Asperger's in America

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I'm an American with undiagnosed Asperger's, also I'm an adult. I am having a hell of a time finding details about help for adult Asperger's in America. Almost everything that comes up is connected to the UK.

Which makes me suspect that in the UK there is better support for people with Asperger's. What kind of help does America offer for people with Asperger's? Is there financial aid for people with Asperger's? Job placement? disability?

http://www.autism-society.org/site/Page ... _aspergers

Contact your local OVR (occupational/vocational rehab) office and tell them you believe you have AS. Tell them you like to know about the services they offer. They will likely set up an appointment for you to see an OVR case worker. If you are undiagnosed, they will send to a psychologist (at their expense) to be evaluated. If you receive an official AS/ASD diagnosis, you will be eligible for the services they provide. These should include job placement assistance, financial aid for higher education, (be it college, vocational/trade school, etc....) access to psychological/psychiatric treatment if you need it, etc.....After they find you eligible for services, they may put you on a waiting list to actually RECEIVE services. I really can't tell you how long you'll be on this waiting list or if you'll placed on one at all. Your case worker probably won't even be able to tell you much about that. That's all determined at the state-level based on how in need of services they deem you to be, how many other people are in need of services, etc....

seems to me there are very good resources also in Australia.

i found the same thing about five years ago when first researching celiac disease (aka gluten intolerance). the American medical establishment is focused on pharmaceutical research and profit. so in things not necessarily best treated by pills, we lag behind the UK and Australia.

i realize this isn't helpful. i just had to opine.

I agree with you, but it is also a simple fact that Tony Attwood lives in Australia and Simon Baron-Coen lives in the UK.

Generally I respect Temple Grandin, but her focus is animals, not people.

I've dealt with the local Vocational Rehab office and they never offered a service like that themselves, that I was aware of. They did however, refer me to a local 'Counseling & Guidance Center' to request help with depression, after which I asked my Therapist to be evaluated for AS and she set me up with the staff psychologist for testing. All of this cost me nothing (but a mountain of government paperwork, so the Center could submit me for subsidy programs) because I was unemployed, without insurance and virtually homeless.

I can't be sure of what services VR offers from state-to-state. When I first started receiving VR services here in Florida in 1997, they covered all my college expenses (those not covered by Pell grants that is) including tuition, books and parking stickers. They gave me a choice between assisting me with higher education or helping me obtain employment. I was employed at the time, so that wasn't a concern. They also paid for my visits to a psychiatrist and medication. At the time, they would be willing to pay for a client's education up to a BA/BS degree.

VR has faced budget cuts in recent years and i'm sure those aren't just limited to VR in my state. I recently reapplied for services and they sent me in for another neuropsych evaluation since my most recent one was over three years ago. My case worker contacted me after receiving the results of this eval and told me i'm eligible for services, but that I would be placed on a waiting list. Much to my surprise, (I was told you could be on the waiting list for years) I received a letter from her on Tuesday stating that i'm off the waiting list and can now receive services.

I called her Weds to schedule an appointment to develope an IPE, (individualized plan for employment) but she was out of the office this week. They're usually pretty good about getting back to me, so i'm sure i'll hear from her next week. I'm not sure if they'll help with any college expenses this time, but i'm not really worried about that. Pell grants should cover alot of those and my family agreed to cover whatever amount that the grants will not. VR can benefit me the most this time around by offering job placement assistance. My work history is very spotty to say the very least (I haven't had an ummm... "real job" for over ten years) and I doubt anyone would hire me without the intervention of an entity like VR. They also might be able to at least help me with the costs of psychiatric visits and meds if need be.


At any rate...I can't give the OP any promises, but VR in his state might be something worthwhile for him to look into.

That's what I'm trying to do now. I've been in contact with my local VR, sent them some of my info and they said they'd assign me a counselor. Haven't heard from them in a few days though, so maybe this process takes a while?
It's looking like VR might be the only way I could get to see anyone for a diagnosis or any sort of help. I can't afford to a professional shrink, nor i can afford to go back to school and i certainly need the help to find better employment. I'm hoping it'll pan out into something that will help.

Yeah, I agree with the OP. I've done my own searching for adult ASD services and there's next to none here in Virginia at least.

If you're diagnosed, you may qualify for social security or disability in addition to medicare and vocational assistance, typically you have to be pretty persistent in order to get into the system.

To repeat what I said to Willard (and hopefully the OP will take note of this as well), I really don't know how VR operates in any state aside from my own. Nonetheless..... I can't imagine the differences between VR from state-to-state are all THAT vast. The process will probably take awhile and you might not hear from a counselor for a month or so after you initially contacted them. If you don't hear anything for two weeks after first contacting them, i'd say just call back to touch base. If VR in your state is anything like it is in mine, sending you to a psychologist for a Dx is among the first things they'll do. This SHOULD be entirely at their own expense and that much you may have been apprised of already.

Again....I can't guarantee anything with VR in your state. I'm not even sure of what services they'll ultimately offer me in my own state. I'll find out whenever I see this case worker/counselor, which SHOULD be sometime before the end of this month. In the case of my state at least, OVR services don't appear AS generous as they used to be due to recent budget cuts. I have no idea if the same applies in Virginia.

If nothing else....i'm pretty sure they'll (provided you get an official AS/ASD diagnosis) be able to help you find better employment and maybe, at least partially, cover the costs of therapy and meds if you require either. There's a chance they will assist you with tuition and other educational expenses, but I wouldn't become too hopeful about that if I were you.

You will hear from them soon enough. If not....stay on their case as squeaky wheels tend to get oiled.

Now I wouldn't BADGER them by calling them every week or whatever if I were you. Still...there's nothing wrong with being persistent by calling them every other week or so to see if you've been assigned to a counselor yet.

Good luck!! !

Last edited by Horus on 14 Aug 2010, 1:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks for all the help. It may not seem like much, but it's a whole lot more knowledge than I had before, which is always useful. I wasn't even sure if I could even get help if I wasn't a child.

Thank you all.