Questions about Asperger Syndrome and this website:

QUESTION: What is it like to have Asperger Syndrome?

ANSWER: To a person who has Asperger Syndrome, this maybe a difficult question to answer. Personally, I would like to find out what it is like not to have it. In everyday life, it can feel terrible and so isolated to have Asperger Syndrome, even if you are an adult when usually it can be very easy to fit into society. I still feel paranoid sometimes when I am walking down the street the same way that when I was bullied at school.

QUESTION: How long have you been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome?

ANSWER: I can’t remember the exact date, but I believe it was circa 1996. I just popped down the road to the local autism office and Bob’s your uncle, a diagnosis was more or less made there and then. An autism diagnosis in the family was also made a year prior to this for my nephew, which triggered off the reason for getting diagnosed myself. Whether you were diagnosed last Tuesday or way back in 1958 it does not have much difference as long as you have been diagnosed. I knew someone who was diagnosed as long ago as 1963, and he was probably part of the first generation of children to have been diagnosed in the UK after the National Autistic Society as it later became, when it first opened in 1962. He had been diagnosed longer than I had been alive and I often regard him, as the Asperger Syndrome equivalent of the Father of the House, whose title is given to the longest serving politician in the House of Commons.

QUESTION: Why have you decided to set up a website dedicated to Asperger Syndrome?

ANSWER: I set up my website because I want people to be aware about Asperger Syndrome and autism really is. I have found out, there are a lot of either self-centered or selfish people out there who either can't or won't understand about what people in my position have to go through. As my nephew is autistic, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and create a website that could explain both of these, even though it focuses on Asperger Syndrome. Another reason why I decided to create my own website was to contact parents and people with Asperger Syndrome like myself and talk to them about it. From the emails I have received, it proved that it has been worth creating a website for this purpose. If this website had not existed, I wouldn't have got the chance to communicate with them.

QUESTION: Where did the name Asperger Syndrome comes from?

ANSWER: Hans Asperger, an Austrian scientist in 1944, discovered the syndrome. He found out why children and adults behaved differently from other people and linked it with autism, except that he found that these people had average or above average intelligence. The disability was named after him of course, but would it have had a better ring to if I discovered it for example and it was called Handley Syndrome? Autism however was discovered by Leo Kanner a few years before Asperger. The word “autism” comes from the word “auto”, as in automatic, or doing something by oneself. In this case a person diagnosed has difficulty doing regular things by themselves. Rumour has it that the words Asperger and asparagus are related to each other as both words translate as exactly the same word. Someone also told me that the French word asperge also seems to be a translation for both Asperger and asparagus.

QUESTION: What do I do if I have a comment or question about the website? My question may not have been answered on this page.

ANSWER: Just click here and you can do that on an email. Although comments and questions are very welcome, please note that depending on what the nature of your question is, I may not be able to answer it in as much detail as you requested, due to the fact that I may not know too much about what you are asking. Remember I have only been diagnosed and I do not have a PhD in Asperger Syndrome!

QUESTION: Why have you decided to call your website "Asperger Syndrome - From the Horse's Mouth"?

ANSWER: I wanted people to get the impression that the website was written by the person who suffers from Asperger Syndrome and so it is a personal insight into how I cope with being diagnosed with it. Obviously the phrase "from the horse's mouth" was chosen for the website's title to depict that. The only drawback to the title of the website was whether it would be taken too literally by many people with Asperger Syndrome, but fortunately it hasn’t, although I know that many people diagnosed can take phrases like that too literally. The name was chosen, not for literal purposes, but for the fact that it would be different from other websites instead. There are no mouths of horses to be seen on these pages! If you look at similar websites around the Internet, they are mostly children's websites, created by their parents. I wanted to point out that this website is about me and written by me.

QUESTION: Are you the National Autistic Society or a charity or organisation?

ANSWER: No I am not! This is a personal website, which gives information about Asperger Syndrome and autism from a personal point of view. The links that appear on these pages like charities and other websites are given in good faith, but please note that this website is not linked with any associated charity or organisation. (Although it would have helped with my financial situation, what with how much I get paid at the end of the week!) Click here for the official National Autistic Society website.

QUESTION: I have a son who may have Asperger Syndrome. He shows the signs of the disability from the things he does (e.g. gets upset when things are not in a certain order, finds certain clothes uncomfortable or can memorise numbers or dates etc). I would like to get him diagnosed just to be on the safe side but how do I do it?

ANSWER: The best way to get your son or daughter diagnosed is to see a psychologist or a psychiatrist who is trained to understand Asperger Syndrome. Digby Tantum and Tony Attwood are two of the best people in the Asperger Syndrome field, although Dr Attwood is far too busy to diagnose children with Asperger Syndrome as there is thousands of children and only one Dr Attwood. Most hospitals do have psychologists or psychiatrists who are qualified to diagnose anyone with any autistic traits. Your family doctor will not be able to make a diagnosis, as he is there to make people better and only to diagnose illnesses (e.g. flu, stomach pains etc). However he may refer you onto a specialist who can diagnose like the ones mentioned above. And don’t forget to find out where your nearest National Autistic Society branch is. They will help you try and get the best special needs for your child. Click here to find out where your nearest branch of the NAS is in the United Kingdom.

QUESTION: How did the idea for this website come about?

ANSWER: Well, back in June 2000, I noticed that nearly every company or person had his or her own website. To a point, I felt a bit isolated about this. So one Monday afternoon, I decided to start my own website so I could get a share of the action on the Internet. Firstly I looked at some of the search engines for some of the best Internet companies that provided a service to help you build your own website. Usually I use the search engines that you just type in one word and it will send up thousands of websites relating to that word. As I wanted to be precise over what I was looking for, I made my query into a question. I decided to use Ask Jeeves, which gives search results in answer to questions being asked. I typed in “how do I start building my own website?” One of the many answers that the search engine gave me was Webspawner, which I decided to use for my website. I decided to create the website about Asperger Syndrome that we all know and love! Over the months it has grown to quite a few pages that I decided to go further.

QUESTION: What are your political views? I have read your page about politics, so I suppose that’s already answered my question then.

ANSWER: Well, generally I support many Conservative views, as they seem more relevant to me than the Labour ones. I was more or less forced to vote Labour in my first General Election back in 1997 as I come from a Labour dominated family and area. Believe you and me; I felt a very bitter taste in my mouth coming from the polling station that day! In June 2001 I voted for the local Conservative candidate, but sadly the incumbent Labour candidate won instead and he has held the same seat to this very day. Labour have literally messed up the local government where I live causing crime and anti social behaviour to increase. When the then right-wing Labour Home Secretary Jack Straw irresponsibly allowed two convicted paedophiles to be released from Nottingham Prison in 1999 and to live in an area near Primary schools, playgrounds and children’s homes, it caused violent riots and anti-social behaviour in many areas of Nottingham by vigilante parents, as documented in the BBC’s Inside Story programme, I thought that being a Labour supporter is like being a National Front supporter, so I decided definitely that I wouldn’t have anything to do them and be a Conservative voter in future. It seems ironic that the Conservatives have the good areas and Labour have the bad ones! I have agreed with the Conservatives with keeping the pound, as adopting the Euro would add more confusion to my everyday life that is already hectic as it is! It was Angela Browning; the Tiverton and Honiton based Conservative MP who actually raised the issue of Asperger Syndrome in parliament, so she has a lot to answer for! We are lucky to have so many good Conservative politicians doing an excellent job in Westminster, just like the aforementioned Ms Browning and also Julie Kirkbride, the Bromsgrove based MP – it would be a travesty if they, like many others lost their seats at the next General Election. With Michael Howard as the new party leader and a long established Member of Parliament ruling the roost, hopefully he should go fast forward into the next General Election and hopefully beyond it as well. Even going back over twenty years, Cecil Parkinson, the Conservative politician in the Margaret Thatcher government, now Lord Parkinson had an affair with Sara Keays and an illegitimate daughter born as a result was later diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome as well, an ironic incident. I often think of myself as a very conservative person (with a small “c”, like most others who have been diagnosed), but a big “C” isn’t far off the truth either! You may think that if you saw a picture of what I looked like, a bit of stubble on the face and all that, you would probably say that, “you don’t look like the kind of supporter like you said on this page”, but we are all different as they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover, can you?

QUESTION: We hear from time to time news reports about people who have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, making the news for the wrong reasons (usually crime associated), and also their diagnosis is often mentioned in the reports. Does the association between Asperger Syndrome and crime bother you?

ANSWER: Yes, it does bother me quite a bit. Although I do welcome the mention of Asperger Syndrome in newspaper reports, but when it is for negative reasons, (murder, armed robbery, etc), it does bother me. This has actually happened a few times in the past that this website has been on the Internet. An incident that happened in July 2001 (which we will call the Controversial Coincidence, so as not to give any detail about the situation), is one such example, which I tried not to have a minority opinion on a topical news story with ironic consequences. For those who know little about Asperger Syndrome, it bothers me when they first hear about it in a news report about a man being sentenced for murder or rape, such as the case of this man. What I am worried about is the fact that all people diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome maybe branded as criminals by vigilantes just because they have been diagnosed and I certainly do not want that to happen, God forbid. The last thing that I would want is to be called a murderer or a rapist while walking down the street if word got around about the diagnosis. In the area where I live, this would look even bad for someone like myself. I do not want to see people being put off the chance of having an Asperger Syndrome diagnosis just because of links between crime and what they maybe diagnosed with. You could say that in the past I have been put off the things that I want to do because of things or people who are, shall we say an obstruction to my life. Ironically I feel that my diagnosis feels like a life sentence that will never end, except the fact that I have never committed a crime to have “deserved” to be put in this position. I am sure that many people in the same situation would agree with me.

QUESTION: I may find some of the content of the website offensive of misleading. What are you going to do about it?

ANSWER: I do my best to make sure that the information given is accurate and inoffensive. However there maybe times when I get things wrong, inaccurate or even slightly offend visitors to the website. If this is the case, I do apologise profusely and I will either amend of withdraw the page, article, or word seen on the website. The last thing that I want to do is to offend or mislead people and I can understand that Asperger Syndrome is a sensitive subject to write about. A few times people have complained about words like “sufferer” and “ignorant” were being used, but these words are not meant to be used in an offensive manner. Political correctness almost springs to mind here. I, like other people, have critics and judges who say that what I am doing is wrong, or why should I have my own website and all that. I am over 18 years old, so what is wrong with expressing my own opinions on life? There maybe cases where I disagree with their complaint and so the page or article is not amended or withdrawn as I think that there is nothing wrong with it, but it is given consideration each time it may happen. Fortunately this has only happened so far about half a dozen times in the last few years. Hopefully any mistakes made can help to learn more for the future and make the website more improved in future.

QUESTION: What about the use of humour on the website? Can it be a way of causing offence?

ANSWER: Some emails that I have received in the past have explored this point, saying that it can be offensive. It is the old classic “does he take sugar” phenomenon, where it is acceptable to ridicule someone – if you are ridiculing yourself, that is. Sounds offensive? Let me put it in another way… Let’s say that a person was called four eyes – by someone who already wears glasses! That is slightly more acceptable, as it becomes an in-joke. You’ll never hear Lenny Henry or Meera Syal being called racists because they tell jokes about black or Asian people – as they are black and Asian themselves! I do apoligise if any jokes similar to what I just explained on the website can be offensive, but if you read newspapers you are bound to find jokes ridiculing the recent news – that is called satire. Personally I think that I maybe politically incorrect, but I am usually not offensive.