Aspies - are you independent?

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Not only am I independent but a role model for NTs as well.

I've been able to live on my own, but things tend to fall apart when I have no safety net. Mostly I find independence difficult to manage or sustain without assistance. I also find it difficult to hold a job for very long before sensory or social overload shuts me down.

None of this is really depressing or anything to me - things are as they are. I'm working on finding ways to live with it rather than struggle with it as I have for so long.

I'm 17, so I still live at home. I have until September 2012 and then I guess I'm going to uni, which I'd rather not think about.
Speaking in Aspie terms, yes, I am completely independent. I can feed myself etc, I would be the last person you'd send to a care home, in that sense, I'm fine. Independent in the other sense- people always describe me as independent ("you always want to do things by yourself, I've noticed that..."...yas, like you're the first to have done that!), but I'm pretty reliant on my parents for things like kind words, emotional support, to keep loneliness in check. Recently I felt a big step back in affection from them because a/ they've stopped nagging me about school, b/ they've stopped nagging me about music, c/ it feels like my father (who's usually so careful with my feelings) just attacked me about not being smart and stuff, and because I still sort of resent them not knowing about all the stuff that was going on in school and how much I dreaded schooltime and how they didn't make the effort to find out (it's irrational) when they used to be so involved in my life. I'm not really ready to be properly independent sort of like, I'll do my own thing as long as I've got stuff to bat away.

My mum was talking about me going to work under my uncle in Paris for some time for work experience, and then she checked herself and said, "wait, what! how could she stay in an apartment on her own, she can't wash herself, feed herself, talk to people..."...didn't jolt my self confidence or anything. I know how much to eat and how not to stink and work experience in a factory somewhere wouldn't need too much talking. I sort of have a history of eating very little and throwing away food. My parents will wake me up in the evening to ask me if I've eaten dinner, on the days they let me eat alone. My dad goes crazy if he finds out I haven't brushed my teeth. Okay, maybe all evidence of the overprotectiveness is not quite gone yet!

I don't have a job, so no I'm not independent. Ask me again in 5 years when I hopefully graduate with my bachelors degree in engineering and I'll be able to give you a better answer.

I still live at home with my parents. I am a very absent-minded person, so I don't take very good care of myself. For example, I forget to put clean clothes away, to shower, to brush my teeth, to use the restroom when I need to, to call in my prescriptions, etc. I am also very gullible, naive and oblivious to my surroundings, so it would be easy for someone to take advantage of me in any sense of the word.

Even after my parents pass away, I'm either going to have to live in an assisted living facility or have someone come to my house everyday to check on me.

No, living at home, on the gov't 'dole (SSDI). My parents are elderly and increasingly need my help (and have no extended family of friends nearby), so I plan to stay here until they pass on.

I had about 5-6 months on my own once, where I got to learn what "executive dysfunction" means. It was a slow, gradual descent into chaos, un-dealt-with paperwork/bills/dirty-dishes, and so on. I only seemed to need a little help, but that that little bit made a big difference. (Now, I have additional problems, though, so that amount has increased.)

I had jobs from age 16 to about age 32, but was lucky with the first two (which lasted about 7 years). There were difficulties when I had to function in more normal work environments (worked by myself most of the time with those first two jobs). And college, with that little bit of help (little bit of cleaning help w/living space and kitchen, basically) worked out ok (well, I was fried afterwards, but I was able for that time to accomplish what needed to be accomplished).

I am and I'm not.

I'm a very independent person, and I was always the more independent of my friends - the first to move away from home, the first (possibly only) to live alone, to cut myself off from them when they were being morons, to get a job, to go to college when others stayed in 6th form, didn't need a peer group to make decisions, followed my own fashion sense not theirs, etc.

However being aspie and being poor makes me dependent. I am unemployed which means I require financial support form the government, as I'm poor and will remain poor this will probably always be the case in some form or another. I often require other people's support to do things that require social interaction, for example my boyfriend still sometimes needs to phone companies to sort out problems for me (if I'm unable to mail/email). When forced I can be a lot more independent, but I do rely on others to support me in some areas of my life.

If you left me alone for a week you probably return to a an unusually malnourished boy unable to get out of bed past noon without some encouragment. I can't really go out alone unless it's to the local small newsagent and I couldn't work at a job right now.

But that said, I do regardless spend most of my time alone keeping to myself.

Currently I am. I am 30 years old, have a good job, and purchased a condo a year and a half ago.

Previously, off and on. I moved back into my parents' house 5 times since I turned 18.

I am NOT independent! I am more dependent on others than is considered normal. (I have Dependent Personality Disorder, as well as other disorders... )

My personality is independant, but I'm not capable of taking care of myself independantly. I have no problem taking care of others, but I can't make decisions regarding myself. (Does anyone else notice this?)
I'm not capable of holding down a job that could pay my bills. I can't go to places if I HAVE to go there. I also can't do something if someone TELLS me to do it. (Asking is a different story, I love helping when I am asked) If it's a choice, I can do something, but otherwise I feel forced and it makes me panic. When I panic I either shutdown, or meltdown.
I tend to forget things like paying bills, grocery shopping, taking showers, eating, sleeping.

My husband is great...he helps me with writing things on the calendar and making decisions. Also, phoning me to make sure I leave on time, doing the shopping, taking me for "test runs" if we have to go somewhere new...I really depend on him for so much.

The poor man, he has ME and a three year old. LOL.

Graduated, moved nearly 2,000 miles away from home, work full time.

Yes, I am independent.

I'm mostly dependent on my husband financially at this point and I hate it. I am very independent. I was laid off by my job of 11 years in February. I help him with his company now. I don't enjoy that either. It was supposed to offer me some flexibility. I work more now than I have since before I met my husband.

I have lived alone and with room mates. If I am alone and schedule things properly I am very self-sufficient - I am capable of maintaining a job, keeping a clean house (down to regular dusting and polishing) take care of all my meals and laundry and pay my bills (having a small emotional support network makes it easier). Once you throw someone else into the equation and expect them to preform a function with some level of consistency you can throw everything out the window.

Yes, I consider myself to be very independent.

Although I technically still live at home, I am taking care of my father (btw he's in his late 60s and has a heart condition) and performing all of the adult responsibilities around the house (i.e. going to the store to get the groceries and stuff for my dad, pay the bills for the house, etc). My father is the best dad that a guy could ask for . He has done a lot for me while I was growing up.

I also am able to do my own laundry, make my own bed, maintaining personal hygiene (i.e. showering, shaving), get an adequate amount of social interaction every day, keep up with my school work, and get up early in the morning on my own without my father having to wake me up (I have had 8 am classes on Mondays-Thursdays this semester). I am also about to graduate from college and I will be attending grad school in the fall going for a PhD in Biostatistics.

I am not independent at all. I am on disability and don't have a real job (I just speak at autism conferences, an artist and help with my brother's company) and live with my parents at the age of 28. I have multiple disabilities that prevent me from holding on to a job. I just can't live on $600 a month and would NOT accept being poor. I'd rather live with my parents until I am 100 years old than be poor. There are times where I literally can't take care of myself other than the simple hygiene. I can't figure out simple things such as cooking things more advanced than a TV dinner or a pizza. Right now I am getting early indications that I might go psychotic because I haven't really slept for 3 1/2 days (maybe a couple hours a night) and this is the first indication and also I am starting to get thought insertion. Its mild at this moment but as we get through this month there is a birthday and that always triggers this in me (my mom's birthday is May 5th). I have classic autism and schizoaffective disorder so it makes things difficult.

I guess I should add that while logistically I'm mostly independent, I still seek out a lot of guidance.