How dare they discriminate against Aspergers?

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Despite severe social anxiety , depression and Aspergers: I was recently rejected the disabled pension. The government discriminates against Aspergers and does not even believe it even exists.

My claim was denied because I was not disabled enough and they believe I can work 15 hours a week within the next two years(main criteria of determining eligibility for disabled pension). Screw the government they can go to Hell.

Alcoholics and junkies get disabled pensions easier than people with Aspergers. It is a disgrace how the welfare system operates. Stuck with the lower welfare payment and forced to look for work or studyon the unemployment benefits.

Has anyone been rejected a disability claim from the government?

Sorry. You can reapply in time, right?

It sounds like you live in the Police States of America. I have "full blown autism," and I was rejected as well. I also have a lawyer to fight for me as well.

So Aspergers doesn't qualify one for SSI? If so, that's a kick in the pants for a demographic group where 90+% are unemployed. The rates of unemployment among most other SSI-qualified disabled groups is noticeably lower.

Is that your first application, reconsideration, or all the way to appeal?

Not unless you've got a lawyer, it doesn't. Even if you do have a lawyer on your side, claiming benefits because of Asperger's can take a very long time. What I don't understand is the government's quick response when it comes to "replacing" EBT cards for those who sell their cards for large amounts of money/illegal drugs, yet applying for SSI because of an ASD could take months, if not years.

Aspergers is supposed to qualify people for SSI because it's under the autistic spectrum at least that is how it is in Colorado....but I still got denied even though I also have PTSD, depression and anxiety. So me being the person I am decided not to pursue it. Yeah I know I can appeal and all that but I have college to do and maybe I can find a job.....if not then I am sure I will find some way to make it in the world. The only issue is for better or worse I use cannabis to self medicate so that does limit the sorts of jobs I can get even further then the jobs I can't have based on sensory issues. But basically if I end up having to resort to illegal means to make a living then who's fault will that be? maybe they should have approved me.

I was denied Employment Support Allowance (ESA).
They have criteria for physical and mental disabilities, not neurological conditions and the way the system works there is not only no criteria but no way for them to take into consideration the fact AS/ASD can effect different people differently and at different times.

Being declined ESA means I had to go back on Job Seekers Allowance (JSA).
JSA is not nice, visiting the job centre is a two-weekly cause of distress, more so when their staff are either stupid, ignorant or prejudice - they keep trying to make me apply for jobs I can't do, although when I try to point out to them my disabilities they use this as an excuse to kick me off JSA - but if they kick me off JSA in theory they'd have to let me on ESA.

I can work, I want to work...but with no support the government is stopping me from getting back into work.
In all fairness, not sure where you are but here in the UK we're screwed no matter who we are, people in poverty and vulnerable people are being forced to suffer and it's just not acceptable, granted people on the spectrum seem to be invisible so it's a little worse

Slightly un-related but....another thing that irritates me about disablity in general is people get all pissy if someone on welfare owns anything nice. I mean what if someone is on welfare because of disability they should wear filthy old clothes, torn up shoes and be without a cell phone, lap top or video game system otherwise they are 'abusing the system' I mean what the hell quality of life is actually important for mental health.

^^^--- thank you.

Some government official in England got fairly derisive about a disabled person being on twitter and suggested that being able to tweet meant that they perhaps weren't as disabled as they claimed to be.

Yeah, people who get assistance should get a basic cell phone, at the least. Notice that I said basic cell phone, not smartphone. Here's a few questions for all of us at WP to ponder: how can one tell who's "abusing the system" and who's not? Does it come down to trust? What kinds of evidence definitively prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that someone is disabled?

Hear, hear!

What's worse is when there are implications that we choose this, not working is some sort of lifestyle choice, or worse still that not working and living on benefits is the easy way out or we're somehow better off...because living on benefits is freakin' awesome! I live on £50 per week which doesn't even come close to covering everything that I need in terms of bills/gas/electricity/rent/food/toiletries/clothing, I have ever growing debts as well as credit so bad I'll never be get a loan or a mortgage, I have no social life thanks to no cash, my entire life is on hold and this will carry on to effect the lives of children I've not even had yet!

Someone once told me, in all seriousness and knowing I was disabled, that I should spend all my days doing whatever my [employed] boyfriend tells me to...all the housework, all the cooking, and anything he wants in the bedroom - on benefits you're not allowed anything nice, anything at all...any freedom, any respect or any individual rights.

/rant
/vent

There is assistance in the US to get cell phones.

I'm on assistance and I pay $30/month for my cell phone service. I can do twitter, facebook, e-mail, etc. Definitely not a smart phone, though.

I should note that Wrong Planet really needs a mobile friendly page. Or if there is one, I haven't found the option/address.

Edit to add: I am not accessing assistance to get a cell phone, I just bought one of those that uses prepaid time.

Last edited by Verdandi on 18 May 2011, 11:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

what's with your posts dark lord?

they all seem hypothetical to me

and a kind of jive in a way..=/

some kind of social experiment or something?

During my medical assessment for ESA they asked questions like 'Do you use Facebook?'
If you do it means you can sit in front of a computer, thus work in positions such as call centre jobs for example. The way in which they ask these questions it makes it sound like they're just chatting with you so it's easy to be tricked into answering them and so unknowingly saying you can do something that you actually can't, it's really unfair.

Last edited by Bloodheart on 18 May 2011, 11:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Totally agree with you that WrongPlanet needs a mobile page for users "on the go".