disability?

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can you go on disability for having Aspergers?.. do you know of anyone that has, or is anyone here?.. im just wondering.. work is the soul thing that brings me down, and im not sure im just wondering.

Yes, yes you can.

One will have to prove that they're unable to work, however. Just having the label isn't enough in many places, especially the US.

Whilst my formal diagnosis is Autism, the psycho at the disability office said I had Asperger's to her, and she said I was unfit to work (ironically, she has a daughter with AS, and that was the main reason she became a psychologist, to help her. She said it didn't help her daughter).

confusing.. so your on disability then?.. or no?

thanks a lot though I may consider it.. when you're on disability does this mean you are NOT ALLOWED to get a job, or that the disability will end if you find one?

If you are able to work, you should be working and not drawing disability - which is meant for people who have no choice and cannot work. In the USA unless you are severely impacted by a spectrum disorder to the point that there is NO work you can do, you are not considered disabled in that context. You may work in sponsored workshops and the like and draw a salary, in some cases, without losing your "disabled" status. It would be up to your state rehab agency and the federal social security administration.

I'm on it.

I can earn a certain amount of extra money per-fortnight if I desire (casual), and I can also study (they actually pay you more to study if you're on disability here). It ends if you're able to work part-time/fulltime and earning over a certain amount.

It seems to be a common thing for those with Asperger's, even though it's not talked about much.

E: I'd rather not be on it; I'd rather be working the job that I'm working towards now, like most of my peers [without an ASD] can.

Last edited by Danielismyname on 02 Sep 2008, 12:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Jayson=on disability

just depends on if you cannot work and it will take you years to get on it.

I am on disability. My mother got me on it when I was 18 but I was not allowed to have over $2,000 in my bank account. I still worked and now I don't get money from them anymore, I occasionally do but it's rare. Last time it was in June or July but I think it was from taxes.


I knew another guy in my area who had AS and he was on SSI too.

Here in the Netherlands you get it almost automaticly if you have Asperger or pdd-nos.
You get in some sort of a system where it's extremely easily to get cheap housing and help.
Experts wil get you all kinds of unpaid jobs and you live on welfare. It's assumed that you can't do a normal job and live on your own if you have aspergers or pdd-nos. So most people just settle for this life where little is expected of them and they get lots of help.

I didn't like this though and persisted in getting a real job and was just too eager to live on my own. I had a piece of paper that allowed me to live in a group home for wich you have to have a caretaker come in and talk/guide you 5 times a week. I could handle that like once a month, but geez almost every day....

This is what you get in a welfare state...

I think thats the point aint it..? who determines who is able and who is not?.. Every job ive ever had ive quit without notice because I just couldnt handle it..


But having said that, I hope there's something out there that i can do without losing my way.. id rather not be suicidal. Writing novels, playing music, these things would be optimum if I could find a way to make money off of them.. hopefully one day I can.

I'm an artist also and wonder if this is an added hindrance for those who are. I was put on disability when I was 19 after a near lethal drug overdose. I tried jobs many, many times but always dropped out after a short period of time because of the social stress and strains. The one job I did excel at was working in the vault of the tax assessors office at City Hall researching land ownership deeds. I reformatted the data file so it would read more comprehesively and was valued well and acknowledged for those contributions. The problem was the meaninglessness and mechanical nature of the task. I decided it was a better use of my time to work on my art capabilities and do whatever I could there to develop it. There were hindrances that came along but ultimately was able to accrue a good volume of work in portfolios, though I would have been much more prolific had I not had so much interference from those around me.

I'm finally at a point where I can do something with it and actually sell the reproductions, though there may be another long haul there, it's hard to say. I feel very much for the creative person who also struggles with inherent social challenges and disadvantages as well. I guess I don't really know what to offer, except to acknowledge that it's a difficult struggle, but never give up. Determine what is most desired and do whatever is necessary toward that end.

In order for you to claim disability payments, you would have to have an official diagnosis of Asperger’s. (I can see from your profile that you are not officially diagnosed.) Even with an official diagnosis, you still have to be deemed unfit for gainful employment, which means possible enrollment in some type of vocational rehabilitation program. As Daniel stated, a simple label isn’t enough.

I should know. I spent three years going through the process before finally receiving any benefits, but my disability is not related to Asperger’s. I was found to be unable to hold any type of gainful employment through my state's vocational rehabilitation program. I also had contact with past employers who were willing to give written testimonies to the Administrative Law Judge during my last hearing for SSI stating that I encountered difficulties while working. I also had a vocational expert who was not with Vocational Rehabilitation testify that the only work I could do would have to be in a sheltered workshop and as the local workshop actually only accepts applicants with a below 75 IQ, working there was out of the question. (I fall well above their required IQ.)

Do you consider yourself disable?
I presonnally dont think i am. I was great at my job (i was a manager for a shoe shop)...well i was motivated. But i was crap at giving order to my staff, and i cannot receive any., SO if i worked, i would have to be a job without anybody! LOL

I'm going on it, in Canada you can have a job and be on it. They just balance it out with your pay check. It isn't alot, not enough to live on unless your so seriously impaired you can't even move, or have severe MR.

I might get a bit more then just an aspie, though. I've got other things besides just that.

But I'll just keep it in a safe place in case of an emergency, or If I need to pay for issues with my cerebral palsy in particular. (Vitamins for healthy bones, Mobility things if I get associated stuff such as early muscle/bone disorders, ETC.)
I do consider myself mildly disabled. Mildly being the key word.

ShawnWilliam,
what country do live in?


eg,in the UK,disability benefit [DLA] is nothing to do with working,so people who are able to,can work and get DLA,but they do have a limit-if someone is claiming the highest rate of DLA-which means have very high support needs both night and day,they shouldn't really be able to work and will rightly get checked up on.
DLA is designed to help with the cost of the persons disabilities,rather than because theyre not able to work.
everywhere else,it seems disability benefit is based around working.

Aspies who have enough support need [low,middle or high for care component,and low or high for mobility component] should easily be able to get disability benefit here because the people who make the decision on benefits are supposed to base it most on the actual impairments rather than the label,it means that people can not automatically get the benefit just for having the label,but means its also fairer.

Since the application process is long and slow, why not begin it, while simultaneously looking at options that would earn you money without overwhelming you.

I think it's one of the more difficult to see effects of AS, the inability to cope in certain environments. Not just discomfort, but inability. I know it's very real. But hopefully you can find a job in an environment that would not trigger all that.

My husband, btw, quits his jobs every four or five years because he's just "had enough." Fortunately, it is easy for him to find new jobs, he is quite skilled, and he tends to enjoy the new challenges for a few years before the negatives of a place start to wear on him. Since it plays out over 4 or 5 years, it's a liveable situation. But if this cycle is playing out for you much more quickly, it is a real impairment.

Yea in many places aspergers alone isnt considered a disability unless u prove that you cant work or be able to live in this society without help. I know when i went and got on disability, ssi, ssid, and help from ddd, my diagnosis was first severe pddnos but i found which is interesting most people with even the diagnosis of pddnos can get disability unless its proven its severe enough.