roygerdodger wrote:
richardbenson wrote:
maybe you should just stay with yer family if that didnt bother you. i still live with my mother, it has its moments but its ok i guess
Good advice there, richardbenson, Staying with your family (probably after high school or college) could save time and money looking for a place to live.
Not really such great advice. Her parents don't understand her, they have repeatedly told her that they cannot take care of her anymore, she has shown in past posts that they are actually damaging to her self esteem, for example, she represses stimming like hand flapping "especially" in front of her parents.
I understand a group home is not an ideal situation, I understand that there may even be dangers in such a situation, but it sounds to me, like staying at home is also not a viable long term solution.
In addition, nasty and horrible things happen all the time to people who DON'T live in group homes all the time if they are left to fend for themselves. She would be very vulnerable to the predators out on the streets looking for girls like her to take advantage of. She has no real ability to handle her money, and seems to express that she has no skills for living an independent life at this time.
A Sociology student may be one route to go, but who is to say they would not be some sort of "predator" or getting in over their heads, and actually able to cope with an Autistic individual? It could work really well, it could also go horribly wrong in my mind.
As for living with others in a shared apartment with others who have AS, it is a nice fluffy idea, but who is to say that someone with AS themselves, are going to be able to cope with her level of difficulty? Sure, some As individuals can be very empathetic, but many are incapable of understanding someone else, struggle to take care of themselves, and may have their own demons and problems to deal with.
I think we need to keep our personal feelings out of this, being if "we" would live in a group home or not. It sounds like she needs some sort of program to help her. If that is a group home, well, that may be an option of last resort, but she needs some sort of daily support. Depending on where she lives, a group home may be the only place she can receive it without ultimately being left to the streets and "bad people" who pray on young women who don't belong in the big bad world on their own... yet!
It is hard enough for the average 19 year old to "make it", I can't imagine doing it at 19 with a developmental delay or moderate autism, and little support!
BTW… I hope that we have not scared her away!
16 Apr 2007, 7:16 pm
