[Anonymous37919]

Hi, everyone.

I was diagnosed in 2007 as having PDD-NOS after many years of getting bullied online and I lost a job in 2006 for assaulting a girl in a shop where I was an employee alongside of her.

A company called Autism Initiatives has provided me an outreach service since 2008. Because I get lonely, I often use escorts and I am very fond of certain support personnel. My anxiety issues mean I struggle to gain personal associates. They monitor me closely, though. They think I have unhealthy attachments to certain people and I often give myself away by revealing that I like them, even if I am only saying nice things about their personalities. It all gets logged.

I spent years looking for a woman who had been my only girlfriend, besides another girl I knew briefly in 2008. I first met this person as a teenager in 2005 and back then, it was not really a relationship but more of a joke. Looking for her whereabouts proved tough. But when I eventually conversed with her on Facebook again in 2012 and she met up with me, she soon used me for my money and well, you should be able to get a picture in your mind of what financial abuse I went through. There was more than enough of it, too. I have sporadically seen her off and on since, but just as a pal.

This past year however, I have gone through hell because I lost two females from my support team, one of whom was my key worker - a lovely Spanish lady.

The reason they took the first woman away from me was because I got a bit infatuated with her when she supported me once in front of my abusive ex-girlfriend and then I got crazy, desperate thoughts and sent her a text message asking her on a date, which probably made her feel discomfort. I am well aware that support workers are professionals and we must all respect the boundaries, but I definitely think she is way more of a woman than my former partner is. Plus, like myself and I know this, but she loves cats.

Well, they did give me one shift with her again in the summer of 2013 and that was it. I was fed up with these alleged excuses about where she was after that, because I actually believe a former senior had been lying on purpose and I was promised more shifts. So I got silly once and talked about her on Facebook, but she reported me. That was that. It was my fault for being impulsive instead of waiting, but yes - I do reckon I was being lied to and it just got inside my head.

However, with the Spanish lady, I confessed I had feelings for her last year which were not appropriate and she was told this because I let others know. Then she just was not the same after it was leaked out in the end that she was aware of the feelings I had for once, after I sent her a cute text message. She was acting more firm around me afterwards-almost very mean-and eventually, her seniors took her off as my key worker in February. To preserve my feelings however, they were dishonest and gave me a spin about how she was just busy. Blah. Blah. Blah. Recently, they confessed that the matter was not handled too well and that lying to me was not right (sort of).

Because I did not want to lose either of these ladies, I wound up getting charged and I was presented with an undertaking in July following an incident I carried out when my former key worker had upset me. However, I wound up getting arrested two more times in July for sending the ladies vulgar messages on Facebook which were of a sexual nature. It bugged me that I only got to say sorry one time in front of the boss, but I was disallowed to have any further support shifts with them.

I also told one of the ladies I obtained her address details online and when I was arrested on 17 July, two police officers saw me near where she lives and assumed I had been trying to stalk her.

Because I was due in court on 12 August, I ended up remanded in custody after I was harassing my former key worker during the last week of July. For the first time ever, I was held in prison. I was released after a fortnight and soon wound up arrested again, this time just for apologizing to the women on Facebook. I had run off, but with nowhere to go, I would get exhausted eventually and have to easily be arrested. Then I was bailed, but I apologized to them again a few weeks later. This resulted in me being jailed again until a hearing in September took place. My money was stopped too, so I had to reclaim the benefits. It has been a real carry on.

I have a deferred sentencing date of 19 December. I do not know when I can go back to my flat and the police took my laptop to inspect it. It is meant to be quite soon, I believe, that I can reside at my flat again. It is a flat I rent, with support workers using flat 1 as an office and I lived in flat 2 until 28 July. The court had me living with my family and I was banned from staying there for ages. If any mail went there, someone had to collect it on my behalf.

I really miss these ladies, so I feel agitated a lot. Why did this have to happen to me after all the grief I went through over the past dozen years? Even after all this junk unfolded, the agency will never, ever choose to reinstate them. The court also put non harassment orders in place. That is painfully harsh.

God.

[sabby]

Bumping thread for member.

[Douglas MacNeill]

Originally Posted by Peter A

Hi, everyone.

I was diagnosed in 2007 as having PDD-NOS after many years of getting bullied online and I lost a job in 2006 for assaulting a girl in a shop where I was an employee alongside of her.

A company called Autism Initiatives has provided me an outreach service since 2008. Because I get lonely, I often use escorts and I am very fond of certain support personnel. My anxiety issues mean I struggle to gain personal associates. They monitor me closely, though. They think I have unhealthy attachments to certain people and I often give myself away by revealing that I like them, even if I am only saying nice things about their personalities. It all gets logged.

I spent years looking for a woman who had been my only girlfriend, besides another girl I knew briefly in 2008. I first met this person as a teenager in 2005 and back then, it was not really a relationship but more of a joke. Looking for her whereabouts proved tough. But when I eventually conversed with her on Facebook again in 2012 and she met up with me, she soon used me for my money and well, you should be able to get a picture in your mind of what financial abuse I went through. There was more than enough of it, too. I have sporadically seen her off and on since, but just as a pal.

This past year however, I have gone through hell because I lost two females from my support team, one of whom was my key worker - a lovely Spanish lady.

The reason they took the first woman away from me was because I got a bit infatuated with her when she supported me once in front of my abusive ex-girlfriend and then I got crazy, desperate thoughts and sent her a text message asking her on a date, which probably made her feel discomfort. I am well aware that support workers are professionals and we must all respect the boundaries, but I definitely think she is way more of a woman than my former partner is. Plus, like myself and I know this, but she loves cats.

Well, they did give me one shift with her again in the summer of 2013 and that was it. I was fed up with these alleged excuses about where she was after that, because I actually believe a former senior had been lying on purpose and I was promised more shifts. So I got silly once and talked about her on Facebook, but she reported me. That was that. It was my fault for being impulsive instead of waiting, but yes - I do reckon I was being lied to and it just got inside my head.

However, with the Spanish lady, I confessed I had feelings for her last year which were not appropriate and she was told this because I let others know. Then she just was not the same after it was leaked out in the end that she was aware of the feelings I had for once, after I sent her a cute text message. She was acting more firm around me afterwards-almost very mean-and eventually, her seniors took her off as my key worker in February. To preserve my feelings however, they were dishonest and gave me a spin about how she was just busy. Blah. Blah. Blah. Recently, they confessed that the matter was not handled too well and that lying to me was not right (sort of).

Because I did not want to lose either of these ladies, I wound up getting charged and I was presented with an undertaking in July following an incident I carried out when my former key worker had upset me. However, I wound up getting arrested two more times in July for sending the ladies vulgar messages on Facebook which were of a sexual nature. It bugged me that I only got to say sorry one time in front of the boss, but I was disallowed to have any further support shifts with them.

I also told one of the ladies I obtained her address details online and when I was arrested on 17 July, two police officers saw me near where she lives and assumed I had been trying to stalk her.

Because I was due in court on 12 August, I ended up remanded in custody after I was harassing my former key worker during the last week of July. For the first time ever, I was held in prison. I was released after a fortnight and soon wound up arrested again, this time just for apologizing to the women on Facebook. I had run off, but with nowhere to go, I would get exhausted eventually and have to easily be arrested. Then I was bailed, but I apologized to them again a few weeks later. This resulted in me being jailed again until a hearing in September took place. My money was stopped too, so I had to reclaim the benefits. It has been a real carry on.

I have a deferred sentencing date of 19 December. I do not know when I can go back to my flat and the police took my laptop to inspect it. It is meant to be quite soon, I believe, that I can reside at my flat again. It is a flat I rent, with support workers using flat 1 as an office and I lived in flat 2 until 28 July. The court had me living with my family and I was banned from staying there for ages. If any mail went there, someone had to collect it on my behalf.

I really miss these ladies, so I feel agitated a lot. Why did this have to happen to me after all the grief I went through over the past dozen years? Even after all this junk unfolded, the agency will never, ever choose to reinstate them. The court also put non harassment orders in place. That is painfully harsh.

God.

It's never easy to face some of the sudden social boundaries
that are out there. It can be even more difficult for third
parties to believe phrases such as "I didn't mean it this way!"
Having said that, what happened is what happened. Learn from
this, and move on. There's nothing that can be done anymore.
Give them time, and give yourself time. That's all I can offer
you for now.

[CompleteNerd]

Originally Posted by Peter A

Hi, everyone.

I was diagnosed in 2007 as having PDD-NOS after many years of getting bullied online and I lost a job in 2006 for assaulting a girl in a shop where I was an employee alongside of her.

A company called Autism Initiatives has provided me an outreach service since 2008. Because I get lonely, I often use escorts and I am very fond of certain support personnel. My anxiety issues mean I struggle to gain personal associates. They monitor me closely, though. They think I have unhealthy attachments to certain people and I often give myself away by revealing that I like them, even if I am only saying nice things about their personalities. It all gets logged.

I spent years looking for a woman who had been my only girlfriend, besides another girl I knew briefly in 2008. I first met this person as a teenager in 2005 and back then, it was not really a relationship but more of a joke. Looking for her whereabouts proved tough. But when I eventually conversed with her on Facebook again in 2012 and she met up with me, she soon used me for my money and well, you should be able to get a picture in your mind of what financial abuse I went through. There was more than enough of it, too. I have sporadically seen her off and on since, but just as a pal.

This past year however, I have gone through hell because I lost two females from my support team, one of whom was my key worker - a lovely Spanish lady.

The reason they took the first woman away from me was because I got a bit infatuated with her when she supported me once in front of my abusive ex-girlfriend and then I got crazy, desperate thoughts and sent her a text message asking her on a date, which probably made her feel discomfort. I am well aware that support workers are professionals and we must all respect the boundaries, but I definitely think she is way more of a woman than my former partner is. Plus, like myself and I know this, but she loves cats.

Well, they did give me one shift with her again in the summer of 2013 and that was it. I was fed up with these alleged excuses about where she was after that, because I actually believe a former senior had been lying on purpose and I was promised more shifts. So I got silly once and talked about her on Facebook, but she reported me. That was that. It was my fault for being impulsive instead of waiting, but yes - I do reckon I was being lied to and it just got inside my head.

However, with the Spanish lady, I confessed I had feelings for her last year which were not appropriate and she was told this because I let others know. Then she just was not the same after it was leaked out in the end that she was aware of the feelings I had for once, after I sent her a cute text message. She was acting more firm around me afterwards-almost very mean-and eventually, her seniors took her off as my key worker in February. To preserve my feelings however, they were dishonest and gave me a spin about how she was just busy. Blah. Blah. Blah. Recently, they confessed that the matter was not handled too well and that lying to me was not right (sort of).

Because I did not want to lose either of these ladies, I wound up getting charged and I was presented with an undertaking in July following an incident I carried out when my former key worker had upset me. However, I wound up getting arrested two more times in July for sending the ladies vulgar messages on Facebook which were of a sexual nature. It bugged me that I only got to say sorry one time in front of the boss, but I was disallowed to have any further support shifts with them.

I also told one of the ladies I obtained her address details online and when I was arrested on 17 July, two police officers saw me near where she lives and assumed I had been trying to stalk her.

Because I was due in court on 12 August, I ended up remanded in custody after I was harassing my former key worker during the last week of July. For the first time ever, I was held in prison. I was released after a fortnight and soon wound up arrested again, this time just for apologizing to the women on Facebook. I had run off, but with nowhere to go, I would get exhausted eventually and have to easily be arrested. Then I was bailed, but I apologized to them again a few weeks later. This resulted in me being jailed again until a hearing in September took place. My money was stopped too, so I had to reclaim the benefits. It has been a real carry on.

I have a deferred sentencing date of 19 December. I do not know when I can go back to my flat and the police took my laptop to inspect it. It is meant to be quite soon, I believe, that I can reside at my flat again. It is a flat I rent, with support workers using flat 1 as an office and I lived in flat 2 until 28 July. The court had me living with my family and I was banned from staying there for ages. If any mail went there, someone had to collect it on my behalf.

I really miss these ladies, so I feel agitated a lot. Why did this have to happen to me after all the grief I went through over the past dozen years? Even after all this junk unfolded, the agency will never, ever choose to reinstate them. The court also put non harassment orders in place. That is painfully harsh.

God.

Oh my God! I do sympathize with you for what you have gone through but at the same time I feel envious that you have so much expert care to help you through this. In the U.S. it's pretty much "you're own your own, pal. Good Luck with that."

[VB1313]

Yeah we're all so cute until we hit 18, then it's "enjoy your alleyway, kid, we're done with you."

I dunno, I'm always afraid of coming off the wrong way, in the blue collar town I grew up in, I was accused of lots of things that were... a surprise to me when I found out about them. I dunno, I've never been in legal trouble because I avoid situations where I could be taken the wrong way. It's so frustrating to be misunderstood, I just stopped trying... I'm not recommending you do that, of course, because it's also terribly lonely.

They think we're so adorable as kids, don't they? But hit 18 and you're a creep... you can see it in that slideshow of their faces.

I don't know what to tell you though, just... well, realize that regular people just aren't terribly friendly, and you have to avoid doing what they consider being "clingy" even if it makes you feel like you're working without a net. Right, easier said than done, I know...

[tipper1492]

Mr. Peter A,
I feel the need to respectively point out, I find you have great misunderstandings, with the way you see your responsibilities concerning these women. What their job has, or had, to do with you has nothing to do with making a relationship other than their job performance. I feel confident they found it very difficult to perform the job they were there for. To "talk silly" about someone on face book does not sound too cool to me. I'm at a loss why she/they did not put a block on you there. What ever all this was/is about - "you can't always get what you want."

[Anonymous37919]

I will NEVER get to work with Sara and Joanna again, so that's that. I won't be getting a new key worker either, as I don't really trust these support people any longer and they all move on at some stage anyway, but it was all cruel. They constantly act like I can just get a new set of workers because in their view, the help matters more than the helpers and while that argument raises fair points, it's a matter of one's personality befitting your comfort zone. In other words, if they feel you will get attached to one person, they remove him / her and just expect you to not care.

I'm that hurt by what has gone on, I feel my confidence won't be coming back. I suffer anxiety too, especially in social settings and around people in general, something I never had over a decade ago. I was not always like this, but I think the panic attack I had in 2009 changed me. And they were kind of like my whole life (the caregivers) and so losing them has dealt a nasty blow.

[tipper1492]

I have no idea if "attached" is the right word you wish to express? I thought you said earlier you would like to have more than a patient, and professional council cessions in order to help you with your mental illness. Nothing about what they do in their private lives is any of your business, or any other patients. I thought you were trying to get closer than what their job requires them to do. Their business practices do not allow that.

Why did you "entertain" them on FB?

[Anonymous37919]

Well, I miss them a lot. That's why I kept chasing them. As foolish as that was, I felt my life was empty with them gone. Because I struggle to mix in with ordinary people, I just like their presence. It is not easy to severe ties with those you grow fond of who only treat it as a job.

That ex-girlfriend is somebody I also love for reasons I cannot fathom. What good did she do for me, ever? Other than escorts, I do not get sex at all. I just have a wee play with myself every day. She on the other hand was artificial, yet I still love her. I love people who ain't even classed as dating material. That's how lonely I am!

Really. Non autistic people won't want me. I already went to a place for autism, albeit not very often, and I never really ever conversed with the ladies, nor was I aware of who was taken nor could I make anybody appear interested. I just feel now I will always be lonely. My confidence is rather low - the worst it has ever been. I cannot be around anyone now, without feeling anxious and struggling to breathe calmly.

[Lexi232]

... I can empathize about loosing someone that's very special in your support system... I also know how "I just feel now I will always be lonely. My confidence is rather low - the worst it has ever been. I cannot be around anyone now, without feeling anxious and struggling to breathe calmly." feels...
It will get better, and it will mend .. you may never have those same special people in your life, but the pain will mend... may take some time... a lot of time... but IT WILL GET BETTER. probably not instantly as we may want it to be... but it also lets us know what not to take for granted when the "clouds"(depression) do lift.

[Anonymous37919]

The trouble is, I still need my support. It makes my day. But how can I trust them? They pretend to agree with my statements, then they all grass me up or say I will get kicked out of my flat if I invite escorts in, when that is none of their beeswax.

That time I feared arrest on 13 August, I was talking to a Sarah Lumsden and she hung up on me to tell a senior I had 'broke my bail terms' by messaging Joanna and Sara. I was scared and all she did was hang up. They were largely ignoring me on things like their Facebook and work e-mail addresses, but I used to put a lot of trust in them.

They would blab but never forewarn me they had to report something I blurted out on a shift or sleepover, and it has got worse, but that is because now that I don't take my support and the judge slapped me with restraining orders, they now act like no-one has to bother helping me. I guess pain can heal; I think so, but it takes ages. They acted like spies.

It feels to me they only care about getting paid.

[tipper1492]

Lexi232 sounds very kind. Truly similar to what you are dealing with. I'm sorry I did not understand the full impact of what you are going through. Now I think I have a better understanding. I truly hope it all heals, and in time I believe it will. You both should feel more confident, and less anxious which many people feel out in the real. Even so called normal people world be the same as you both. I think Peter A and Lexi232 are both good people, and again hope you both do not have to walk down a long road without someone special in your lives. Peter A, be careful not to step on any toes, or cross the lines related to privacy.

[Anonymous37919]

This 2010s era sucks. My own mother was not impressed with the agency either.

[Anonymous37919]

Double post. There is no need to quote full postings.

[tipper1492]

Your mom probably had it right perhaps. Hoping all things improve for your, and you have a wonderful Christmas and Happier New Year.

[Anonymous37919]

Well, they are a nasty piece of work and I talk about them on other web-forums too, like Wrong Planet. But lately, nobody has been responding to my posts, much. I get that my typing style is a bit long and the posts play off like a tangent, but I cannot really snip out little bits of important info, because then it makes explaining the story a little bit harder.

Anyway, I doubt I will be able to get over losing those two support workers because this bugs me now on a daily basis. Before they screwed me over, I had never been in jail.

I had good intentions before; I have good intentions now as well. Now the darn company are saying they cannot help me any more because I quit my support and they are not contracted to help me. It is all BS. They know my sentencing date is coming up, so they are just kicking back to see what will happen.

This guy angered me a few weeks ago. I had asked him to hand me mail near the street where the supported housing is, since I am legally no longer permitted onto the street and they threaten to grass me up to the pigs should I set foot there, but my online purchases go to that address due to my bank card being assigned there. Furthermore, they use the non-harassment orders as a scapegoat now not to bring back my aides. They probably don't want to work with me again anyway. They sent some less than stellar emails to the company's assistant director before, noting all the incidents that made them uncomfortable, yet I just saw a lot of the early issues as being minor mistakes. Example: I asked one of them out one time. It occurred well over a year ago, but there was no need for these two to run roughshod over me just over that!

The thing is, the higher-ups (who we refer to as "Seniors" where I stayed before), are not even attending court next Friday to have my best interests at heart. One of the seniors went before I got remanded, now they are leaving me flat and taken zero interest in my fate. They basically caused this mess. So I get that I had made bad choices along the way, but they lied initially over my former key worker, who I had developed a boyish crush on. Perhaps they thought they did the right thing by removing her, but it still was not right that it happened in the manner that it did. They lied, after all. We could have had a discussion to clear the air. Her attitude in later months stunk too, and all I wanted was to redeem myself. And, I naturally find it quite disturbing how people who enter my life that start off all nice and comforting, eventually end up being venomous and cruel. It has lowered my self-esteem quite badly and I am agoraphobic now.

There are a lot of people in this world who are vastly insensitive, selfish and too caught up in their own pathetic affairs to bother helping those in peril. They would be amongst those type of people, in my eyes. To say I was shafted by the very agency I loved once would be an understatement.

[Lexi232]

on wrongplanet there are probably a lot lurking, but unable to respond. but the way you respond and explain, isnt foreign to us on the spectrum. makes things more clear and gives more of the bigger picture.

.... ive begun to wonder if we might be talking of the same company here.. are they really specialized in autism, or is it kind of one of those places thats a mixes all diagnosis, and not just limited to those on the spectrum?

can you get a card from the post office and fill it out of a changed address? then they will take all the mail going to your old address, to your new address.?

hmm.... i wonder what they meant by "grass you up to the pigs", i take it as it means a not pleasant thing tho.
legally they may not be allowed to step in and help even if they wanted to, due to the case and it could add issues for both them and you if they did.

it may be more acceptable if you have a male support person. usually it is still seen as same sexes are safe with eachother. and theres not that crush or love that can arise out of miscommunication. so that would take that worry of miscommunication out of it, and there wouldnt be that added option of asking out on a date, or anything that may be thought as doing that.

if you have another female as a support person, maybe "clearing the air" up front, being the second or third sentence in the greeting process, and being clear that you need her to clearly state any and all boundaries that you two have. that way there isnt that accidental stepping over an uncertain and invisible boundary. and ask her to write them down if you arent able to clearly remember them later on, that way you can always refer back to these boundaries that are also known as rules.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Anonymous37919]

I don't know about anywhere else, but in Scotland, we call the police pigs if we have a hatred of them. There are other derogatory terms for the fuzz. My mate prefers to call them The Wankers Association. Now and then, he will give them the wank shake sign on his bike, then cut up a narrow alleyway where they cannot follow him. Ha-ha.

Yeah. The rapist perverts fooled me into coming into their van once. They saw me close to where my former aide lives. She threatened to get the police involved for sending her inappropriate messages on Facebook, but I had just been going to apologize and I realized I had been a jerk. That morning, I hesitated to go to her intercom and then they come by just after I exited a park. But I emailed folk with my plan and I sounded a bit depressed, so it lead them to me. But oh well. I will know NOT what to do next time.

Yes. They usually 'detain' you at the station where you cannot run away, to interview you when you find yourself accused of committing a crime. In the event it is e-abuse, they already have the messages saved so their interviewing tactics are just a way to get more info and stall you being released. Once the interview is completed, you get arrested. If you get arrested on a Friday, that is bad, because you can be kept there until the Monday. My friend who lives upstairs from me set fire to rubbish bags and got picked up on a Friday. He only did it because he was anxious, but he wound up not getting out until the following Tuesday or Wednesday because that Monday was a public holiday. Oh, he dined in hell on a marathon run, he did.

Then again, jail is much worse than the police station in several ways, but at least the cells are bigger, with a window, a kettle, a tea pack, a TV and a half decent bed. And a "co-pilot" sometimes shares the cell with you too, one who hopefully is friendly and not just another Bubba. Laugh out loud!

But, yeah. Autism Initiatives is full of lying jerks. A lot of them are as thick as a plank and know nothing about autism. What kind of training do these folk receive anyway? They probably just get word of mouth about the job and passion is not a strong requirement. You know how "supportive" they are when they cannot even be bothered to hand you your mail at the corner of a street you are banned from setting foot on. For all anybody would care. Huh? It is just totally ridiculous and way over the top (formal). But it is them I am referring to, so it hardly surprises me that they like to be awkward.

Fools. Just wait until I hire an advocate in January. Then that charity organization is going to fold faster than a paper aeroplane!

[ManOfConstantSorrow]

It is a terrible situation you find yourself in, and it is a shame that you are apparently not as well supported as person in your position should be. It is no wonder that you seem to be very angry.

Clearly the police/courts are not at all where you should be, and perhaps you have fallen through cracks in the system. However given the situation with your former care workers there may be no other feasible options than the criminal justice system - I find that very disappointing. It may be that you need more support and advice - I see this autism rights group covers all Scotland (despite the 'highlands' in the name): ARGH Perhaps they can help.

I see that Autism Initiatives is a leading charity in the field, but no one is perfect, and it may be that they have official grievance procedures. They have to protect their staff of course, but it may be that they could do more for you.

I would like to thank you for your posts - they have greatly helped my understanding of autism and the problems autistic people face.

[Anonymous37919]

The legal people are dumplings. They presented to me a charge sheet, WITH MY FORMER KEY WORKER'S ADDRESS ON IT!

I am not talking about when the cops found me near a park. That was the other lady. But for a court that does not want you to stalk people, they sure make that easy.

The organization never helped me much in the past few years. I opened my mouth way too much. It was my fault they knew about my gold-digger ex-girlfriend, the escorts I used and more, because I used them like they were buddies. They seemed to care, so I revealed all. BIG MISTAKE!

"Hey Ronald, come hear about my WHOLE LIFE!"

I had to learn the HARD WAY that it is / was just a job to many of them. They took another woman off my team years ago just because I said she was my top support worker, but I never saw any harm in saying something complimentary like that. Then there was this guy (Patrick) who used a name called Bruce Ritchie and sent me nasty emails using Gumtree. Everything they have done has been borderline abusive. But soon, they will get theirs.

[Anonymous37919]

I am just bumping this to ask a favor of a moderator!

Please remove the long quoted parts in posts 2 and 3 and merge this thread with my other one. I may want to print the posts to show to an advocate later on. The quotes are rather lengthy in certain replies.