Disabled Child: You can do it! Adult: You can't do anything!

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Having severe meltdowns and other symptoms as a child and adult, the attitudes of mental health workers and others really changed, at least for me...

As a child I was encouraged, the school even bought me books and games for my level, despite meltdowns they convinced me I could do anything and encouraged me to go to college.

As an adult... I'm being told I need to stay on ssi, get into rent reduced housing, and they will find me a part-time, minimum wage job, even though I have a college degree. I'm applying to jobs I want and finding no support from psych workers or anyone else if I get the job.

What's up with this? I had one instance of depression and was encouraged to get on ssi and now I seem stuck there forever and my friends, relatives, mental health professionals don't care, only my husband.

I agree. They shouldn't paint a hopeless picture.

If you're on SSI, I believe you can make use of the "Ticket to Work" program. This provides, I believe, a safety net should you have trouble keeping your job.

I would continue to go for the job of my choice. Forget those idiots who want you to work part-time at McDonald's or something.

Go for your dreams, Angnix!

The only people I know that get work assistance are intellectually disabled people, and they do shelter workshop jobs.

If you want a market place job at a competitive wage, that's up to you to make the magic happen.

The issue is you have a college degree. The powers that be figure if you managed to survive around humans, write exams and maneuver the system, you have enough skills to deal. Didn't say well. Just deal.

Living in Michigan, Voc Rehab is horrible to people with college degrees. They get down right nasty when you balk at a job. My friend was in tears when the case worker told her to buck the hell up and deal. She didn't want a part time factory job as her college degree is in accounting. Sort of like, "Oh, your too good for that? Work is work." Then it gets marked down you are refusing to work. If your major depression wasn't bad before, it will be worse after dealing with those fools at Michigan Works.

If you don't have a degree, they help you more in skills training and going to school.

So yeah...no one will be holding your handing finding you work that you'd like to do. The only time that happens is when a well off parent pays a life coach to help guide the child through a job that a family friend gave them. The Poors are s**t out of luck.

I think there are a lot of people in the "helping" professions who automatically infantilize their "clients" as a way to inflate their own sense of status and self-worth. They want to keep you dependent, because if you become independent -- well, you wouldn't need them anymore, and we can't have that. (If you become independent then how could they justify increasing their budget?)

But Angnix, don't you have some issues other than just autism? Some thought disorder or bipolar, something like that? My memory is defective, so apologies if I have misstated.

Your success in getting and holding a job is not tied specifically to a diagnosis, but to how well you can function in "competitive" employment. If you can't function very well, that is no source of shame. Maybe your total impairments are too great.

It seems you are feeling you get no assistance at employment. My suggestion is to accept your status on SSI and use some time to become stronger. Sometimes people develop late, and it's not unheard of to return to employment after a period on SSI.

Best of luck to you.

I'm bipolar, but I'm functioning well. Also it's an issue of being bored... I don't have much to fill my time or the money to do anything. Michigan rehab last time I delt with them, wanted me to work in the Goodwill factory... that pay far less than minimum wage and get away with it. Right now my caseworker says part time minimum wage work... oh, and I can't own a car even if I work because they are too expensive... yeah, but I have a licence and I used to own cars and my mechanic uncle used to work on them for free....

It got double posted somehow

Oh, that's rough. I hope things get better soon for you.

I'm questioning whether you have a case worker or govt employee, referring you for subsidized services, both as a child and an adult. That might just be their job, but they may get a commission, too -- completely irrespective of their opinions about your personal abilities. They could just as well try to help anyone who walks through the door.

@BeaA

In a perfect world, Rehab services would not place a person with a college degree at Goodwill. The job market is so bad in Michigan, you have NTs with advance degrees trying to claw their way into Starbucks. The fact you have a degree means nothing to them.

Mass transit is a joke here, even in Metro Detroit, so you have that added hassle.

Section 8 is given to families with kids first. So OP will be waiting a looooong time until some turns up.

About the county telling OP to pound sand. Yeah...they do that. Community mental health does the same thing in my area. You refuse their help once (like the zoo job with possible car), you'll never get that offer again. The case loads are huge, and you more or less had your shot.

My friend did manage to play the game with CMH, and got a job as a dishwasher which morphed into her doing the restaurant's book keeping. That took 2 years.

Most of the jobs that seem good for me are out of state. What I wanted was relocation help if I got one of these jobs, but my caseworker, and some of my family and friends say I can't do it. They and my husband have this idea we can get into subsidized/section 8 housing and our money problems would be gone. Don't they realize we would live much better if I got a job?