Disability benefits for aspergers?

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I get DLA payments (£50 a week), I first recieved it when I was diagnosed 7 years ago. I used to hate it because I felt like I was taking advantage and just getting money for no reason. Nowadays it's a godsend because I need it for travel and stuff.

DLA isn't the same as what Americans call "Disability" (which would be ESA, or the old Incapacity Benefit) as DLA isn't an out-of-work benefit.

Wish I had DLA when I was your age, by the way, as it would have made a world of difference at times, but my parents considered that a bad idea.

Unfortunately the Tories are abolishing DLA soon. The replacement, PIP, will be far harder to get, and won't have the bottom tiers that DLA has. Anyone on the lower tier for DLA, like most Aspies who get DLA, will be much worse off from 2013. Time for some more anti-government riots, I think....

Forgive me; this is soooooe randome & unrelated to topic, but I just loooooooooove your profile picture! It's simply beutiful

Hey, I know this is an older thread, but hopefully I'll get a reply.

I noticed some of you are from Australia, namely Queensland, and even Townsville specifically. I was wondering what course of action you took to obtain disability payments (if you even managed to). Because I've had no luck and I've been unemployed for 5 years now since I left school. I went to see a psychiatrist to try and get help, he didn't seem to know anything, told me asperger's is never diagnosed in adults, then told me I definitely had it. Then he suggested I take all these medications and and look for a job.

Along with asperger's I have a myriad of physical things wrong with me. A back injury, GERD, enchondroma that was fixed with a bone graft made from choral that's rendered my right arm practically useless, ganglion cyst in my wrists among others.

So what doctors/psychologists could any of you recommend in Townsville to help me on my way to getting disability payments?

I quallified for disabilitly for having Asperger's here in the United States. I applied and was approved by Social Security in 6 months. I was diagnosed summer of 2010 and was approved in Jan. of 2011. I had medical proof and filled out the paperwork honestly. It can be a dibilitating disorder. And what's up with all the harsh judgments about people with Asperger's? Sure everybody has opinions, but maybe people should be more supportive? That's my opinion.

The problem for me is I can't get full disability, only SSI/medicaid because I don't have much work experience, I haven't paid much social security from my paychecks. I worked maybe 3-4 years total. Now I'm 30 and have no idea what to do. There are people online that this site with people who understand, but in face to face here in my town no one understands.

The SSI just isn't enough, $698. After rent I'm barely able to pay the electric bill and water bill. I don't have a phone. And I can't afford gas, it takes $50 worth to fill it up

Some of you all were talking about working at Wal-Mart as a greeter-Hell, I can't even keep a job at Wal-Mart period. I was fired about two months ago after working there as a cashier for almost four years.

Now I don't know what to do. When I told my technical school teacher about it, he told me to just forget about working and live off disability (less than $800 per month). He told me that since I am 55 now, it is now too late to have an enjoyable career. When I talked to my primary care doctor and psychiatrist, they agreed.

Don't tell me to go to voc rehab--they are a joke. They have no experience with mental disorders and when I went to them before, they could not place me in a job. If I were to go back now, they will probably tell me that if I can't hold a job at Wal-Mart, I probably won't be able to keep a job anywhere else. In fact, a long time ago, they evaluated me and said I needed treatment, but my mother would not accept it, calling them incompetent.

I blame my parents for my miserable life--they knew all along that something was wrong with me but I got no help. I never received any career counseling in school, probably because of my terrible work history or maybe because no one knew what to do. I have been fired from every job I have had since the spring of 1991--three accounting jobs, three retail jobs either because of incompetence or inability to get along with others. My parents, when they were angry, which was about all the time, would tell me I did not have sense enough to hold a job--and I believed it, I still believe it today. They constantly held the threat of pulling me out of school over my head when I did not please them. When I graduated from college, I could not find a job and begged my parents to take me to a psychiatrist. They refused, saying that after they paid for college, they were not paying for a mental exam too. I even offered to pay for it, but they still refused. Their insurance would have covered it, but no--they did not want the embarrassment. I hate my parents to this day, and I hope they are burning in hell. They have scarred me for life. They took away my chances for a successful career, good friends, and a happy life. I have missed it all.

My college professors and technical school instructors saw me as unemployable and told me not to ask them for a reference or recommendation for neither a job or an internship--they said I needed treatment rather than employment. I believed them then, and I still believe it today.

On top of being cheated out of a life by my parents and being deemed unemployable by professors and teachers, I don't even have a church family. They said for me not to come to any of their functions because I bothered them. To not find acceptance even in the church is about as low as you can get--I withdrew my membership and I am never going to church again. I am a complete social outcast. Why does everyone hate me?

Fast forwarding, I have been in treatment for several years now, but nothing has really helped--I am not getting any better and I probably won't. In fact, about a month ago, I wanted to be hospitalized, but no beds were available anywhere. I wish I could have a massive heart attack and die. If I cannot enjoy a happy, independent life why can't I just die? I envy the fact that now Aspergers is recognized as a mental disorder and that kids who are like me can now get help--but for me help came too late. I have totally given up, in case you haven't gotten the message. Why don't they just put me in a mental hospital and be done with it?

Last edited by cooler8625 on 08 Jun 2014, 2:59 pm, edited 3 times in total.

I just got denied SSI on the basis that I can do work despite my difficulty with making it through an interview without stimming or having a mild anxiety attack. It's as if they don't understand how people get hired.

they are just ignorant like everyone else.

I'm in the same boat as you buddy.

SS denies everyone. I got denied 3-4 times some others 5 times. its the way the system is built to save money and hopes to prevent fakers .

55 is to old to start a new meaningful career??? that is ALL i need ot know right now... that im locked into a job that is not suited for me mentally, and stresses me out?? And with AS i cant ge disability which i don really want anyway as ive worked all my life with AS? depressing I cant find new work because of the AS i fail those assessment tests and if i do get beyound that i screw up the interview.. so what do i do. retrain in my passion and hope for the best or just stay locked in a torture job?

I haven't read all 6 pages but I wanted to point something out with social security disability.

Each type of disability insurance has different levels of triggers. For instance SSDI has the strongest set of rules for what is considered disability. You must be disabled to the point where no meaningful work is possible. So even if you have to leave you sales job because you are not able to do the work you can still do something else. Even if it is much lower paying or completely unrelated to what you are currently doing. They aren't just being as*holes, it's how the rules are written.

Disability benefits through an employer are generally less stringent. For instance many "white collar" jobs have a form of disability called "own occupation". If a surgeon loses a finger in an accident but in every other way is a capable human, just one who probably shouldn't be doing surgery. With this form of disability the surgeon would be covered. SSDI would not pay though.

Aspies would likely have better luck applying because of social anxiety than ASD itself. Also it would be very helpful to find a good disability lawyer to help you apply.

they made me get on ssdi too even though i can work and have only worked a little bit. now cause of it i have two medical insurances and i still confused about it but they said it'll still cover the stuff I was doing .

I just got denied SSI again. They say my symptoms aren't severe enough to qualify despite the fact that I can't even make it through an interview without weirding out the interviewer. My college education has been nothing but a setback. I have all of this worthless paper with tons of debt attached to it and it's being used to deny me benefits. I have a sh***y GPA and made few associates much less friends in college. I have no network, no people skills, nothing. They're even holding jobs that I received non-competitively against me despite the fact that it was term work and I was never asked back. I feel like I'm out of options.

Yes, that's what I'm in the midst of trying to prove to my doctor - that I have POTS/dysautonomia that is preventing me from working. He's already diagnosed me with fibro/CFS years ago. I will still able to work shortened shifts up till the POTS showed up - then I just couldn't do it anymore. I tried so hard.

I like your cat analogy! Too true.