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| Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 10:13 #33176 | |
onlydjw
456 posts |
Dear all, As some of you know, I suffer from a form of Autism called Aspergers Syndrome, which, basically means I stuggle with social interaction, and often misunderstand and misinterpret things. (For those who don't know about it, there's plenty of theoretical information out there). However, I've become increasingly frustrated with the amount of theoretical versions (nothing to do with Simsig) of what I suffer from, and how it affects me. I've decidied that I want to do something about this, and I've started writing a kind of blog, and a kind of autobiography about my life, and how I perceive things, and how Aspergers affects me in my daily battle. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the times in Simsig, in multiplayer games, or on this forum where I've perhaps upset people, pushed something too far, or acted strangely - I often don't realise what I've done wrong until long after it's happened. I'm also aware that I've caused issues relating to the Simsig work/testing I do, and it's the time at the moment between roles, and the experience of the realisation of what's been happening that has led to into writing about my experiences. I'm also aware that I might ask many questions - one think I find very difficult is getting a "grey" answer - I struggle with things which aren't "black" or "white" - and so many of the recent reponses to my questions have been "grey" to me! The real query I have is that I'm not sure about the best way to "publish" my information. I know some of you are into blogs and similar things - can anyone give me advice on such media forms please. Thanks. God bless, Daniel Wilson Last edited: 20/06/2012 at 10:21 by onlydjw Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 12:18 #33177 | |
Josie
310 posts |
No-one should ever have to apologise for having an autistic spectrum condition (or any impairment for that matter) - it's society's labelling of them as different and difficult that's the problem, not the individual. Besides, I think it's probably safe to say there's a significantly higher proportion of us in the railway world than in the general population  In fact I personally tend to find it easier to communicate around 'railway people' just by virtue of the sort of people they tend to be, and that I feel much less likely to be being judged for the way I might communicate or the sort of things I'm interested in. What I'm getting at is that I don't think you should see it as a barrier except to the extent that it's society that has problems, not individuals.As for publishing - it depends on the format you want. If you want it to be in a journal style, something with regular updates about your life or separate unconnected things you want to write about, then set it up as a blog. There are lots of blogging websites - Blogger and Wordpress are the two main free ones. But if you want it to be a reference site or general resource, something with a fairly static layout which you can add content to and extra pages when you need them, you should build it as a website in its own right. Google Sites is easy to use, especially if you've already got a Google Account. There are hundreds of other free hosting sites, but with varying levels of intrusive advertising and malware - Google's safe and simple. Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 13:44 #33178 | |
Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Interesting, my son was diagnosed with this some years ago and it's been a struggle at times - partly I believe because it's reasonably mild so it's not that obvious, save that he behaves sufficiently "oddly" to have loads of problem with his peers. Others with more obvious symptoms seem to be tolerated more. Whether by virtue of medical dictionaritus or not, having seen how he ticks, I do wonder at times whether I also have it (albeit in maybe an even milder form) thinking back. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 15:10 #33181 | |
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TimB2010
77 posts |
" said:Interesting, my son was diagnosed with this some years ago and it's been a struggle at times - partly I believe because it's reasonably mild so it's not that obvious, save that he behaves sufficiently "oddly" to have loads of problem with his peers. Others with more obvious symptoms seem to be tolerated more.Peter, this experience is by no means uncommon - I have recently been diagnosed as being dyspraxic (otherwise known as Development Co-ordination Disorder, or in the bad old days, "Clumsy Child Syndrome"). Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, for me, it is also reasonably mild - the most obvious manifestations are that I broke a lot of bones when I was a child (pretty much every joint in my arms at one time or another...) and I still cannot ride a bike. Anyway, it turns out that my mother has started to suspect she may have an even milder form of it. I don't know much about your situation or your son's difficulty, but I would imagine that these things can run in families - certainly based on my experience. Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 15:14 #33182 | |
GeoffM
6376 posts |
" said:Dear all,I think we have plenty of characters on here with undiagnosed issues! But in all seriousness, I never noticed anything different about you, and I'm sure plenty of other people get funny about things happening in multiplayers that they don't like. There's certainly no need to apologise for it. Good luck with the blog or whatever you decide to do. SimSig Boss Log in to reply The following users said thank you: postal, Stephen Fulcher |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 15:41 #33184 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Have you read "Raising Martians" byTony Attwood? I've not yet but my wife has started to, it's a book written by a chap with Aspergers about his experiences etc. Peter Sorry Tony Attwood wrote the forward - the author was Joshua Muggleton. I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Last edited: 20/06/2012 at 17:45 by Peter Bennet Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 16:27 #33191 | |
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Kage
65 posts |
Visit any train-related forum, and there seems to be more than average # of aspies there. It sounds like a stereotype, but its true! I should know, cause I'm one! :P It tends to show up when I write long rambling posts about things that are only really interesting to me, *cough* http://kage-ephemera.blogspot.ca/ *cough*, especially odd considering that otherwise I hate writing :) And of course, when your only communication is online text, you lose most of the subtleties you would normally get in a face to face conversation. A few book recommendations: Anything by Tony Atwood is good, and John Elder Robinson has written some good books about his life. I also found this free one http://www.asdstuff.com/grats.html which I liked. Finally check out http://www.wrongplanet.net/ forums, they're very good... Last edited: 20/06/2012 at 16:31 by Kage Reason: Added Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 18:26 #33195 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
" said:Following what TimB said about possible hereditary aspect, which is something I'd not really considered before, and having just read a bit of that book linked above, I've considered it a bit more. Around page 18 there's a bit about engineers having a very high incidence. Now both my Grandparents owned engineering firms, my father was a Doctor who read differential calculus text books as light reading material and my mother was a Chemist. I Studied Engineering but work in Tax Policy (there are certain parallels) and to top that my Wife's father was a railway S&T engineer and my wife studied engineering though works as an Auditor (again parallels) So what chance had the wee fella....? all the genes have become concentrated! Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 20:06 #33207 | |
postal
5264 posts 
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Looks like we are all in this together then (as you may have guessed from some of my intemperate moments when posting here). If only there was diagnosis rather than a clip round the ear when I was a kid 50 years ago I'm sure I could have lived the life of Riley.
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 20/06/2012 at 22:48 #33211 | |
BarryM
2158 posts |
" said:Looks like we are all in this together then (as you may have guessed from some of my intemperate moments when posting here). If only there was diagnosis rather than a clip round the ear when I was a kid 50 years ago I'm sure I could have lived the life of Riley.John, I never got a clip around the ear, but I felt the strap. lol! Barry Barry, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 21/06/2012 at 07:25 #33213 | |
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GoochyB
222 posts |
Another +1 from me. On the hereditary side I see it to varying degrees in my father, myself and my son (and my wife who is a Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator regularly points autistic traits out in us). Occupationally I was an auditor with particular emphasis on technical accounting, and am now a tax advisor trying to interpret Peter's tax policies! Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 21/06/2012 at 08:08 #33214 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
I don't want to worry/disappoint/upset the self-diagnosing parents on here, but ticking off the diagnostic criteria and realising you fit enough of them isn't uncommon. I recall when my psychotherapy training group looked at some diagnostic criteria; within 10 minutes the trainer had 8 each of borderline and narcissistic personality disorder on her hands (not to mention the 12 dissociative identity disorders :-)). (OK, I exaggerate a little... but you get the idea). Apparently it happens with medical students as well, all of whom diagnose at least 20 life-threatening conditions in themselves (plus a host of merely serious ones) during their training. But perhaps the more serious point - at least so far as psychological issues are concerned - is that virtually every issue I've ever seen exists on a continuum. More to the point, I think most of them are essentially aspects of being human, and some of us have certain characteristics more strongly than others. There's a tremendous debate going on in the psychological professions at the moment around diagnosis (including a nice article in today's Grauniad), with many of us feeling that the American Psychiatric Association are busy trying to medicalise everyday life in their proposals for the new Diagnostic & Statistical Manual ("grief" as a psychiatric diagnosis anyone, with a whole pharmacopoeia of (highly profitable) drugs to treat it?) "Diagnosis" is great when it leads to a degree of understanding and a bit of support, but the labelling that often goes with it can be very dangerous and is often dehumanising. Daniel, I think your blog would be a great idea simply to make the whole thing more human - there is no substitute, ever, for the real experience of a real person. Go for it mate!! Log in to reply The following user said thank you: postal |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 22/06/2012 at 09:25 #33236 | |
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onlydjw
456 posts |
Many thanks to those who've replied, and if I haven't replied to the PM's - it's because I'm not really sure what to put. I've re-written this reply 2 or 3 times already, as I'm aware I'm saying things I shouldn't have. Unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse this week in regards to situations which have affected my health. I've twice found myself feeling physically ill after stressful situations which I've not been able to understand. I intend to write my blog, but I hope to be able to do it at a time where my mind is in a better place. Whilst I'd like to be able to write it in between other things like simisg testing, it's unfortunate that everything seems to have dried up until I've managed to find some info I'm missing or not understanding regarding how some things work in order to be able to test them properly. I find myself back in the situation where the things I turn to as my hobby to get away from the stresses of work and homelife (the wonders of a family business means they kind of go together) just add to it. If anyone who understands route checking in Simisg, and how it works and how to test it properly rather than just randomly can help me, I'd be most greatful. I've tried asking 5 or 6 people privately so far in the last month or so since I hit a problem, and as yet, nobody has been able to help me. Aside from that, this weekend, will be trying to find something to do to get away from things, without getting stressed by doing it, or by having nothing. (Mods - would it be worth re-naming this topic to something like "Asperger's Discussion" or similar, since that's what it's turned into?) God bless, Daniel Wilson Last edited: 22/06/2012 at 09:30 by onlydjw Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 22/06/2012 at 11:45 #33241 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Sorry to hear of your difficulties. At the risk of exacerbating the situation what exactly do you mean by "route checking"? There is a SimSig tool for "route checking" which Developers have access to but I'd not expect you to have and you'd need the source data files. Are you trying to do something outwith the remit of a tester, in which case don't.... Discuss with the Developer before getting distressed about it. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 22/06/2012 at 15:29 #33247 | |
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GeoffM
6376 posts |
You can ask for the route ID list from the developer (the compiler spits this out as part of the compilation process). With the signal IDs and the knowledge that routes are supposed to be labelled from left to right as A-Z (ie R1A is the left most route) you can systematically work through whatever you need to check with the routes. Maybe put it into Excel or something.
SimSig Boss Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 22/06/2012 at 19:13 #33263 | |
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Stephen Fulcher
2078 posts |
Not a lot of help to the end user because I would imagine that such issues would be ironed out before any release, but a list of routes which should work issued by a developer to his testers would logically help. At least that way, testers would be able to verify that for instance Signal 102 routes 102A(M), 102B(M), 102B(C), 102C(M), 102C(W) etc. all work. For those interested, 102 is the signal number, the letter A, B, and C effectively indicates the target line, with A being the leftmost, and the letter in brackets the class of route (M=Main, C=Call-on, S=Shunt, and W=Warning). As a side issue, it would be interesting if the Incident Control Panel could be modified to allow a signal to be restricted only by a specific route rather than in its entirety, for example to prevent the A route from working, simulating the failure of the route indicator concerned. Last edited: 22/06/2012 at 19:15 by Stephen Fulcher Log in to reply |
| Re: Blog Type Idea 27/06/2012 at 10:29 #33433 | |
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onlydjw
456 posts |
Many thanks for the ideas regarding "route checking" - after finally being able to discuss this with the right person at the weekend, what I was looking for advice on what is apparently termed "location checking" - so hence some of the confusion (to me I am checking the routing of the train, to SimSig it is checking the location is valid for the route). Whilst I'm not 100% confident, I've got some ideas to look at once I've checked the latest core code updates haven't caused any issues! God bless, Daniel Wilson Last edited: 27/06/2012 at 10:31 by onlydjw Log in to reply |