Can aspies earn success?

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I wonder if I'm the only aspie who wants to actually earn success rather than demand it? I actually reject and find offensive the communist notion that people can't earn success. I find it offensive to say that people with aspergers can't earn success as much as NTs and have to be aided by the government. It also scares me what the government is doing right now. I don't think anything with the word "autism" should be brought into lawmaking. I don't want to sound like an ass, but this is my very strong opinion.

How do you define success? I make 50,000 a year and I'm on track to buy a house this summer. I struggle on a daily basis with asperger's and everything associated with it.

It's certainly possible, but there's no shame if it doesn't happen.. it's a lot more crippling than it's made out to be since we appear so normal. I wouldn't judge an aspie for being on SSI. But I always preach, staying within a comfort zone your whole life will never lead to happiness.

There are aspies and auties out there who have no choice but to accept government aid. These people are just unable to care for themselves and are dependent on caretakers for basic needs like dressing, grooming, hygiene, feeding and so on.

I'm entering a stage in my life where I've become dependent because of various disabilities I have no control over. I can't walk like I used to because of gout. I have crippling depression and anxiety. I'm simply unable to hold on to jobs like I did in the past.

You're looking at success.

Capacity within yourself to achieve success isn't the only thing needed though. External factors can be very pervasive against you.

I'm good at my job and I'm studying towards becoming a CA, but I just can't shake the feeling that there's something out of my control stopping me from moving forward. Its got something to do with others and them knowing I have AS, their presumptions about my abilities, and their notion that impaired people aren't meant to be in the workforce. Discrimination, but very subtle and well meaning.

How is it logically possible that everyone and anyone no matter the circumstances can earn success especially without external aid from the government or any other external entity?

I´d say as well, you need to define what success is for you. What you might see as an success, might for other simply be pure horror. Lady Gaga is an popular popstar, but if I became an popular popstar, it would not be an success, but actually pure horror because of me not wanting to do so, and only having misadvantages from that.

So what it is that you want to succeed in? Life happyness, social influence, posing with material stuff, ...? ^^

Assuming that you are speaking of financial success, some autistics are capable of it and some are not. Some need assistance through government assisted programs and some do not. i have never been succesful as far as having a big house, fancy car [I also don't drive] or huge bank account.

I have never needed government assistance but my jobs have always been minimum wage and often I had to work two different jobs. Functioning has become much more difficult the last years. I could not even begin to handle even one job at this point. I am not on government assistance, but only because I have a husband who works. If I were not married I would need assistance and there would be no shame in requesting it. Unfortunately, though, if I were receiving it and heard or read something similar to what you posted it would make me feel horrible and be one more reminder of why attempted suicides are 28 times higher in the HFA population than among NTs'

I could be misinterpreting your post. If I am, I apologize. If I am not, apology rescinded.

Nope! Success is won and winning takes effort. This is a workable prescription for success -- get out there and earn it!


Add to that the claim made by some losers that only those who lie, cheat and steal will ever be successful, and you'll see how really offensive such thinking can be.


It is not only an offensive claim to make, but an ignorant one. I put myself through school, earned my degrees, and now make a yearly six-figure income. The government doesn't help me, nor do any communists.


Okay, that's your opinion. I happen to respectfully disagree. There are some people with Autism who are much worse off than either of us, and whose parents are well past retirement age. It is not unlikely that many of those parents have a hard enough time supporting themselves on their limited incomes without the added financial burden of supporting one or more of their severely Autistic offspring, as well. For these people, a little government assistance (food, clothing, housing, medical care, et cetera) is not only beneficial to them, but the compassionate thing to do.

Otherwise, the alternative is to remove all support and leave those Autistic adults to fend for themselves on the streets.

Me too. I think apergians like Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg put the lie to that one, along with with bunches of us without celebrity.

Include Warren Buffett in that, the richest man in USA.

I ponder the question of success. Before I found (figured ?) out I had Asperger's, I blamed it on that I am the fourth child, and one can find websites that show birth order has an effect. Then I was blaming Asperger's. Now I starting to think its all BS, its me, and nothing else to blame.

A site I found on birth order:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ful ... -means-you

Then I question, what would it get me anyways? We have a paid-for house, paid-for cars, much in investments. I am scared s**tless looking out of the windows of multistory houses or climbing on the roof of one, and I can't see the point in spending more for a car that has everything I need and most of what I want - and cars depreciate (loose value over time even just sitting there).

That is to say, at some point, all you do with a bigger house is have more place to put more s**t in it that costs you more money. Materialism.

If an aspie grows up in a nurturing environment with supportive parents and family who believe that they can be successful, they can achieve success. If the aspie is raised in an environment where surrounded by a bunch of abelist family members, It could be harder for them to achieve success.

I like your post and agree 100% but with the slight change to:

" medical care, et cetera) is not only beneficial to them, but the compassionate thing to do."

only to change compassionate to human which I feel is less me/them (which I know was not your intent.

denny

I agree with everything you've said, aspies are perfectly capable of achieving this kind of success if they push themselves to.

But a good question to ask; is it ableist, if an aspie decides that the working/college life is too much for them, and does not work? Is it ableist to say they're not living to their full potential, or to call them lazy? It affects us all differently, but it's a good topic to think about.

I think, like others have said it depends on how you define success.

I have been extremely fortunate to have found a job where I manage to stay, not without problems, but also not without some people being understanding toward my differences. If I was in a place that didn't allow me to be myself I would never be able to hold down a job.

Look at some of the people here - RedRobin for instance has govt support (as he mentioned above, but he's putting effort into writing and publishing books. It's too hard a line to say because you don't have a job you aren't successful.

But as for me, if I had to live with my family I would have killed myself by now, and I'm not a suicidal type. It's that our relationship was poisonous to me. I'd be dead. I'm so fortunate, but I don't consider myself better than anyone else.

Yes you are the only aspie who wants to actually earn success rather than demand it. The rest of us are just lazy and think we should be entitled to private jets, mansions, swimming pools in our back yards, private limos and all that high living stuff. If we would only try harder we'd all be successful, we don't have any impairments in functioning or socialization and there are no barriers in society whatsoever that could possibly effect our chances of success. We're all just too lazy to bother with anything. We're all just a bunch of frauds, didn't you know?