Receiving disability benefits for aspergers unusual or not?

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Daniel_is_bored
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29 Jan 2013, 8:22 pm

I was diagnosed with AS in 2010 and the therapist/phycologist whatever Advised me to apply for designation as a person with a disability.I thought it was kid of a stupid idea and figured you had to be more messed up then me to get disability benefits.I always thought aspergers was supposed to be no big deal based on most of the stuff I have read online.It's probably for the best that do qualify as disabled, I have had horrible luck finding work in the last.........forever.Do any other aspies/aspergians on here receive benefits? I'm not trying to be nosy i'm just trying to get some perspective.



Meistersinger
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29 Jan 2013, 8:32 pm

Your best bet would be to talk to attorney that specializes in Social Security and Developmental Disability law. Contact your local Bar Association for a list of attorneys that specialize in these areas.



Daniel_is_bored
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29 Jan 2013, 8:36 pm

Well live in Canada, so we don't have social security.I could have been more clear in my initial post.I have been receiving disability benefits going on 3 years,I was just curious if it was terribly abnormal for someone with Aspergers to do so.



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29 Jan 2013, 8:47 pm

Yes, I do receive disability benefits now and have done for the past 5 years (I am now 45 yrs old). I live in Australia. I have worked in the past, both full time and part time work, mainly in a typing pool. There are no typing pool jobs these days, all admin work requires multitasking which I am hopeless at. Plus I am always having meltdowns and after a couple of years or so end up seriously a nervous wreck. Having said that, I hate not working at all, as I feel pretty useless but nothing out there I could handle. I have other medical issues including residual injuries from a car accident 18 years ago, but I did manage to work after that, on and off.

Maz



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29 Jan 2013, 8:51 pm

Daniel_is_bored wrote:
Well live in Canada, so we don't have social security.I could have been more clear in my initial post.I have been receiving disability benefits going on 3 years,I was just curious if it was terribly abnormal for someone with Aspergers to do so.


Here in the States, it depends. I can't speak for other countries. I'd still talk to an attorney that specializes in disability law no matter what country you live in.



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29 Jan 2013, 9:34 pm

Yes, for autism plus mental health issues.

But the issue here isn't whether you have autism; it's whether you can work. If you're autistic and you can work, you won't get benefits. Though, I assume if you could work, you'd be working instead of wondering about social security...


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29 Jan 2013, 9:53 pm

I'm British and I'm seeking Disability Living Allowance on account of Aspergers,.

I've gone 8 years of unemployment, Ive never been able to get employed for which I have frr too many needs for ordaninary businesses to adapt the work place.

The benefits system is really messed up here... Apparently there's a 'benefits culture' that needs to be sorted since the ConDem coalition came to power.

I've been rejected for the last 3 months, stating the disability does not affect physical mobility physically or mentally (it mean's I can get out of bed, eat, and go to the toilet without aid... yeah... those reasons :roll: ) and its not affecting day to day life, I'm also not entitled to Employment and Support Allowance (its not a chronic illness or in constant pain) nor Job Seekers Allowance in its entirety (cant fulfill seeking goals [telephone 6 companies a week, communication problems means the inability to get the desired number of interviews, unable to apply for 'all' jobs etc.]). Otherwise I'm in either education or Work Schemes just to get by.

I'm on JSA but on borrowed time and I've been left on the scrapheap despite having a degree and soft skills qualified as employers will not take on an un-able person before an able bodied. :?


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OfTheWillowFae
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29 Jan 2013, 10:10 pm

How do you actually prove that you can't work without actually getting a job and then completely melting down, losing self-respect, etc.? I get benefits for food, but those will not last. I cannot be anywhere near loud sounds, crowds, florescent lighting, and if there's a storm nearby, I'm a completely non-functioning mess.

How do I "prove" that? My family has been trying to find out how, but they can't, and the government (social security, social services, etc.) are unable to do a thing. Which doctor would actually be able to diagnose these issues? I've been to plenty, and they act like I'm just mental or like it's not a "big deal." It's huge. I can't even leave my house more than once a week, rarely twice.



Daniel_is_bored
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29 Jan 2013, 10:59 pm

OfTheWillowFae wrote:
How do you actually prove that you can't work without actually getting a job and then completely melting down, losing self-respect, etc.? I get benefits for food, but those will not last. I cannot be anywhere near loud sounds, crowds, florescent lighting, and if there's a storm nearby, I'm a completely non-functioning mess.

How do I "prove" that? My family has been trying to find out how, but they can't, and the government (social security, social services, etc.) are unable to do a thing. Which doctor would actually be able to diagnose these issues? I've been to plenty, and they act like I'm just mental or like it's not a "big deal." It's huge. I can't even leave my house more than once a week, rarely twice.


How it worked for me was I saw a child phycologist (probably now how it's spelled) and she interviewed me for about an hour.she also had me compete some sort of report stating how I perceived social cues and stuff like that.I really don't remember it was 2 and a half years ago.And i feel your pain when it comes to florescent lights, the CFL bulbs don't bother me that much as long they are not some cheap and nasty brand that flickers or hums, but those florescent tube lights that most stores use get on my nerves and give me a headache most of the time.



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29 Jan 2013, 11:44 pm

OfTheWillowFae wrote:
How do you actually prove that you can't work without actually getting a job and then completely melting down, losing self-respect, etc.? I get benefits for food, but those will not last. I cannot be anywhere near loud sounds, crowds, florescent lighting, and if there's a storm nearby, I'm a completely non-functioning mess.
That's pretty much what I did, actually. By the time I applied, I had a history of short-term employment, repeated burnout, and repeatedly being informed that I could not do one job or the other.


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30 Jan 2013, 12:02 am

Sadly I wouldn't be surprised if in the States if more aspies are on SSI than are working.



Last edited by DVCal on 30 Jan 2013, 12:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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30 Jan 2013, 12:05 am

Seems like most do regarding the last study I read on such (though it was dealing with PDD-NOS, but it was supposedly the "mild" PDD-NOS, which is often similar to or less severe than AS).

I'm on it.

Had to fill out a lot of forms (needed some help there), had to get them signed off by two professionals -- a GP and the Psychiatrist (ASD being my disorder listed), then I had to hand it in and see a government psychologist (who ironically became one because her daughter has AS).

I'd so, so, so and so damn much rather work -- at least I could buy stuff regarding my interest then and help my mother more with bills and such (I get little money -- enough for food and most of my bills; nothing at all for hobbies for the most part).



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30 Jan 2013, 12:08 am

OfTheWillowFae wrote:
How do you actually prove that you can't work without actually getting a job and then completely melting down, losing self-respect, etc.? I get benefits for food, but those will not last. I cannot be anywhere near loud sounds, crowds, florescent lighting, and if there's a storm nearby, I'm a completely non-functioning mess.

How do I "prove" that? My family has been trying to find out how, but they can't, and the government (social security, social services, etc.) are unable to do a thing. Which doctor would actually be able to diagnose these issues? I've been to plenty, and they act like I'm just mental or like it's not a "big deal." It's huge. I can't even leave my house more than once a week, rarely twice.


First you need a proper diagnosis, and a doctor who agrees you are unable to work. There are also nonprofit groups I think that will help you complete the SSI application, and help you submit everything that is needed.



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30 Jan 2013, 12:27 am

I did for a while.


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DVCal
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30 Jan 2013, 12:36 am

So sad how many aspies have become a drain on society, rather than productive members. Not that they don't want to work and be productive, just sad how so many can't.



Last edited by DVCal on 30 Jan 2013, 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

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30 Jan 2013, 12:41 am

DVCal wrote:
So sad how many aspies have become leaches on society, rather than productive members.

Strange how it seems to have happened only in the last one or two decades.

Back in my day, social misfits weren't coddled or allowed to remain in their parents' home past their 18th birthday.


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