How on earth do you survive with Asperger's/HFA? (Poll)

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The values imparted by my other obsessive interests gave me the will to learn enough social protocols to do well in an office
Environment.

i get ssdi. i'm good at being by myself, and im never late paying my rent because im always on time! i've had your usual hangups with alcohol, pornos and all the other very feel good vices that insnare people, i can do just fine without anyone. people are like circus animals that always seem to need this constant attention from someone, well i dont believe i need that so i get on, and fall in love with whatever im into at the moment

i survive on ssi and food stamps and with help from my family. i have also applied for subsidized housing and section 8. i am not able to communicate effectively or consistently by any means (my writing is prohibitively slow). i can not do something as simple as bagging groceries at an acceptable rate (without stimulants (they make me sick (i have a metabolic disorder (my liver is deficient in the cytochrome p450 enzyme system (my doctor suggests it may be more extensive))))). i have not seen others refer to malaise and cognitive dysfunction as part of their AS but this is a major part of my condition. i feel good in the morning and my brain becomes sick as the day wears on. much of my activity is geared towards mitigating this problem. i cannot pursue my interests in a way that is likely to result in a marketable advantage. my attention is (variably) poor, processing speed is slow, long term memory is good/average, short term memory is markedly impaired, and i am dyslexic. my results on the WAIS-III, RBANS, and other cognitive testing are notably uneven, in a way that is not typical of anything. my record indicates my results "...beg the question of what intelligence is, if it is not a faculty that can be applied with benefit to the problems of life." i do not believe i would be any more employable if only my social deficiencies were repaired. i am hungry, so this is done.

Last edited by wornlight on 29 Oct 2010, 1:07 pm, edited 3 times in total.

I'm supported by my family and I qualify for disability.

My parents helped me in life, helped me find a place to live and move out, mom signed me up for disability when I was 18 and I lived on that for a while. I also worked. Now I have a husband and he makes money and works full time.

While finding a job is hard, I blame the economy, I went to a company that is for people with disabilities and they give them jobs. But it's not guaranteed so I was hoping my name get picked on the list for a job. My husband had to helped me with that by saying to his boss at work I am looking for work and don't have one and am waiting to be picked on the list. But because we're married, they figured I'd be a good worker too since he is.

I had that same fear. Since I don't know how to cook or could figure out what to eat, how was I going to live on my own and be healthy? That was my only worry. But I see I do fine with eating, I just eat the same stuff. Now I am starting to make stuff. I learn you actually save money when you make things. Same as when you plan meals which I find overwhelming, planning. That's why I go for the same stuff.

Other. I work, less than 40 hours a week, but with benefits. I could support myself on my salary if I had to, but I'm married, and until a month ago, my husband had a job earning much more than me.

I use to work but even with a job I lived with my parents without them I never would have gotten to work and would have been homeless.

...Considering that I'm now homeless and have a my diabetes-based foot ulcer that could lead to amputation and money that I believe was bequeathed to me was stolen by a family member ...Not much !

My family support me on my issue but also I have self taught myself alot of things that I missed out since I was in secondary school.

Right now I'm supported by my parents and I do have some disability benefits. I'm more worried about what happens after college though. I do have a job, so that's good, but I wonder how am I going to pay for a house that has a lot of things to pay for like electricity, plumbing, etc.

I 101% qualified for disability benefits.
I have Muscular Dystrophy, Autism, and other stuff.

Full time employment, I do not feel that I am underemployed and I am also married with four boys, three on the ASD spectrum.
I have been able to find a position in an IT department that suits my abilities very well and also allows me to work from home a day or two a week. My psychologist suggested that rather than thinking of strengths and weakness/limitations that instead I consider person/situation fit. Some situations (like being in a bright, busy store/mall) do not "fit" me particularly well but I do feel very fortunate that my current employment does.
I find that I can't handle much extra-curricular (evening) activities beyond work during the week and that I need to have at least one quiet day on the weekend to really do well.
My husband is very social and he's the one who deals with most of the errand running, talking to banks, etc. but I will if I have to.
I find that as I have gotten older that I have learned better social skills but it is still an effort and I find that the social parts of my employment do take more energy. NT's can tend to be energized by social activity, I still find it drains me.

When I am able I get by with what I get.

However at time I am sometimes unable and must live with my parents, rely on them until I get another job again. =(

This is my first time living on my own though, and financially it is not very succesfull for obvious reasons, but I am working on it- I hope to not move back with my parents......heres to hoping/ perciverance..=/

Last edited by liveandletdie on 29 Oct 2010, 10:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I work and support myself but I have lots of help and my career's a disaster.

for the most part, the only entity that demonstrated a willingness to employ me was uncle sam. i have had private-sector jobs that were strictly minimum-wage, part time short time gigs, nothing with any responsibility or learning curve. it was either army service member or civil servant in a hospital for over 2 decades. i never qualified for any kind of dole, so i had to save money by being extremely frugal and investing conservatively- i tried to actually make money with the stock market but lost most of my ass. i just don't have the brains to make money, so i let edward jones conserve my money as best they can, they actually seem to know what they are doing, unlike myself. .
right now, i live off an inheritance and my savings/investments, in a tin can out in the woods, and it is a bare spare existence but better than me being in the rat race, which is to say i'd probably be road kill by now.

A mix of #1 and #3. My parents help with my living expenses while I'm at college. During the summer, I usually have a job. Last summer I worked as a PCB assembler that I had been with a few years before, and the summer before that I was doing landscape maintenance.