Why would someone pretend to have aspergers?

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What state do you live in? here in NJ, a birth certificate is 4 points and you dont need the passport...just 2 other forms of ID...you can order a college/high school transcript which counts as 2 points and boom your in....thats all you need.

Also, you can use your High school diploma, GED, or college diploma as 1 point. You can use your health insurance card with a printed pay stub...each is 1 point. You saying you have none of these??

In New York a birth certificate gives 0 points. I never went to college and didn't finish high school. If I didn't have my ged I'd have 2-3 points instead of 3-4.

Have you thought about contacting your state's or city's legal aid office? A lawyer should be able to figure this problem out. Legal aid would probably pay for it.

Ok...do you have a Social Security card? because those are easy to obtain.

I have the ged but I don't work or have insurance. I'm also not on welfare. When the lady at the dmv saw what I had with me she asked if I had a benefit card. I guess she thought I looked like I was on welfare.

I have birth certificate, social security card, ged, credit card (prepaid so might not count), and old id that is too old for them to count it.

I would look up legal aid like someone just said in New york..do you live in the city or upstate? because in manhattan they are plenty of them that should be able to help you get these documents to help you along the path to getting your permit.

When I was trying to learn how to drive, I almost drove right into a dumpster:



That was partially in the road (it was a back road, about a half mile of straight driving, no other cars, just this one dumpster). I did not see the dumpster until it was pointed out to me, and only just managed to miss it by a few inches. The more sensory input I have to process, the fewer things I actually see as what they are instead of unprocessed collections of color and shapes that have no meaning to me. I might also mention the time a storm drain grate actually mesmerized me into riding my bicycle onto it and breaking the front wheel.

Anyway, I'm applying for disability so haven't really been looking for work. In order to get near mass transit, I need to move about 20 miles north at the minimum. So to even start on your advice, I need money. Which I hope to have, although I am not likely to start looking for work in the near future. I'm not sure what my plans are, except to get somewhere I can live in relative peace from my family. The state has some possible avenues of assistance in terms of finding housing (but not many).

I hadn't thought of that. I'm terrible at thinking of how to ask for help.

Thanks.

Im going to be honest with you...iv had a few accidents...some my fault, others were their fault....it happens...thats why you are forced to pay auto insurance..which is expensive. But thats life...and owning a car is expensive, not gonna lie. Which is why you gotta save up and make sure you have a job before getting the car. Auto insurance can be over 500 a month. I understand the sensory issues you have...but i think you can do it if you tried hard to make it happen...you just had a bad experience when you were taught how to drive, thats nothing to be ashamed of...i had the same exact experience, which is why i put off driving for 10 years!....just tell yourself when you get in the car to focus on the road and the area between your rear view windows, and you'll be fine.

Haven't read the other responses yet (supposed to be doing something else hmmm) but

I can not imagine any reason why anyone would pretend to have Asperger's but ~

I can see someone believing that they have it, but being wrong ~ actually it's possible that I know a person like that, but it's just as possible that they really do have it.
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I'm not going to get a job. I am going on disability. I can't have more than $2000 in assets. I will have an income of under $700 a month. I am considered unemployably disabled and already receive state benefits. A car is beyond my reach and I don't want one. I prefer mass transit. I can memorize bus routes and bus schedules and get nearly anywhere that has service with little difficulty.

That was just one experience I was using to illustrate my problems. It's not the only problem I had trying to learn to drive. I did learn to drive one vehicle, but when I got into another vehicle with similar controls I had to learn all over again, and actually wasn't able to pull it off. I had to learn yet again on my next attempt, in another car. More successful, but it also led to a near-collision because I couldn't even see what was on the road.

Also, there was the time when it was darker than usual and raining heavily while going home on a freeway (I wasn't driving) and I was unable to recognize where I was - I thought we were going in the wrong direction or even on the wrong freeway. I had to actually see a sign to recognize that it was both the correct freeway and the correct direction.

I appreciate that you're being helpful, but this is something I've already been through and made my peace with. I know what I am comfortable with and able to do.

And just because you can drive does not mean everyone on the spectrum can drive. There are some of us which truly cannot drive, Verdandi seems to put herself in this category and I definitely put myself in this category. There's a difference between "this is a challenge I can overcome" and "it is unsafe for me and others to put me on the road."

You compare it to walking (which is an incredibly bad comparison in my mind, but will do for this point). When I start disassociating (which I do when I get overloaded and start shutting down), I do literally walk into the other people on the sidewalks. I can mechanically walk home from the store, and am scared enough of cars that this includes stopping and waiting for all cars to pass all of the side streets, but beyond that, I can't take in any input about where I am and process it. I've disassociated. That's not a safe thing to do on sidewalks walking, not to mention in a car.

Part of why comparing to walking is not a good comparison is that while you're walking, you can at any point stop and wait until you are comfortable and not interfere with anyone else. I am bad enough at judging distances that cars will travel that I will stop and wait to be incredibly careful about cars, unless I'm crossing with someone else who has a better sense of this. While walking I've managed to get cars annoyed at me for being so conservative, while driving, this would cause problems. Because I know that I'll shutdown, I do also sometimes actually purposefully move shutdowns to safer parts of the walk. This is not an option in a car, and any shutdown in the car would be unsafe.

I can't deal with headlights, or other lights on the car. They drastically aggravate my headaches, the low beams blind me, and they are one of the easiest way to push me into sensory overload. Sensory overload puts me into shutdowns.

Uncontrolled narcolepsy is considered a reason to be medically unable to drive, uncontrolled epilepsy or other seizures is also a reason to be medically unable to drive. Both of these are safer than putting me behind the wheel of a car.

Maybe your sensory issues are only very mild, but sensory issues can be incredibly disabling and can easily keep someone from being able to be safe to drive.

I will never drive. I am aware of this. I am aware that my challenges would put me into the medically unable to drive category, not just the 'this is harder for me than others' category. If someone else does not feel safe to drive, they can carefully pursue it to see if they're safer than they think, but should not be pushed towards driving without it being at that level.

Yes, not having a car is inconvenient. I'm reliant on public transportation (which I get reduced fare tickets for), and walking. My boyfriend doesn't even drive, because when he was age 16 it wouldn't have been safe to put him behind a wheel either, because he'd hyperfocus on things he's thinking about enough to walk into walls (another example as to why walking can show how unsafe driving would be, and how walking isn't always "simple").

It's a challenge for us, but this way is safer. I'm on the side of knowing I'll never drive. He's on the side of now that he's gotten more control, he's going to take it incredibly slowly and see whether there's the possibility of it being safe to get his learner's permit, and then continue on in a very slow process if it is, to correctly determine safety. For him the decade has made a difference, he might or might not be safe to drive now. For me, a decade won't.

I understand, and in no way do I think driving is the answer for everyone. But I do know from experience that a lot of difficulties can be overcome and sometimes its just fear that holds people back. I was putting the suggestion out there to see if it was a problem that could be overcome, in her particular circumstance. I also am speaking from personal experience about how much it has changed my life for the better. I want others to consider the option if they are capable of doing it. If you genuinely have fears and have issues walking in general, than obviously driving is not good for poor motor skills. Their is always mass transit. But i think the next option is looking for employment near mass transit faciltiies. That would be just as good for the well being of the individual.

CrazyCatLord & Goodwitchy seem closest to the truth, and especially as it relates to me..
Remember I came from a time when "Autistic" was little short of a death sentence for the parent's of the child.
My differences/oddities were used to frighten me into behaving. Or rather ACTING normal. I could do that, but I've had tons of problems with relationships/communicating (esp. non-verbal stuff) through the decades.
I simply CANNOT see this as something anyone would want to fake. I suppose a sociopath might do it to get out of a Jail Sentence if caught commiting a crime. That seems possible..
I don't tell my cousins, even now. They wouldn't understand. And I *tolerate* hugs from their wives.
I know my mother ACTUALLY knows I am, but she has practiced denial, esp. in public for so long its become a way of Life..
*************
For myself, ASD is the only thing that truly fits. Schizoid does a bit, but I tend to stim a lot & that IS NOT a schizoid trait. And that might be an ASD anyway.

Sincerely,
Matt

Seems pretty hip to some people to be on the lines of mentally ret*d. Aspergers isn't retardation but I look like one sometimes so I fail to see the glamour that some people attach to it. I honestly think most people don't get what it really is and want to be linked to the "genius" or "Bill Gates" gene.