I am really interested in all your ASD thoughts and surprising how many people have personal experience of it in their families. Snuggly I hadn't actually thought about it from the teacher's point of view (beyond Reception/ year 1). But yes, the fine judging of a joke is exactly the kind of thing that can be problematic and must be tricky for staff to manage to everyone's satisfaction when it is not meant to cause offence.
TBH, ASD or not, I am not excited about having teenagers! It's a hard time with hormones etc and then for kids now life never switches off. I am very glad I grew up before social media! There will be strict screen access rules in my house, that's for sure.
Need you are definitely right that people with ASD can be very successful. I know many personally (mostly through college /science). It would be interesting for me to know what they were like as children - I have no frame of reference for a kid like DS at 4 and the range of life skills that such a child may attain as an adult. I do believe that hard work (from parent and child) can make a massive difference though. I am realising that it requires heroic levels of emotional intelligence, empathy and real persistence from the parents to get the best from their child though (probably true of all parenting but with knobs on!) and your SIL must feel very proud of how far your DN has come.
em no picture if the nails but they sound great. I like having nice nails but hate having them fiddled with by other people. So diy or nothing for me, and mostly nothing as usually one or two are broken. Must stop doing the washing up 
Mammy a bit of selective high maintenance is good if it makes you feel happier about squaring up to the world. Money well spent.
Night all.