Does he know?

Nothing more amazing than having a balloon glued to your face XD

Why is it electronics rebel at the worst times? I'd be doomed if my black jeans get stuck in the wash, I've been passing them off as chino's because it's the only pair of trousers that remotely fits my school's stuck up 6th Form Dress code. (They'd have us in suits if the head students weren't threatening walkouts, but honestly, have you seen how much cleavage work shirts from Primark show!? I might as well rock up in my bra!)

Maybe you should try hunting down games to keep them occupied when they're stuck at home, I know I've got an actionplan in place if I get snowed in again like last year! (Hot chocolate, milk, mini marshmallows, whipped cream, art supplies, laptop, TV and DVD's, sorted.^^)

Even if its board games they both like or those strangely entertaining education computer games?

OOH! Have you ever heard of hidden object games? I've got one called 'Hidden Expodition: Amazon'. Basically, on each level you have a list of objects that you need to find in this one picture, but its really tricky! My family use it to get all of us kids out of the way. Usually I'm the one with the mouse and everyone just points at where they find the objects! And the hidden objects you need to find change every time, so its never easy. :D

Ahh brilliant idea!!  I havent actually seen thor yet.. really want to though, we do that film subscription thing with lovefilm and its on my to watch list but it looks fantastic!! Im glad your ta is going to get things sorted for you, you dont need the stress!! Wow thats amazing news about the Uni's! you should be really really proud of yourself, its such an achievement! I bet your mom is over the moon I know if my boys had that I would be so happy for them! Im sure if you call the Uni back through the week they will rearrange a suitable time and date for you so dont panic :) I dont really know about the Uni's down south as Im from the Midlands but my husband is born and bred in Dorset but like me he too didnt get the opportunity to go to university, but im sure wherever you go it will be fabulous!! Our day didnt start off brilliant to be honest but it got better, it kicked off badly at about 12.30am!!! when the washer decided to brake and trap my boys uniform in so i couldnt send them to school!! :/ so theyve been bouncing off the walls all day and getting into endless trouble!! but im sendin them tomorrow as my hubby managed to get the washer sorted! My baby stood up in the middle of the room today on his own at 10 months old so im really happy about that too! Yeah i did the trick they were amazed bless them!! i told them you had told me to show them and it really made them happy :) They went upto bed about half hour ago so hopefully should be asleep any time soon :)

Mums come up with an awesome plan that means I won't have to panic about finding over 20 different things to make (not enough funds to spare buying anything but materials) that each family member likes!

Cakes!

She says we're all going to have a major baking spree, and if I don't want to get hands on with the baking (I get hungry, the icing never lasts long around me and my sweet teeth) I can make little origami boxes for each cake slice or buscuit. :)

Everyone loves cakes! And if they don't, I'll eat it for them. ^^

Thor is an awesome movie :D Gotta hand it to Marvel Studio's, they're really on a roll, first X men, the Wolverine X men Origins (love Hugh Jackman, one of the things me and mum can both agree on), Iron Man, the Hulk, then Thor, now the Avenger's is in the works and another Wolverine movie! :D

Favourite character from Thor is definately Loki though, admittedly he's a sneaky back stabbing little monster but you can see he only does what he does with the best intentions, just a shame he went a little insane in the process. Plus Thor's not so bad to look at either. ;)

My TA is going to talk to the annoying art teacher today, or tomorrow, to explain why I'm so confused and whats confusing me. She looked just as lost when I tried to explain what the art teacher wanted me to do too. xD Shes bringing in nice art teacher as back up as well so hopefully that will be sorted by my next art lesson. The problem is I don't know how to tell teachers my problems without becoming defensive, because they get defensive, so its nice to know I've got a translator/mediator now. :)

Also, now I'm starting to get requests for interviews from uni's, nearly had a heart attack when the one I wanted asked me to go there in two weeks time on a wednesday. 1) Its wednesday, I have CAHM's. 2) Wednesday, mum won't be allowed off work. 3) The Uni's in Cornwall XD

They've been great to me when I've called them up before so here's hoping they'll be more flexible with me, already left a phone message so I can try and get things cleared up. :)

Hows your day been? Did the boys go for the balloon static trick in the end?

Yeah theyre the ones :) Callum wants the sharks brad wants one but doesnt mind which one. They also (as you suggested) want a lava lamp each :) You should get one if you like them the cat would probably leg it seen as theyre so big :D Oh Callum typically of him want a remote control helicopter that shoots missiles!! Callum takes great happiness in destruction lol! Dont you hurt yourself though??  im not surprised you get headache! Yeah an email sounds good :) if she hunts you down just make an excuse that youre late for a lesson or if she asks you anything just say, didnt you read my email? and if she says yes just say im glad you got it and so thats sorted then and walk off :D I hate that whole kinda personality too! I remember not so long back i was really really cross in the playground after been treated really bad over one of my boys and i know the parent was only trying to help but she came up to me and tryed to hug me and i freaked out real bad and really shouted as i hate been hugged (unless its family) i get all claustrophobic (dunno if that spellings right) and i panic a little! like you its my personal space, and i hate people coming near it. If she does just look at the offending gesture and say, 'im sorry, but do you mind not doing that please, im not a huggy kinda person' :D that should stop any future incidents :D Oww Thor we wanna watch that too it looks wicked! yeah a list sounds good! nah i dont think theyl be offended to be honest if anything surely it makes it easier for them and cheaper as they dont need to get wrapping paper :D AND they dont need to keep reciepts. If theres certain people you think will be offended then go christmas shopping for yourself write what you want and pass it onto them :) But im sure if you just explain what you have just said to me they will really appreciate your honesty and the fact you want to spend their money on something really worthwhile! :)

Air swimmers, those giant fish balloons right? I'll admit my brain was shrieking 'AWESOME!' but logic won in the end. A cat would probably get it when I wasn't looking.

The headbutting may have been for attention, though I'll admit sometimes I find myself 'head desking' at school if stressed out, only to have a headache five minutes later. I'm not sure, maybe its just a massive distraction technique or way of expressing stress?

The trip is on wednesday, gonna send an email to the teacher in charge to try avoiding the face to face but knowing my luck she'll hunt me down in the corridors. Doesn't help shes one of those 'touchy feely' people, you know, the ones that think it's ok to put their hand on your shoulder or pat your arm? I swear I'd rather have a spider on my shoulder, in my head whenever they do that its like I have a little alarm in my head screeching 'PERIMETER BREECH! Step away from the bubble!'

(I view my personal space as a bubble, usually its about 3 ft around me in all directions.)

So far I've only got the Thor movie on my list (gonna put my list on facebook to try and stop my relatives swarming me) but not sure if they'll be offended if I ask for money instead? Not because I don't care, its just I'd rather spend their money on something I can treasure and value, not something thats gonna live under my bed for three years.

hiya :)

How are you today? hope you are ok :) Yeah teachers are either one extreme or the other arent they!  You'll be a Uni soon though thats the main thing, it wont be far away now eh? Im glad youve got some more appointments to get an action plan together, :) Yeah between me and you i just make a joke of it in the car with the boys on the way home so they dont feel so bad about it which they love as they think im being a naughty cheeky mommy! he he he! Oh yeah lots have already got their trees up! ours wont be up til 1st of december but we have a star on ours :D  we dont like traumatising fairies lol! I love christmas, i love seeing their faces :) Yeah it can be a bit take it or leave it, i was like that at 17 to be fair.  Brad and Callum are TOO excited! everything they see on tv they say awww can i put that on my list mom? (even though they dont know what it is or what it does!) it doesnt matter if i dont get it :) the one thing i know they really really REALLY want is air swimmers... have you seen them they are amazing but may give you a fright if your unsuspectingly walking around the house and one flies to you.. you should google them and see them! other than that its very difficult to work out what they will LOVE as opposed to what they think they want but really are just saying it because they have no idea themselves  :) Callums had a bad day today at school, hes been headbutting the floor again, when asked why he replied i wanna hurt myself and then bursts into laughter!! Im not sure if its for attention though? I dunno. Brads had a fab day at dance hes done really well, hes very excited to do his dance comp on sunday :) was it today that trip? :/

Hiya, I'm afraid nearly all have that 'holier than thou' attitude, as though just because they're teachers it automatically makes them right about everything. Bleh, can't wait to leave.

Organised weekly meetings with my psycho at CAHM's to talk about all my problems and feelings to hopefully get a coping strategy in place so with any luck it'll help.

Teachers seem to stick to rules and over-enforce them just for the power trip I'm afraid, they liek having control, hence why that one probably freaked out over Brad trying to talk to Callum. One thing about teachers and critisism, they love to hear it...just so long as its not about them.

Have you seen the shops lately? Christmas things....EVERYWHERE! Its like some freaky bauble invasion o.o

Soon the tree's will be on the advance and we'll be faced with giant snowmen and freaky inflatable Father Christmas's! Seriously, its like an epidemic or invasion, taking over one house at a time.

Doesn't help I've gotten to a certain age, as I said to my mum,

'You know you're getting old when you start seeing Christmas Day as a lie in.'

Still creeped out about the angels that people put on top of the trees, the point of the tree goes right up the.....well...it can't be comfortable...could be why so many fairies look traumatised....

How's Brad and Callum taking the invasion? They excited or looking forward to pressies? Or are they like me and have absolutely no idea what they want?

Oh no :( i bet your moms feeling your pain for you too, the pair of you are really going through it eh? I would deffo speak to your mom and ask he to ask the school for a leaflet on the schools complaints proceedure and go through it. but always keep everything. The MP may possibly redirect you to the complaints proceedure if you havent done this already, (its a way they get out of dealing with it personally i think) Its disgusting what you are having to put up with! I know its a bit extreme and all but is home schooling an option? have you spoke to NAS or CAMHS to see if they can help? Its a pity someone more 'professional' couldnt overhear these rude teachers! Yeah another school would be a really bad move for you, and anyone else at this part of their lives to be fair as its not long before Uni, so to go through the upheaval is really not worth it if you can sit it out a little whilst your mom tries to sort it out. Uni should be an excellent place for you! doing subjects you love, having freedom its going to be great! Ive never been to Uni, I wasnt clever enough unfortunately. I have lots of other grades that are equivalents to like A level but I learn better in my intrest subjects, else i just switch off and cant engage my brain (and then i wonder where Brad gets it from!) I know alot who have gone to Uni though and have loved every minute! I can imagine settling into a new routine may be hard but once youve mastered that and new friends (although some might come from your school?) you will be loving every minute of it! Take no notice of nasty remarks.. I tend to think people like this do so either because theyre jealous, have no life, having a bad day, or are generally bad people inside, so my view is well why would i actually care what someone like that thinks?? and as for the teacher pointing out you hadnt got the shape of the skull right you might like to tell them as they point.. theres always 3 fingers pointing back at them.. in others words if you have got something that they want done different and you havent got that message thats their fault.. its THEIR job! :D cheeky i know but true! Brad complains sometimes that the teachers dont listen to him, So instead what we do is have a laugh about it.. sooo say like Brad is inseperable from his brother but at the mo theres a fence that seperates them and if brad goes near the fence to shout Callum he gets told off, brad got upset on the way home from school so we had a giggle and i said, oh my brad i think she needs a chill pill to which he burst out laughing so next time he does it he then thinks of happier thoughts like her taking a chill pill hehehehe! I dont encourage bad behaviour however i dont see the point in the pointless rulings that schools sometimes make, i mean he only wants to say hello to his brother?? Brad has the same teacher all day, sometimes he her friends sometimes hes not, i suppose it depends how long he spends in her class or out in his daydream land he he he! ;D but im sure as he gets older he too will be more vocal about his likes and dislikes with teachers :) i know he loves the learning mentor, but she is brilliant and very supportive im so glad he has her :)

Mum knows all about it, I've been bottling it up and school and ranting every time she gets home from work. She's been in there and verbally slapped sir down at least twice already but all it seems to do is pacify them a while, and they tend to give you dirty looks when they think you're not looking.

At the moment she's working on finding ways of getting in contact with the local MP to file a series of complaints regarding lack of education regarding mental health 'illnessess', the fact that it took me having a break down and taking myself into CAHMs to get diagnosed not the school recognising I was struggling as well as a bunch of other things I can't remember.

The one thing that I hear them say to other students in 6th form who've got the guts to stand up to them is this, 'If you hate it so much why don't you go somewhere else?'

....er...other than the small fact that for many of us, its the closest, it's got the best grades, no where else has free places at this time of the year and you'd get called in for truancy then fined hundreds of pounds? And thats just for normal people. I stayed because I reasoned 'better the devil you know' rather than going through (for me) the trauma of going to a new place with new people etc.

I'm really hoping uni will be better, from what I hear I'll be allowed to work on my own on projects without having someone leaning over my shoulder scruitinising my work. I mean, now whenever I hear anyone say 'Thats really good!' or '"Thats brilliant!' about my artwork, I mentally prepare myself for the 'but' then a series of nit picks which no one would ever notice (I got critisised for not getting the shape of a skull right in an ABSTRACT painting!).

Just wondering, how does Brad cope with his teachers? Does he have the nice one, the mental one, the whiny one, the strict one and the unreasonable one?

Hiya :)

Yeah most schools are like it i think thats safe to say... However it doesnt mean that it should be accepted. It is good that you have a place within the school you can go but you should feel comfortable to get help wherever you are in the school not just in one part. I know what you mean people in their teens do see it as a 'weakness' but I dont see why as we all need help, we are not perfect no one is there is at least one thing a person cannot do that someone else can, so why it is seen as a weakness is beyond me however i totally get what you mean. OMG what horrid teachers you have!! I wouldnt of been able to bite my tongue if i am honest, I wouldve asked if he would like to repeat that statement in front of the school governors! See now I am not telling you to do the following as it would be something that maybe once talking to your mom that she may want to do but it seems to me you are getting treated really badly not just in the sense of not accomadating your ASD but also just in general as a person, no way would that 'sir' speak to another person on the street like that so he needs an attitude check. IF it was me, I would submot a written letter dated and copied (keep a copy for yourself again signed and dated) ask for a WRITTEN reply within 28 days IF things get no better then you go above.. to the school governors (they pretty much tell the heads what to do) again you need to put your complaint in writing and keep a copy for yourself and atatch a copy of the letter you previously sent to the head along with a copy of the response you recieved.. you will generally find things get sorted at this level, however if not you will have to take it above them which is something like the education secretary or something like that? You may also find it of help to contact your SEN department at the local council (not the one you see at school) and speak to the manager who may also ask for your complaint in writing. However if your mom went into school and asked (or phoned up) and asked for a copy of the schools complaint proceedures it should tell you in full the complaints proceedure that needs to be followed, but always keep copies of everything sent and recieved! Like i said, it might be something for your mom to look into if they are being so horrid to you. As a parent i find it very hard to hear how you are being treated and it saddens me that people can be so rude. Dont let it get you down though, you are a fab person!! Have you spoke to your mom about how you feel and how you have been treated? if not i really think you should. Awww you are doing really well considering what theyre putting you through! I really hope you manage to get something sorted  :)

Its kind of scary, my friends and I have all decided that my school only cares about its statistics, not the kids, hence why I had a breakdown prior to my diagnosis when they piled too much on me. And I'm one of the smart kids! Smart kids get more leeway and they still drove 3 others out of school!

But after the diagnosis, I got introduced to the SEN unit who are actually specialised in ASD cases....but it's like stepping into an alternate reality when I head into that section of the building, suddenly everyone cares and is worried about you and how you feel or think. When I tell them about my problems they get so confused about why they've never heard of this. I had to take my friend down there to talk to one of the TA's because she was getting scared for her brother who has major, as in MAJOR, anxiety, and may have anxiety disorder, which the school have completely ignored and are fining their mum and setting creepy old attendence officers on them. They were horrifed. At least they're trying to get help sorted out for the poor kid but no one, not in the three months he's been having issues, from main school bothered to get SEN involved.

On one hand, it makes me realise that if I need help, I have to pick myself up and march in there myself, because it is hard asking for help when you've grown up in a school environment where asking for help is a sign of weakness. On the other hand, I know for a fact that I will never be given help if I start to struggle unless someone from SEN is there to look after me.

Me: Sir, I don't understand this question.

Sir: Ok, heres 5 extra questions for you to do as homework, get yourself sorted out or you'll fail.

Me:.... * never asks for help again *

Is it sad that I've accepted this is how things are or would other people do things differently?

Keep in mind that my friend with the struggling brother is a head student that has contacted the head teacher plenty of times with her own anxiety issues over our years at the school as well as the lack of mental health education only to get shot down and told off for saying such things in front of parent council.

Ahh bless your mum :) Arley liked to gum but hes a bit of a lazy gummer until he got teeth :) by the sounds of it you loved gumming food :)

Oh no :( well surely they can see this is completely unfair on you?? I feel bad for you and your mum having to make plans, they shouldve thought about this and talked it through with you well in advance to see if they could find alternatives that you were comfortable with. OMG Im a bit of a stress head as I hate unfairness and ignorance I'dve marched up there and had strong words to be fair, so god help the education where my boys end up going he he he! Try not to stress or worry ( i know thats probably nor gonna change how you feel) but what you need to be thinking really is that you are not in the wrong here. You have been put in a situation that you nor your mum are comfortable with and knowing you have ASD I really feel that they have been ignorant to your needs and your mums rules that she does to keep you safe. So try not to feel like you are doing anything wrong if anything they should be apologising. So dont stress over your poker face, this isnt your fault. Its good lying doesnt come naturally, and its awful the fact that the education have put you in this situation. So instead of trying really hard to look serious about the plan, i think you should do something you really really like instead! :) I still cannot take in theyve left you in this situation, so so ignorant of them, im so cross that people are so tunnel visioned. :/ dont you worry yourself with it though find something you really like doing and do that for a bit, as worrying wont change anything and wont help you either :)

Mum came by and just read over my shoulder, she started laughing and said that I didn't need teeth to take out biscuits and that I'd gummed some plain digestive biscuits to death before I went fully on solids. xD

New problem has sadly risen, some teacher at school in charge of extended project (basically, you do a whole unit of work based on what you want and you're responsible for it all, I'm doing animation and making an actual animation at the end) decided to send us on a 'trip' to a university library that specialises in teaching. Normally I wouldn't mind, but we'd be leaving school about 1pm and arriving back at 6.30pm to be dismissed from a station I've never heard of. Apparently the local library isn't good enough for those of us doing artefacts (artistic stuff, not massive essays about 20 pages long) even though theres nothing relating to my topic at this uni place.

Luckily come up with an alternative plan, mum isn't happy about me being out that late for something 'useless' anyway so she plans on writing me a note claiming I must keep an eye on Amelia. I just hate the fact that I have to stress, worry and practice my 'poker face' all week just to hand over the note. They know I don't like going anywhere new and especially that I hate doing things that break my routine. Doesn't help lying doesn't come to me naturally either so I do genuinely have to practise in a mirror.

Hiya :)

OMG you have loooaaddss of pets! the only pets we have is two African Clawed Frogs :) i can imagine having a gecko on your head may be a bit tricky hehehe! Yeah H & M is a clothes shop, i dont usually go in it was a one off and i happened to see that. I looked on their website and it doesnt seem to have it anywhere so i tried emailing them and got an email back saying there were 'technical difficulties' replying to my email, so i dont know :/ Ow thats good then i was a bit worried when you told me about it, but thats put my mind at rest now :) hehehe i dont think theres ever a normal to be fair, i think all of us have quirks just some more noticeable then others maybe? :) i used to sleep talk, sleepwalk and even ate ice cream in my sleep once too! Only a little bit i am told as i was redirected up the stairs.. i often wonder if i was pretending on that one though, but i wouldnt know as i was too young to remember! :D Brads a bit like that, hes a chatterbox and doesnt come up for air, hes throws twenty questions at a time at you he he he!  ooohhh yeah i forgot about that balloon trick i will tell them you reminded me it will make them happy :) Aww Arleys been eating stuff like this for a good few months now i think he started about 6 months on harder foods that you need teeth for but as Arley already has 7 gnashers its pretty easy for him to destroy food relatively quick :D the boys are still hyper they havent quite got over the excitement of yesterday i think :D

My family has three cats, one dog, and I have 3 geckos :) There are two female geckos (Goth and Emo) and one teenage male (Bones), they are really sweet when you get to know them, the only time I have problems is when they try to sit on my head. xD

I've heard of other girls in my classes always going on about H&M but I've never been in there before, is it some kind of clothes shop?

Don't worry about my stash, mums only aware I have some money in case something happens to the animals but otherwise anyone who knows where I live is kept in the dark, or if they catch on (usually my sister) I simply relocate them.

Amelia is a massive sleeptalker too. She's 'normal' (apparently. I don't believe shes normal, how can someone even weirder than me be normal? She spends all maths lessons writing boobies on her calculator and talking non stop to the other minions, HOW IS THAT NORMAL!?) but when I've been stuck in the same room with her she's nattered away for hours, it even lead tomy first purchase of ear plugs which still didn't quite drown her out.

Has anyone told the boys if they rub the balloons against their head's it'll stick to them? Give it a go, its all about static. xD Well done to Arley at learning to consume chocolate biccy's at an early age!

Hiya :)

Ah thats brilliant!! I must admit that hammock sounds brilliant!! Hehehe so you do it too then! :D  well Callums the secret squirrel and instigates the hiding behaviour but Bradley most happily joins in :D I would be really careful about how much you say about your hiding places and what you hide though, as you need to keep safe :) but its good to know that its just one of Callums little ways and that others have that too :) So you have a panther then eh? You have some lovely pets too a gecko you said? i dont think i could hold one i think i would panic lol :) Callum loves any animal at all. Wow ive just realised you said you memorise dates thats amazing to be able to do that! Callum has on more of a weekly basis some sleep talking but apart from this he sleeps straight through its very confusing but i just hope the dr's can get to the bottom of it for him. Hehehe no no royalties to Jackie Chan Adventures in fact they should owe you for creating a new series for them :D I thought about you yesterday when i was shopping with Callum as i recalled a conversation we had on here about you enjoying different furs and materials. Well while i was shopping i went into a shop called H & M (im not sure if you have one near you or if you night be able to go on the net) but theres like a fur pendated necklace and its very pretty in there and i thought of you straight away :) I will see if they have a website and drop you the link on here :) well as i type this to you both Brad and callum are jumpin on top of my settee throwing balloons at my rug in a hyperactive fashion... meanwhile Arley (the youngest of our family at 10 months old) is destroying a chocolate biscuit! its very chaotic and noisy in here as everyones laughing and shouting!!  Hope you are ok and having a fabulous Sunday :)

Slept 12 hours straight! This hammock is seriously helpful, usually rolling over in bed means 20 mins of uncomfortable arranging whereas rolling in a hammock just sends it rocking for 5 mins sending me asleep! ^^

I used to (and still do) what the boys do XD

In terms of food, if I don't like it, I won't eat it. I've gotten more willing to give things a go (one miniture portion, I'd only eat a molecule if I could) but am still the fussiest teen on the planet regarding my family.

To date, when I am given money or chocolate, I immediately add some money to a variety of hidden 'piggy banks' (none of which is a pig, I've got about several book-safe's hidden safely away around my room) each of which stands for a particular reason. Book 1 always has at least £50 in it in case one of our pets gets hurt (to contribute to vet bills if mums having problems) or if I run out of bugs to feed my geckos (cute colourful lizards, great for cuddling, had Emo sitting on my shoulder for three hours one time). Book 2 is for Diet coke and strawberry Chewit's that I buy each week for school. Book 3 is full of all my receipts (in case I'm ripped off) and a small stash of chocolate (in cash mum finds my large stash of goodies hidden strategically around my room), while Book 4 is where I keep all of my bank statement things that Natwest insist on sending me.

Ever since my sister Amelia was born and able to walk, she'd eat all of my sweets or cereal that I left in the kitchen, so I did the next logical thing, kept it hidden safely in my room. So far I haven't lost a single bar to her or my mum, and I should know, I've memorised all their sell-by dates just to be safe.

If I found a toy or a book, I'd go out of my way to hide it. To date if I go into a shop and find a dvd I like I will deliberately go to the far corner of the store and put it behind a large amount of musical dvd's that hardly anyone goes near. When I was little apparently I once found a cuddly toy panther (Panth, still have him now ) and actively climbed up the shelves of Tesco and hid him behind the Heinz beans. 5 months later I dragged mum back to the same Tesco, climbed the shelves (to her horror, she hates me climbing 'dangerous' things, she freaks if I find a nice climbing tree) and brought down Panth, presenting him to her and said 'Birthday' which was the following morning. I can't remember this myself but it does sound like something I may do if I found something of that size that I wanted to buy at a later date, only this time I'd use a stepladder that they leave around the store. xD

In terms of sleeping you might want to find out if he keeps waking through the night. I literally looked like Fat Tony out of the Simpsons for years until I got diagnosed, when the TA at school suggested that I try playing music while I slept to drown out any sounds that would wake me, a tap dripping or the sound of the dog moving around the house. It did help significantly and I lost the extra eye baggage. The hammock has been doing wonders for my back as for some reason all of the stress that I have sleeping on my bed (its like a marine's been doing a knot tying course on my back ) has vanished, leaving me way more relaxed. I guess its finding out what makes him tick or bothers him, then you can tune out all of the things that might not be helping him.

Or it could be he has bad dreams? I don't neccessarily have nightmares, but 'normal' dreams like being in a weird place or even being in school in an exam (similar to dreams my mum has explained are normal to most) scare me half to death, because I have no control or any idea whats going to happen, so what I'd do is sort of plan my dream, usually basing it on a cartoon or tv show and trying to make new episodes in my head. I literally made a new series of Jackie Chan Adventures in my head for at least 3 months xD but it did stop the werid dreams.

P.S. Do I still have to pay royalties to Jackie Chan Adventures if I use it for dreams? If I do then I owe them and many other shows/movies a small forturne.

Hiya :)

Hows your weekend going? ours has been going good Callum had a fab birthday! he had lots of prezzies and even went to a firework show :) Today we noticed something else about Callum and we arent sure if its part of his ways or if its the now 6 year old in him... Basically today he had got money in his cards so we took him to Smyths (a local toy store) we walked around and he said.. i just want to go to mothercare??!!! so i said ok then we will. Me and my husband took him and Callum dived under shelving units in the shop.. he got right underneath then crawled back out clutching a police set!!! it turns out that about 7 weeks ago whilst we were purchasing a car seat for my baby Callum had hid this police set under there so that he could buy it one day!!! When i asked Brad when he got home, Bradley had also done this and knew about the situation! I was shocked and it did make me giggle! but Callum used to do alot of what i call 'secret squirrel' behaviour in his younger years like 2/3 by hiding handfuls of sweets and chocolate. For a while after he then used to do it with food he didnt want to eat, and now it seems hes doing it with toys he wants to buy! i was just wondering about it thats all. Oh and also Callum always has big big black bags around his eyes, he looks so so tired but yet has 11 hours sleep! we were just again wondering if this may be linked? Has such a fabulous weekend so far, feeling very happy and positive about the future for my boys :)

Anime is also something of interest to me Somehow got hooked on Pokemon, Studio Ghibli movies and Ouran High School Host club xD But I have a small group of friends at school who also love anime, maybe its the style of the people or the colours?

Animation is different to anime. Anime is an animated version of an artistic style called manga. Animation applies to anything from 3D animation (as seen in films such as Pixar's 'Finding Nemo' or in recent Star Wars movies) to traditional 2D animation (such as Disney movies 'Lion King' or 'Tarzan').

I like the process as well as the creativity involved in the animation process, so it plays to my main interests.

Would you say that animation is a common interest for people on the spectrum? It is not my area of interest but I know many people with autistic traits (if not a diagnosis) who are obsessed with anime.