Am I the only one on here bothered by this?

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I know what you mean, definitely. I am currently taking SSI but it's only because my mom was supporting me and I didn't want her to have to. (her money was running out and she was really starting to struggle.) I will stop as soon as I can support myself, which will be soon. It can just be so hard to GET a job, no matter how hard you're willing to work. (I'll work so hard as soon as someone will take me!) I think some people just get so stuck. But it's definitely not right to just sit around and do nothing about it if you can think of anything else you might try to do. (I'm sure there are a lot of honest people getting SSI who would work if they could... like the people in the job club I was going to who were all trying so hard... but I'm also sure there are a lot who wouldn't, and who would complain and find excuses at every chance.)

Besides access to disability,
there needs to be more job programs for people on the autistic spectrum. These are rare.
Programs that match you with a job that you are able to do, with employers that value your skills- instead of employers only seeing the "disability".
I think if these programs were available, and NT employers were more open to the difficulties associated with AS, more AS people would be working.
But a large percentage of us cannot find jobs. Not because we are not capable, but because nobody is willing to give us a chance.

I have always worked jobs that gave me over 40 hrs a week. For what? It took me 12 yeaqrs just find a job willing to give me medical insurance. My first job at the resteraunt I worked harder than the rest of employees to prove I was as important or more so than the NT's. All they said was the reason I worked so hard was because I was too ret*d to know better. The boss there talked to me the same way he talked to a waitress's ret*d kid. He never talked to the other employees like that just me. No medical insurance, no 401K, and respect but they gave me all the hatred they could muster.

At the machine shop they did not treat me as bad as the resteraunt did. But at this job when I was not working on a polishing job I was slow and forgetfull. The machines caused me to be nervous and anxious when I worked with I was constantly pausing the machines actions to check the vices to make sure the part was secure. I also tightend the vices so tight I deformed the metal part makin an inaccurate mill. so they no longer needed when the polishing jobs dried up so they s**t canned me. The workers there would tease me but they showed me some respect for my work ethic and my polishing ability. I was always being compared to rainman because how akward I was but only good at one thing.

I do not think I am going to do the job training if I cannot find a medication for anxiety and my memory problems. The course is $3,000.00 dollars the course costs would be better used for medical insurance when my insurance runs out.

Wow, this thread took off!

I appreciate all the responses, and thank most of you for explaining your case without attacking me for questioning it. Thanks for your civility toward me. As usual, there is obviously more to the issue than I normally see or infer. I just want to reiterate that I'm not meaning to be an ass, I was honestly curious.

As for my statement "I don't view Asperger's as a disability" being wrong, No, it is not. It is my view, regardless of how the law defines a disability. If I directly stated "Asperger's is not a disability" then I would be wrong.

For those wondering, my post earlier yesterday was when I'd pretty much just gotten up for work so I was still pretty much half asleep.

Yes, I posted that half asleep; and surprisingly, I have no major issues with what I said.

Before I continue, despite what a lot of people seem to think, I'm no right-winger; I don't even vote anymore.

I'm apolitical, though I enjoy learning things via political history( as well as history in general).

My area of interest is economics, and I'm a die-hard Capitalist; I assure you Capitalism has less to do with either political party than you may honestly think.

That said...

The only money government has is what it takes from others; if the free market doesn't work--as many here are saying it doesn't--not only would there be no people to make charitable donations, but no people to tax for federal programs.

If you need further proof that Capitalism works better, look at a perfect side by side example: West Germany Vs East Germany. One was controlled by a totalitarian anti-Capitalistic regime, and one was controlled by a more economically free system. One of them thrived with growth and prosperity while the other didn't.

In countries where the market isn't heavily regulated, & generally free trade is allowed, charities are in better shape, & there actually are people to tax for Social/Socialist programs by the feds.

In countries with high taxes & crippling regulations--not to mention a population that is generally opposed to freedom & prosperity( at least moreso than the well-to-do nations)--charities can barely function, & you haven't seen bare bones offerings til you've experienced that type of situation. Also in those situations, the Social programs can't really offer much either since there's no one to tax to get the money from. Those are the countries that appear to usually be asking for aid from other countries because they're in such incredibly bad shape.

A lot of folks on this thread earlier who were in favor of the federal programs sounded like you believe you're entitled to this money....funny enough in the process bashing the very system that sees to it you're able to get the money. As the old saying goes "don't bite the hand that feeds you." And from what you seem to be telling me....you're completely screwed if that hand doesn't come around to feed you.

Now, ok...the reality is that most people are unfortunately Statists bordering on Socialism--which happens to also include the very "hand that feeds you"; they'd feel guilty if they didn't contribute to such a poorly constructed system of handouts. Thank their emotional states--that they're NT and & in most cases can't really comprehend anything better than that for those donations, even if they are in this case processed by the feds.

Bottom line: realistically, as of right now, they wouldn't accept into a free market system anyway.

However, just because everyone else-- for whatever reasons--backs shoddily handled systems/federal programs over private charities doesn't mean I'm going to approve or agree with it.

What really shocked me in this whole thread was how so many folks were not just in defense of a Socialist system as opposed to a private charity...but how many folks were throwing defensive arguments based on loads of poorly thought-out propaganda, brought to us by the mainstream media( and by that, I mean all the MSM...not just one channel or its competitors), and in the process were even throwing in pointers that...beared little-no relation to the topic at hand.

My earlier comments were even hammered with a condescending rebuttal. Look, if you don't agree with what I have to say, then argue the point; if it's got to be long & winded, with some important facts thrown in, then fine; this is certainly the forum for that.

But if you're gonna bash my argument just because you don't agree with it....y'know what? Then don't ever complain again about how you're treated in society since ya pretty much reduced many of yourselves to doing the exact same thing in this thread as they do to you.

I've often times said that Autistic people are capable of a higher level of comprehension & understanding than their NT counterparts; how is it when stuff like this comes up, I don't get to see that?

I'm not saying you have to agree with me, but geez....in the very least offer me a thorough & less condescending propaganda-based argument.

There's my answer in detail...and I didn't even have to use any politically-biased arguments to make it; happy now?

Hey TheDoctor82 what do you do for a living? I am not poking fun I am just curious. Same thing for the people who claim to hate seeing "healthy" Aspies on SSI what do they do for a living? I am not going to use it as an insult I am just intrested to see what types of jobs other Aspies are doing. I have posted on numerous posts my different jobs I had over the years.

I wanted to also add, it is not as easy to get a job as some people would like to think (these are generally the people who tell the unemployed to get a job).

A few summers back when I was on break from school I attempted to get a job. Mind you, I'm limited in what I can actually do and generally try to avoid jobs that will put me in the position of being fired, but it was just a summer job and I figured it'd be over by the time they decided to fire me so I applied for all the jobs I saw.

This is generally how it went.

Them: How long are you looking for employment for?
Me: Just the summer.
Them: I'm sorry, we're not hiring for seasonal summer positions.

Them: Do you have your own transportion?
Me: No. But I can get a ride.
Them: We really need someone with their own transportion.

Them: I'm sorry, we're not hiring right now.
Me: But the sign out front says you are.
Them: We always have that out just to expand our potential applicant pool.

Them: How long did you say you could work until?
Me: The first week of September.
Them: I'm sorry, we need someone who could work through "back to school".
Me: But the ad says "summer position".
Them: We were hiring for those in April.
Me: But that's when I applied.

Them: I'm sorry, we need someone with more experience.
Me: But the ad says "will train"
Them: By the time we finish training you the summer will be over.

And I could go on.

I even chased down a store manager and pressured him into giving me an interview. I still never heard back.

And concerning private charities, I think it's quite apparent that most people would rather buy big screen TV's than donate to a private charity unless that charity represented their religious or political ideals.

And then of course we have the issue of people such as yourself who deem themselves more qualified to determine someone's disability status and the impact it has on their lives, than the SSI system, which is actually quite rigorous.

In fact, if you see someone who is on SSI and they seem to you to not have some sort of disability that interferes with their life, that is more of an indicator of your lack of ability to detect that rather than the inability of the SSI system to detect otherwise.