Help and entitlements

Post Reply New Topic

I've done searches and found nothing, so I'll ask for personal testimony instead. What sort of support is available for aspies, and does it vary from country to country?

Here in the UK, there is a wide range (almost anything from live-in carers, to priority housing, to free travel) of services available to anyone who is disabled, physically or mentally. A valid point would be that I KNOW I am NOT 'disabled', but I am sure that I have AS ('sure' meaning absolute confidence without official diagnosis). After researching, I found no indication whether Aspergers qualifies for these kind of services.

I have at times wondered whether there would be any specialised support offered if I were to be diagnosed, like perhaps a mentor. It would be much more useful than any of the above. I'd rather gain more skills than have a new home to spend all day in, or a free ticket to go nowhere.

It depends on the country. I am almost sure you would need an official diagnosis before qualifying for benefits. I have found that Asperger's have many benefits, at least in the UK. Here in the United States, it depends largely on the state you live in.

Well, it depends, in the USA. Support for children seems (repeat, seems) to be available through the schools although it varies depending on the school district and the state involved. Adults - the definition of disability is the issue. You can be Autistic or have Aspergers (if they're reallly separate things), but, unless your ability to hold a job is significantly impacted, there's not much of a chance of the feds considering you "disabled" enough for much in the way of support. (There might be state programs, but there's 50 states, so....)

I haven't seen any programs at all for adult autistics or aspies who are not on the very low end of the functioning scale. Those folks qualify for social security disability payments, and, potentially, a roof and food. But the availability of the roof and food part of it varies wildly depending on the town and state one lives in. For those of us who are not identified early enough, or who are sort of borderline, it's kind of "sink or swim" or learn to live on the streets. Sadly.

LuckyBunny,
contact the national autistic society: http://www.nas.org.uk as they do offer specialised support to people all over the spectrum [am an LFA adult,and just from the NAS-am recieve 1-1 and 2-1 heavy support off them as well as being a user of one of their day centres-most things that want to do with NAS will need to get funded by SS,that wont be easy if dont have a social worker but NAS should be able to help with it].

live in carers would be difficult for an aspie to get,because it gets funded by the social services,usually through direct payments and to get them they require a certain level of support need.
if they have day/night needs SS will try and get them into residential/group/sheltered living instead because of what their funding allows,and live in carers are only good for those who own the building as a spare room is needed for them by law-most SS boroughs [at least under the learning disability team] will not accept aspies by default due to cutting who can use their services-the common criteria is to only accept those with the highest support needs and with IQs in/around the MR range,aspies usually get into the services via a mental health social worker instead due to having a mental health problem as well.

Each transport authority has a different criteria for who is allowed their concessionary plus card [think its called something else in London] -some will only give them to people with physical disabilities whilst others include most-check the local transport authority website for their criteria if do feel like applying for one,though it may be difficult without a social worker as they need to check have got what say have got-background check etc.

A problem for most services will be that have not been diagnosed,still worth trying with the NAS though,they're a great help in many ways for spectrumers.

was going to recommend having a look at autism initiatives as well but think they're only around the north west right now.