I feel for you (and you are right about that doctor; is there an authority of some kind you can file a complaint with? What you report is certainly un-ethical!) and it's part of our nature that money seems to slip through our fingers (often due to the actions of others).
The best defense I've found is a combination of vigillance and indifference (to monetary wealth, that is; it really dosn't buy you happiness, but it's sure a pisser when you lose it due to events beyond your control).
The avaricious types tend to be good at spotting potential "victims" (the landlord who tries to hold onto your deposit, the banks who overcharge, the con-man in the street; they all try particularly hard to deprive us "gullible" types of our hard earned cash) and also those who have a low opinion of anyone who seems too "diferent", and who thus are indiferent to our rights or welfare (and this doctor seems to be in this category) and thus careless in their duties towards us.
The proper response, to my mind is not to give up but to fight back; plan ahead, keep control of your money for as long as you can (don't trust others to treat you fairly; it's much easier to pay late than to recover money paid too soon) and always take legal action if you're confident of winning (not as likely as you'd think though; my own experience has shown that Judges can be biased against autistics too, and are inclined to give the thieves the benefit of any doubt if they appear more "normal" than we do) but that requires study, as the application of laws is nowhere near as rational or fair as most people suppose.
None of this will seem very helpful at the moment, I know, but this is a tempory event; do what you can to get that form filled, but if it comes to the worse, then pay up and then put the whole thing behind you. Tommorrow is another (brighter) day.
31 May 2005, 10:53 am
