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dt18
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15 Mar 2010, 12:01 pm

How many of you here are successfully living on their own?



alex
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15 Mar 2010, 12:07 pm

What's your definition of successfully living on your own?>



ToughDiamond
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15 Mar 2010, 12:11 pm

I seem to be getting away with it. In practical terms I can cope fine, and I have trouble understanding why anybody can't, if they're not physically disabled. My only problem is intense loneliness, which is a very bad problem to have.......but even with that, if it gets too bad then the solution is at my fingertips - if I really need friends for emotional reasons, all I have to do is to get off my butt, go out and start making friends.



dt18
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15 Mar 2010, 12:12 pm

alex wrote:
What's your definition of successfully living on your own?>



Having your own house, paying your own bills, and living without any assistance.



CockneyRebel
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15 Mar 2010, 12:23 pm

I'm living independently, and I'm loving it. I can do what I want, when I want and I don't have to answer to anybody. An ex rebel's dream come true. :)


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dt18
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15 Mar 2010, 12:27 pm

Is it any harder for you than the average person? If it is, what kind of difficulties do you face?



LipstickKiller
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15 Mar 2010, 12:34 pm

I don't have any real issues with executive dysfunction (I just do things differently than most) so I handle my home, bills and what-not on my own. Still studying though, so I don't know what it'll look like when I start working.

My issues are mainly social and emotional. I don't have a lot of social life (outside family), but I'm independent.



dt18
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15 Mar 2010, 12:36 pm

That's probably what my life is going to be. I'll be able to do everything BUT have a social life. It will be wake up, eat, go to work, sleep, repeat. Pretty damn boring if you ask me. Oh well, nothing I can really do about it anyway. *sigh*



LipstickKiller
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15 Mar 2010, 12:59 pm

You do have one up on me though - being diagnosed younger. I've just kind of isolated myself without knowing why (thought it was natural when you had kids), but now I realize I couldn't make friends if I wanted to (at least not without a lot of stress). Since you know about your condition you can adjust your social life accordingly, i.e know what to avoid and try to be social in appropriate doses.

Also I'm guessing you don't have kids, which means you have a lot more time and excess energy on your hands if you want to try something new to make friends, or take up a hobby to meet like-minded folk.



League_Girl
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15 Mar 2010, 1:06 pm

I live in an apartment. I am going to get a job soon. I pay bills. I have a husband. I drive.



dt18
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15 Mar 2010, 1:10 pm

LipstickKiller wrote:
You do have one up on me though - being diagnosed younger. I've just kind of isolated myself without knowing why (thought it was natural when you had kids), but now I realize I couldn't make friends if I wanted to (at least not without a lot of stress). Since you know about your condition you can adjust your social life accordingly, i.e know what to avoid and try to be social in appropriate doses.

Also I'm guessing you don't have kids, which means you have a lot more time and excess energy on your hands if you want to try something new to make friends, or take up a hobby to meet like-minded folk.


Are your kids on the spectrum or are they NT?



pumibel
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15 Mar 2010, 1:14 pm

I lived independently from 1992-2008, most of that time in the military. I had some health problems in 2008 that led to me missing so much work that I couldn't support myself and my daughter any more. I moved in with my mom and went back to college. Now I am still here mainly because I can't find a job outside of my freelancing, and my mother's health has declined. She actually needs me now as a live-in caregiver. So in a sense we support each other. I work as a freelance graphic designer and doll customizer/seamstress. It wouldn't pay all of my bills if I were living alone, though.



Willard
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15 Mar 2010, 1:50 pm

I've lived pretty much independently since I was 18. Truth be told, I'd have gone under if not for help from my family many times over, but I manged to function in the world fairly well, getting fired a lot and spending half my life on unemployment. Then I reached an age at which Employers aren't interested in even considering me, so now I get by on Disability and have to worry constantly about the government taking it away from me, bit by bit, for programs I don't want or need.

My executive functions are impaired, but not so much I can't make sure my few bills are paid on time. I do miss working, though - I wouldn't want to have to do it full time, but I do get bored.



PlatedDrake
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15 Mar 2010, 2:17 pm

I lived on my own in an apartment from 2005 to 2009, but had to move back in with my parents after a job flub up. Now im working part-time (weekends only :( ) and still trying to get either more hours or another job. ADmittedly, the loneliness didnt start to get me until about a year after i moved into the apartment. Had to play a movie while doing anything just to keep some level of noise . . . often while playing on the computer at the same time. Loneliness seems to be a weird paradox for us . . . we want to be alone, yet we do crave some level of companionship.



eb31
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15 Mar 2010, 2:26 pm

I am a single parent. I receive housing assistance and food stamps. I work 2 part time jobs and pay bills on time. I do have to use a cash only system though because I have difficulty regulating.



musicislife
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15 Mar 2010, 5:16 pm

i want to move out of my parents' house, but i know exactly what my limits are. i turned 18 in november, so i wouldn't want to get an apartment on my own, plus i'm in college and i know i wouldn't be able to handle even a part time job to pay the bills on top of paying for classes and going to those classes. once i'm out of college, yeah, i will move out.


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