80% of people on Autism spectrum are unemployed?

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I was diagnosed with autism at about age 3. "Brain-damage/injured" soon afterwards.

Went to special schools always (except grades 6-8).

I didn't speak till age 5 1/2. I was classically Aspergian as a child and adolescent.

Sort of like Elijah in "Elijah's Cup."

Still have many Asperger's features, though not too much sensory difficulties.

And look at you now - you built and created a valuable life worth living, and may that be a model to those who express the "it's completely hopeless even trying because I have autism and can never have anything worthwhile" negativism.

...Thank you .



te="kraftiekortie"]I was diagnosed with autism at about age 3. "Brain-damage/injured" soon afterwards.

Went to special schools always (except grades 6-8).

I didn't speak till age 5 1/2. I was classically Aspergian as a child and adolescent.

Sort of like Elijah in "Elijah's Cup."

Still have many Asperger's features, though not too much sensory difficulties.[/quote]

I'm not sure what it is, but I've been employed since I left high school.

...But (at about KK's age) it's maybe too late for me to have ` or build , at this age and the lack of resources/things to draw upon I have now , to hope for any halfway " normal " life ? Maybe .
Oh , I have (what some might consider)
wildly impractical " make your way up/have your status improved " thoughts , around (wsmc) " you're too old for it " going to full-fledged/" real "(ha ha , KK)/residential/" uni " college... .........









te="B19"]And look at you now - you built and created a valuable life worth living, and may that be a model to those who express the "it's completely hopeless even trying because I have autism and can never have anything worthwhile" negativism.[/quote]

For you, the first thing you must reclaim in your life, perhaps, is the capacity for hope itself. Until you do, you may risk continuing to drift in that lost soul space, which is an incredibly painful space to be. No-one else can give the capacity for hope back to you, but with some form of spiritual support - because your spirit seems very battered and hopeless and has seemed so for a long time now - you may begin the process of transformation toward life-changing events, which it seems you so desperately wish to be achieve. Every but will delay this; for now perhaps the only thing you can appreciate is that you are alive, and so we know you are a survivor who has survived a great deal. So that is your most precious (and perhaps only) remaining asset right now. Make it the foundation stone and try to repossess hope without buts as a second step toward the life you want and can still achieve. Amaze us with your recovery. Most people here would be overjoyed to see you do this. I believe you still could - but there will have to be inner changes first perhaps...

...I'm about at the place in the hill when your health starts going downhill ...

The most common way people give their power away is by believing they have none at all. We always have some - it may feel reduced to minimal levels, as yours has been for a time now. I think it is true that we nearly always have more power than we realise. You may have to step back from your immediate issues to deeply consider this without focusing on the immediate problems. This is where some source of spiritual support - of any form - may be useful. You still have the power to find that if you have the will left to do so, to stop struggling alone from crisis to crisis. Find a safe place with safe people who have the skills to help you restart and support your healing momentum. You have been stuck for so long; identify the actions you can take and the changes you can make.

..." Find safe place/people "___How ??? Where ???




te="B19"]The most common way people give their power away is by believing they have none at all. We always have some - it may feel reduced to minimal levels, as yours has been for a time now. I think it is true that we nearly always have more power than we realise. You may have to step back from your immediate issues to deeply consider this without focusing on the immediate problems. This is where some source of spiritual support - of any form - may be useful. You still have the power to find that if you have the will left to do so, to stop struggling alone from crisis to crisis. Find a safe place with safe people who have the skills to help you restart and support your healing momentum. You have been stuck for so long; identify the actions you can take and the changes you can make.[/quote]

I can't answer that. The answer exists somewhere at the successful end of a search. I can't tell you how long the search will be or how it will unfold. The search is the only thing that can reveal that to you, and the search is a different kind of journey for you to embark upon, with that goal firmly in mind whatever the difficulties along the way. Only you have the power to actualise that search now.

Reduced to absolute essentials, it seems you have 3 alternatives for future change to occur:

1) Wait and hope for someone to come along rescue you
(chance of success: possible perhaps, but not highly probable)
2) Seek support every day in every way you can think of until you find something useful
(chance of success: much better than option one, possible and potentially more probable)
3) Do nothing much
(chance of success: minimal. Perhaps a good samaritan may happen along eventually, but the wait may be very long for something that never eventuates).

Your challenge: to figure out how to start your search in some meaningful way.

I have big trouble with finishing tasks. Even stuff that's of interest to me... because I get distracted by my own thoughts, yet can't think straight for any extended period of time so I tend to get lost in illogical thought processes or space out.
Forcing myself to stay on task is extremely painful and in most cases a waste of time, because it makes me ridiculously inefficient, because in reality my thoughts are already wandering or I'm spacing out (and as soon as that happens I have zero motivation to do anything that requires any amout of effort).
It makes me sick to my stomach even thinking about having to stay on task for 8 hours a day.
Also there's anxiety with uncertainty of tasks, information overload, the obligatory social problems, vision impairment and some depression too.
Setting up my own business is definitely out of question because I know I would fail to follow though.

So... in the future you will find me by the sidewalk I guess?

in our screwed up society autistic people will do less well in interviews, especially the ones with stupid mind games that try to second guess the person instead of just giving them a shot and seeing how they do.

I have advanced in employment simply because I'm cheap as i don't have qualifications and I'm good at what I'm passionate about. Fortunately I often have many aspects of one project to work o0n at once so get distracted from one to the other.

I am undiagnosed, but i don't need a diagnosis to tell me what i already know.

..." seek support " ~ What , go to social service agencies a lot ? " spiritual support " ~ So , go to some church/ashram/monastery/guru/synagogue et al ? Even if good ideas ~ How/what ? Now , maybe this is Aspie literalness ~



quote="B19"]I can't answer that. The answer exists somewhere at the successful end of a search. I can't tell you how long the search will be or how it will unfold. The search is the only thing that can reveal that to you, and the search is a different kind of journey for you to embark upon, with that goal firmly in mind whatever the difficulties along the way. Only you have the power to actualise that search now.

Reduced to absolute essentials, it seems you have 3 alternatives for future change to occur:

1) Wait and hope for someone to come along rescue you
(chance of success: possible perhaps, but not highly probable)
2) Seek support every day in every way you can think of until you find something useful
(chance of success: much better than option one, possible and potentially more probable)
3) Do nothing much
(chance of success: minimal. Perhaps a good samaritan may happen along eventually, but the wait may be very long for something that never eventuates).

Your challenge: to figure out how to start your search in some meaningful way.[/quote]