MONTREAL - Dear Dating Girl: I have something called Asperger Syndrome. This means I cannot pick up on things like body language or facial expressions. As a result, I can feel very lost in social situations. It also makes it very hard to meet women as I can't pick up on signals to know whether a woman is interested or not. Any advice?

Lacking Expression

Dear Lacking: I don't have a lot of experience with Asperger Syndrome and dating, to be honest. I do know that Asperger's is part of the autism spectrum and, as you say, includes symptoms that can make communication difficult. I did come across www. wrongplanet.net, an online community for people (and their loved ones) with Asperger Syndrome, autism, AD-HD and other PDDs (Pervasive Development Disorders).

Relationships are a common topic in the site's forums and there are also contributors and even webisodes of something called Autism Talk TV that regularly deal with relationship issues. I also found a link to an awardwinning feature film called If You Could Say It In Words that tells the story of a man with Asperger's in a relationship. You can see clips of it at: www.ifyoucould-movie.com. Finally, Jessica Kingsley Publishers is an independent publishing house specializing in books on autism and Asperger Syndrome. You can browse their titles at: www. jkp.com.

Dear Dating Girl: I recently discovered that my husband had a five-month affair a couple years ago. We have not been intimate since then (now I guess I know why!) but, should we decide to resume relations, should he be tested? The Mayo Clinic website cites the American Center for Disease Control which says men only need to be screened if they exhibit symptoms. What do your experts say?

Feeling Put to the Test

Dear Feeling: No matter what my experts or the Mayo Clinics experts say, I suspect you won't feel comfortable having sex with this man without getting tested. In fact, given the circumstances and the fact that the two of you haven't been sexual in years, I don't know if either of you would be comfortable having sex at all, tested or not. It sounds like you have bigger issues in your relationship. As for your specific concern about HPV, while men may be asymptomatic (some men develop genital warts but this is not always the case), HPV is a complex STI and you'd be best to talk to someone in person - like a professional at an STI clinic - to better inform yourself and receive counsel on how to best protect yourself in your situation.