What Supports Do You Receive?

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Actually I just did some research. My state is number four in terms of available resources. It borders the state that is number 25. Where medical supports are concerned, US states may as well be different countries.

My stepdaughter helps me quite a lot - taking me shopping , coming to things like doctor's appointments with me , helping me in dealing with the housing association , she would also help when it comes to decorating , making sure I stay clean . Will sometimes point out that my clothes need changing .

She basically makes sure that my life is running as smoothly as possible , and that , with help, I can maintain independence .

I also have a cleaner that comes in on Monday and Wednesday . As well as cleaning she changes the bedding every fortnight , and hangs the washing I've done on the clothes horse .

I got help finding a job from the Department of Vocational Rehab in WA, (that was really really helpful) and I get a bus pass if I want it, but it's a really obnoxious process to get it renewed, so since my job also provides reduced bus fare, I just use that instead. My family does things like my taxes and helps me with paperwork. Mostly I use a lot of apps and reminders and rules that I've made up to help myself. Maybe if you get someone to help you, they could help you set up systems and strategies like that so that you could eventually learn to regulate more of your own life. It's a lot less annoying than having to go get services. (They don't always make it very easy.) And it feels good whenever you learn to do one more thing on your own.

Just knowing that the autism team are there is a major thing for me.
At the moment, I am getting a kind of sickness benefit called Universal Credit. This is the same support used for those who are looking for work.
At the moment, I can't see me working as... Well. Put it this way. Today I called in where I last worked to order a pair of bicycle tyres so I am hoping that I can get back on the bicycle agin in the future. Now I had a lot of anxiety walking from the car (Parked near the shops where my Mum was shopping at) to the place where I used to work, which is about a fifth of a mile at a guess. But the anxiety hit me, so though I managed to go in and say a hello, and hang around a bit until they were ready (They had another customer to deal with who was there before I was), when I got back to the car I was still stressed. My Mum got back and we put the shopping in the car. My Mum wanted to go to a different shop which I like going in. However, then the moment hit me. I felt a partial shutdown coming on while in the store. I let my Mum know. I didn't want to leave the store before my Mum came out because it would look like I could be stealing (I seem to be a target for security as I must act like I am suspicious), so as she was heading for the tills anyway, I felt I should be able to make it without a full shutdown or the depths of a partial shutdown where I end up on the floor... As it is embarissing! (Also I don't want fuss in a shutdown as I will find I will keep going back into another one etc). So my Mum was waiting behind a lady at the tills, and then I was waiting behind her, and a lady started coming in behind me... And I thought if I don't get out the store NOW, I will be in trouble with a shutdown, as the lady behind would have trapped me in. I went past another till which was not used and when I went out the store, I felt my legs and body going limp. I ended up sitting on the floor leaning against the window near the door. (The glass came down to the floor).
My Mum said the casheer was concerned, but she didn't want to draw attention as I needed to not be made a fuss of for a moment.
I know. It looks a bit wierd people like me sitting or lying on the ground. I am usually able to sit but it depends how deeply I am shutting down. If I go deeper I am lying down. If I didn't have the window to lean on, I would be lying down!
But to me, this is part of normal life. I am used to the need to lie down on the floor or sit on the ground even if the ground is soaking wet and it is raining. I just get wet. It is part of life for me.
But other people don't need to do this as they have not experienced partial or full shutdowns, so they maybe puzzled what's going on.
Thankfully it looks like I am drunk so people will naturally leave me alone. I also look scruffy which helps! That way I can recover quickly. I am fortunate that it looks this way because if I went down suddenly like a faint, people would run to my rescue... But as it is a semi controlled "Ending up on the ground" people assume I have intentionally sat down or gone to lie down so I am less likely to get bothered and have to speak to people, as speaking to people when I am like that sends me deeper into a shutdown or into another shutdown.
The worst case scinario for me would be to end up in hospital as that is where my sensory issues kick in! I find I am sensitive to hospital smells, so if I am fragile with shutdowns (Once I have had one I seemmore fragile to getting another) I am likely to go from shutdown to shutdown, and if the hospital staff assume I am fainting, and use the techniques of asking me multiple questions to get me to think... (They tend to do this!) then I will go from one full shutdown to the next. The hot atmosphere does not help either.

But going back to the origional question... Well. Until I am officially assessed, I am in a situation where I can't really do much. But for me, knowing that those autism team are there is a Godsend.

I see a psychiatrist and a psychologist. I see a support worker from a local mental health service about every fortnight. That's free.

The psychologist I see is paid for through the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), I don't pay anything. But my psychiatrist is private and so quite expensive. But I only see him twice a year.

I get the Disability Support Pension and have done so since 2005. I would like a job but it's proving difficult to get one. I do some volunteering instead.

In my ASD support group two people receive assistance for executive function (EF). For one the aid helps direct activity. For the other, the aid merely visits and their presence is impetus for my groupmate to be on task.

A boyfriend taught me basic cooking in my 20s (during a financial crisis) and then two years ago I took a company program to lose weight which taught me more about cooking. I made cooking and exercising my focus for that year and it went very well. Cooking is no longer my focus, so there's been a lot of cereal for dinner recently. Because I changed my work routine and have yet to establish another one, I am having difficult with hygiene at this time. It was fine (enough) before all the upset.

Because I am in crisis, I currently have two therapists, one helping with social scripting and one helping with emotional regulation. My assessing psych said it would be difficult to find an OT that works with adults for sensory issues, but if there were one that would be useful. My insurance covers, but I have a high deductible. I have an NT husband who is my rock. For example, I research and plan a vacation and then I hold his arm as he implements: e.g. he navigates crowds and handles spontaneous situations. I have Google Calendar (which I love and hate). All that said, I am in a near standstill regarding my crisis and have yet to take the sufficient action to get past it (yes, poor EF here also). Soon, soon, it has to be soon.

Now I can't stop trying to guess which state that is and which state it is next to that you are talking about. Are you from...
California bordering Nevada?
Florida bordering Alabama?
I feel like the Northeast is just a generally high-population area so maybe not there, but who knows.
I suppose I could just look it up, but where's the fun in that.
sorry, I don't mean to pry. Just fun to think about.

I need to be taken care of and supervised round the clock.

Texas and Lousiana?

I've had various supports throughout my life. I have had learning support and helpers/TAs take care of me and help me advance in life from school to college and I was a member of a local youth group for about 3-4 years where I interacted with other people like me and the staff there really took great care of me, helped me get through various problems in life and made sure that we were all loved and happy, those were some good times.

Am I correct in thinking you live in a group home? What's that like? I've often wondered if a group home would be the right environment for me.

I guess I don't really get anything aside from supports in college that are pretty basic things like being allowed to take breaks when I get anxious (which was more of a useful thing of course before I started taking all of my classes online). The only other thing I can think of is that the health insurance company from my mom's job allowed me to stay on her health care plan after I turned 26 last month due to me being Autistic. I was seeing someone from the state disability services but they weren't really doing anything at all so I stopped seeing them.