Has the NAS directly helped any independent adults who post on this forum?

Usually a standard response from NAS is to contact the helpline and give links. 

1. I have had responses to emails at times but others have been ignored.  They have also put me on a mailing list to which I get marketing emails, not that I mind them just it dorsnt seem an appropriate thing to do when help is requested

Yeah, I think that's what I usually see when NAS moderators reply to posts, they advice people to contact the helpline. But there are two ways to contact the helpline: (1) telephone, (2) email. And it seems according to Maz2's experience of old getting one automated response in reply to several private emails, it seems that the email option is completely ignored.... It does say on the NAS website https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/form.aspx it might take 28 days for a reply, but getting completely no reply..... Also, many autistic people experience difficulties with communicating verbally through telephone, or might have to work during "Monday: Thursday 10am-4pm and Friday 9am-3pm" which are the only times the telephone helpline is available. So shouldn't they put the same effort into answering queries from both (1) telephone and (2) email contacts?

Yeah, I think that's what I usually see when NAS moderators reply to posts, they advice people to contact the helpline. But there are two ways to contact the helpline: (1) telephone, (2) email. And it seems according to Maz2's experience of old getting one automated response in reply to several private emails, it seems that the email option is completely ignored.... It does say on the NAS website https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/form.aspx it might take 28 days for a reply, but getting completely no reply..... Also, many autistic people experience difficulties with communicating verbally through telephone, or might have to work during "Monday: Thursday 10am-4pm and Friday 9am-3pm" which are the only times the telephone helpline is available. So shouldn't they put the same effort into answering queries from both (1) telephone and (2) email contacts?