

Having said that, that one was quite good. Therein lies the mystery of being "out of form" - every stab you make, at a return to form, is a damn good one, but no-one seems to notice...

It's rather like the bloke I spoke to the other day. He told me he was a retired professional footballer - a goalkeeper, same as me - and he said, he'd only conceded 10 goals in his entire career. I'd replied that that was amazing!

I then found out he only ever played one match..

Hahahaha!

*Massive sigh of relief* A-HA! My latest career is back on track.

Although, currently myself and my old man are on the verge of salvaging a small boat we first saw in our local creek in 2007. It was moored way out, that summer, and left to drift nearer to the shore where it "sank" but refloated in March 2008. Since then I haven't known of any floatings of the boat, so I assume it's either sunk, into the tidal mud - or there's a massive hole in it.
I suppose we'll find that out when one of us steps inside it....and for the record, that "one" will not be me. At any cost.

Well, we plan to use an array of big containers and buoys to attempt to "right" the boat, and hopefully it being righted will mean it can float in a high tide...hopefully. I've been told that osmosis can occur, as well as gribbles which can get into the wood if it's been submerged long enough. It's quite an interesting little project actually.

Hang on a sec. I'm currently conducting an archaeological project in the area - about the boats in my creek (search UNESCO Hulks of forton lake for the 2009 article featuring me and...3 of my photos..) and recording the remains. It's just struck me, that I'll be removing the very remains I want to record. I'm very clever, you know...


Oh, and neither myself nor the old man - a window cleaner by trade (not hard work - get up at 5, clean windows until 8, come home and live the good life) - have any experience whatsoever of salvaging a wreck.


Access to the wreck has thusfar proved rather difficult. Impossible, to be precise. But we are presented with a dilemma. We have resorted to a rubber dinghy.

But then....In a dinghy, there's a slight chance I might puncture it on something. With good old Papa K on board, that becomes a certainty...

*Oh yes, and we'll see to the maritime salvage laws...hopefully..

Let us know how it goes!

Well...we weren't able to buy a dinghy as the ASDA receptionist lady told us, "The summer season is over now, and we aren't receiving any more orders". Now, given that this was in mid-August, sun shining and 20 celsius every day - I recommend ASDA look away from the council estate for their employees next time.

I wouldn't have been surprised if, that very minute, she was on the phone saying, "Yep, we'll take 200 more dinghies, cheers!"

So anyway. Grounded before we set sail, we were up a creek without a paddle. Or a boat.
And, as quickly as I flee the stage when you don't laugh at my crap pun, I lost interest and instead began writing up a report from an archaeology project I'd been working on a few years back, which I'd brought back for this year. A few weeks passed and I thought I'd "take a break" - I haven't looked back since, in truth.

Now though, my attention is on Thursday, when I find out my GCSE grades...of course, I'm hoping I did fantastically, but so many people I know are saying, "oh, I've done crap, I'm sure"....well, in that case, they'll look amazed when they see the "D" on the sheet, won't they?

I sound up myself there. I'm not in reality..well, not that much. I've booked a table for all the family at a local Italian for Thursday evening, where I'll open whatever it is they passed me at school and see how I did. I'll probably open it up alone somewhere as soon as I get it, just to see. Perhaps not, though.
It's actually quite a sacrifice from me, going to that place with all the family..I hate that restaurant, and their food is worse than seeing Gary Glitter naked. Well, er, erm, not that I've seen Gary Glitter naked, of course, er..

English has always been my best subject...I'm hoping my results show that. Of course, if not, I put my hand up and say it was my doing, I'm to blame but I can't alter it at all...my college only requires you to pass at C or above, however, so I reckon I'm safe on that level.
Well, I took 9 in total, split into (I think) 13 or 14 if you include individual for biology, chemistry, physics, maths with and without a calculator, etc.

It'll be a welcome return to my old place actually. When I left, I had many people come up saying they'd miss me and other such things, I'd adopted the mantle of "legend" to many, which of course flattered me a lot but I was proud to take up that status...I felt like Matthew Le Tissier in 2002, retiring.
I aim to come back, no doubt, and help out there, I reckon in my heart it'll be a long time before I leave. But after Thursday, I go to college on Friday to enrol and look forward to photography, english language, geography and Communications and Culture.

But for now, Thursday. Cheers, thanks, I know I'll need the luck...and lots of it..

I have this. It hardly effects me at all.

That's a naive way to think about it.

I realise that I'm feeling out-of-sync with a few of my friends. People change... and that sucks.

Naive is the best way to think, Skyline...but the worst way to act, of course.

It's "affects", as well.
Mark is right. For some, I like to think myself as well, its effects are small..for me, I seriously would not say I even suffer.

I think other problems overtook Asperger's for me; I denied it when I was 10, and I appear to have grown out of it anyway. Having said that, try talking to me 1-on-1 and I run out of words. The script in my mind tears itself to shreds...but then, a lot of people experience that and aren't labelled. I declined to be labelled when I was 10..and just as well, or I'd have lived my life in the mould of an "Asperger's kid". I'm glad I never received a label - in my first year at secondary school, I was given all sorts of moniker by the rest of my "peers", which threw me right off course for the next 3 years.

I reckon forgetting about it altogether is better than anything else, really. So you have this, that or the other - who's to say it should be that important to you? Simple from Mark, but very good

Well...A in English Lit and Lang, after re-taking in May (originally 2 Bs in January); C in Maths, Geography, Citizenship*, Science and Catering; a D in Additional science and French (c'est tres mechant!); an A in RS (though short course, so that counts for half a GCSE)....but the result I'm most proud of, considering I intend to be my town's local photographer, is my F in Art.

Having said that, we never photographed a thing in Art, it was all watercolour and painting, which I'm crap at.
Excuse the French...

In addition we all did an "ALAN" multi-choice test for English and Maths in November; both count for half a GCSE and thus, combined, are equal to a full GCSE. The Maths I passed with 27/40, which I knew in December anyway, and the English with 34/40. For me, I'd have expected 40.

I'll try to tote up what I got, but I didn't receive a detailed view of each exam and each mark from the board, so I'm writing back to them for that.
Well, including Language and Literature, and the additional science... from the 11 I took, I passed 9. Two at A, which I have to be happy with.

I was disappointed where for some subjects I was consistent on a higher level than I got here, but my shortfall of course was being complacent and cocky. Well, overall I'm very satisfied with most of these...and as I say - watch out for Karmy your local painting genius!

I'll buy some of your artwork... I'm sure it's not worth an F. £6,000 a piece maybe?

Admittedly, I'm actually quite a good artist - but I'm a photographer, not a painter or watercolour type. And throughout my 2-year course, there was no element of photography..

£6,000 a piece? You having me on? £6 million and you're only 1 tenth of the way there

Mark Mark Mark...another that was under my radar (no offense intended )

To say it hardly affects you...I wouldn't call it naive at all, Skyline...most Aspies reckon it's the AS that makes us, us! For one very good example, we wouldn't have found each other if our stereotypical love of gameshows didn't exist!

Hope everyone is alright!

i have been reading this thread and the descriptions people have put about thmselves sound a lot like me and my personality
i obviosly love deal or no deal i am completely addicted to it. i also tend to sometimes get frustrated very easily and i need my alone time each day.i dont actually know if i have AS or not,but i am wondering

Who knows, Holly?

Can I ask how old you are? A lot of people end up getting diagnosed in their childhood because of how hyperactive they are at a young age. However, a LOT of people end up with less severe signs yet still showing...and don't end up getting diagnosed until their adult life.

I was diagnosed at age 10 I'm 23 now.

I am 13. You see, I don't really want to talk to my parents about it, because I think it would make me feel uncomfortable for some strange reason so I don't know what else I can do

That's fine...all I will say is if you have got AS or indeed some other form of learning disability, your parents would probably be the first to notice "something's not right" or "something's different"...only other thing I could suggest is talking to someone at school, ie the special needs department and explain everything, seeing as going to the doctor would mean ultimately your parents finding out until you're 16

Ok, thanks for the advice