How many of you are on disability? Or can't work.

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You're saying you want in the military right? I say go for it if that's what you want to do. Look I know a guy who has to have Aspergers, okay he actually stalked me at work for a long time, and he was in the military. And I can tell from your posts you are smarter than him so go for it. I can't remember if you are in the US, but I've heard the US Army is so hard up trying to get new recruits they are accepting guys with prison records and drug problems. So if they will take those guys then there's no reason to not take an Aspie whether you are diagnosed or not shouldn't matter.

I've been on welfare close to 11.5 years total, almost 10 of which on disability. I tried working, but it was like racing on a treadmill. I'd stop to catch my breath and get thrown against the back wall. I think my record was 16 months at my dream job: file clerk for the government. Everything just unravels. I can do the job I was hired for but they keep changing details (new coworkers, desks moved about, etc.), and it's like the ground erodes bit by bit underneath me, until it's gone. Enough metaphors. Disability sucks, but it's better than nothing.

up until 5 years ago, i spent all my years on disability from the age of 18 onwards (in spite of my academic performance at school which was excellent.) i hit the world and fell apart even more.

the past five years i have been off disability. I feel incredibly lucky that this is the case, as i work as an artist at home and just paint on my own.

i CANNOT work normally. it is an anathema to me. impossible. everything falls apart. the simple routines i have in place start collpasing. I feel as if i am literally pulled into a vortex and my feet are sliding out from under me - i cannot eat or sleep, i cannot function with an externally imposed routine and i feel as if i am dying inside. i tried it a few times in my life and it has been like hell. i also cannot filter all the social exchanges out and i cannot filter out the sensory stuff, so it is like living in a cracking kaleidoscope when i work, WITHOUT the reflecting beauty.

But don't you need to be perfect to join? Lot of people get ejected because they have ADHD, or learning disabilities, autism, on medication, ashma, incontinence, diabetes, etc.

They do look in your school records and medical records. Our medical records are not kept private from the gov.

There was an article posted on here about an aspie being ejected from the army and he wanted to be in it since he was six.

I am taking a semester off from school so I can find some full time work. I'm not getting a lot of hours where I am now so I may just have to work two part time jobs. I would like to work full time so I can move back out again and just take a class or two on the side.

I've been on SSI since I was 18. Then starting in 2007 I was switched to Social Security Disabled Adult Child benefits because my mom retired. I had a hell of a time getting through school, and couldn't work during that time, so I had no work history at age 26, so nobody would hire me. I've never worked a full time job in my life, except for a brief stint as a teacher's aide to disabled high schoolers that went poorly-I was a temp, and every teacher I worked under hated me. So I'm starting a business. Online of course, so I don't have to deal with being around people. I have the involuntary "bouncing eyes" thing during interviews too. I guess it's stress.

Oh, and I always identified with D-FENS, the avenger in the 1993 movie Falling Down. I always thought that would be a cool way to go-take revenge then die in a blaze of glory. Except I'd kill politicians or bankers or something, maybe kill a Rothschild. Unfortunately for Anna, guns are illegal in Europe. You could probably get one on the black market though. Here in the US, guns are everywhere. Buy one off the street, then it's vengeance time. One of my favorite quotes is from a guy who killed his wife 20 years ago, then died in a shootout with cops: "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. But sometimes the Lord is busy doing other things." I wonder how many of us could do a real revenge attack. A school is too easy. Attacking a state capitol is something else. (The US Capitol has already been stormed by a guy with a gun, so rings of fences manned by soldiers protect THOSE crooks.) I've been wondering why somebody doesn't attack a big brokerage office in New York, one of the ones responsible for wrecking the world economy.

I was rejected based on the label, and its effects it's had (I failed the medical screening in other words); they don't like "Asperger's" (I put that down as that's the highest-functioning label I've had), nor do they like thoughts of death, self-harm, a psychiatric hospital stay, plus a few more misc. things in regards to mental health.

It's my interest, and it's bothersome that I can't partake in such, but alas, that's how the cookie crumbled in my case.

Thanks! I spent a day up at the place when I was interviewing and took a 30-45 minute walk around the runways with the guy who is going to be my boss (it's a defense contractor place for the Air Force so it's basically an airport) so I'm not afraid of them being surprised about how I am at least since I feel like they know me decently.

I may have a hard time getting a job, and have an even harder time dealing with people in the job, but I'm not about to go on disability of any kind.

I've already accepted financial aid for my college education, and denied a grant (yeah, like I need to take more peoples money?) that would have given me even more money.

If I were a torso (no arms or legs), I would still not accept disability.

Why don't you include paraplegics, quadraplegics, blind, deaf, mute, people with various deformities, etc????? I mean you OBVIOUSLY aren't limiting it to AS, AUTISM, or even PDD!! !!

I am not on disability yet, but going to investigate it. Am currently unable to work and living off savings.

Much of the disability I'm experiencing is a result of bad experiences in the workplace causing illness (this was in addition to the usual AS-related issues, and the usual discrimination based on lacking standard verbal and non-verbal communication traits.) I pushed myself to deal with some recent events caused by a bad system and not get pushed out quietly, to not let those involved get away with it (though they have so far) ...
which I won't go into; dwelling on it doesn't help. End result: almost constantly ill. The doc became angry after hearing about the events leading to it.

In the future I intend to try again (symbolically, also an "up yours" gesture) in a healthier environment and with autism-specific accomodations. Might take a while.

until the word gets around that the gal in the cardboard condo under the Burnside Bridge is murdering other homeless folks . . .

Are you implying that homeless people are scum? Anyways, I'm pretty sure scum in this sense was referring to your stereotypical drug dealer/street thug/bad guy, and not some guy who might actually be a great well-to-do person who is just down on his luck and living on the streets.

I am currently receiving Social Security payments ($600 something a month) but soon that will change because of my business and my professional speaking career. The sad thing is that I will probably always need a caregiver because I have so many mental health problems including (even though I don't agree with this one) schizoaffective disorder. My mom is my caregiver now and I don't know what I would do without her. By the way I got it because I have high functioning autism and the other problems but not Aspergers.

On disablilty for anxiety. I hope to be working again towards the middle of 09. I like to be working ideally but things that are not so good happen when I work full time. When I work in an office I become crazy with tension and anxiety in all my hours outside work and cannot enjoy my off-work life. I am pretty much a madwoman.

If I work in a shop I feel as if all the shoes and shirts and things are stuck in my head. I close my eyes and all I can see is shoes. Hopefully I will be able to work again but I will be taking it darn easy thats for sure. And I will have to find an employer who will be ok with that.

no, I am not 'implying' anything, however the years I lived on the street I was certainly treated like scum. I didn't meet any well-to-do people down on their luck, though. Mostly it was the well-to-do rushing from cab or town car to front doors that bolstered their sense entitlement by ignoring us completely. The scum treaters were mostly middle class ladies clutching their pocketbooks - and the middle class high school kids . . .you wanted to stay away from them, they liked to gang up and beat on you. Never had a drug dealer or a street thug beat up on me, though.

Merle