MissConstrue wrote:
_Square_Peg_ wrote:
I got discharged from the navy because of my Asperger's, but I didn't want to go back to living with my parents because I feel like I'm nothing but a disappointment to them. Luckily I managed to make a friend who has a spare room in his apartment & is letting me stay until I'm able to support myself. And just when I thought that I had a chance of surviving in this world, I ended up losing my cell phone. That's when I decided to look up Aspie forums to talk about my problems & see if anyone else has to deal with similar issues. And thus I stumbled across WP.
I know having an emotional breakdown over a lost cell phone seems a bit ridiculous, but it was kinda the straw that broke the camel's back. All the while I couldn't help but think: "MY PARENTS DISOWNED ME, THE NAVY THREW ME OUT, AND I CAN'T EVEN HOLD ONTO A PHONE! IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR ME!?"
Geez that's harsh.... >_<
I've had people tell me that if I want to get hired, never mention aspergers. It seems society is more apt to being sympathetic with someone who has a physical "disability" but not someone with a mental one.
I was having a nervous break down like every other day. I thought if I told them that the reason I was like that was because I'm an Aspie, that they'd help me. But no. My Master Chief kept telling me "You didn't let the military down, the military let you down." And I thought to myself: "Well why can't they change? The United States Navy has had the same system going for who knows how long. Can't they see that times are different? Can't they see that they'll lose more sailors if they don't improve their situation?"
But I can't say I wasn't happy to leave. Joining the Navy was my parents' idea, not mine. Because of my condition, they didn't think I was able to live on my own & that I need someone to look out for me all the time. So they figure the military will babysit me.
But that's not the life I want. My dream is to be a character designer for animated movies & such. Are people in the art & media world more lenient towards people with mental conditions? Cuz I'm not so sure if my Asperger's will affect me or how much, plus it seems like a lot of artists, directors, etc. have AS.
Descartes wrote:
I didn't know you could get discharged from the Navy for having Asperger's. Is there some kind of
Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy against people with Autism that I don't know about?
I have no idea. I knew the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy applied to sexuality, but I didn't know it applied to autism as well. One of my ship-mates was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder but the Navy didn't discharge her. But then again she was on medication. If my condition could've been controlled with meds, do you think they would've let me stay in?
Last edited by _Square_Peg_ on 18 Mar 2010, 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.