A couple of weeks ago, I was buying petrol and I mentioned to the console operator that I'm autistic and showed her my autism awareness card. She said, "Oh, and hen mentioned that her son is autistic and she suspects her daughter will be, too. I have met people who say to me, "But you don't look autistic?" Well, sorry, but telling me I don't look autistic doesn't mean I'm not.

I can't memorise a deck of cards, but I can calculate dates and tell you what day of the week an event occurred if I have the day, month and year. I can tell you about famous people I share my birthday with. I can tell you how the smell of cigarette smoke, strong perfume or other things drive me crazy, and how I hate loud music.

You might see me talking to people and think, "What? How can he be autistic?" With the right people and in the right environment, I can be okay." This Christmas just gone, I went to my brother's brother-in-law's house for a bit with my family. I stayed for an hour, I went home to the dog, had something to eat, read a couple of chapters of my book and went back and stayed for another hour and a half and they were happy that I returned. My brother's sister-in-law and her sister are both social workers and I sat and talked to my brother's sister-in-law and her sister a bit. I spoke a bit to his brother-in-law and what got us talking was, he has a Nissan Silvia project car, and a Nissan Patrol and I have a special interest in Japan. So, we talked about that. Also, he had a Makita stereo.

I say that functioning levels can be like RRMS. How? Well, a person with RRMS has a flare-up and they might be very tired and unable to get around well, but after a few repeated attacks, they might have some optic neuritis that has left them legally blind in one eye and some loss of sensation in their feet. So, when in remission, they might still be able to walk, so you might think, "What? That person hasn't got MS." But they have.

I remember a kid I went to school with said that he could have imagined me in a room with headbangers all headbanging, and I'd have my fingers in my ears in the corner. And, yes, that would be right. But, in a quiet environment, I'm good.