Does your AS threaten your basic survival?

Post Reply New Topic

I won't expand on the question, on purpose, so that you take it in the direction you wish. I'm looking forward to everyone's comments.

I voted no. In the sense of feeding myself, watering myself, breeding, no, having AS is no hindrance. Doing these things in a socially acceptable manner, well, that's a different story.

I have absolutely no problem stealing necessities from a store. In fact, I've been known to go out of my way. Not that stealing is right. I just have a utopian mindset. I think all basic survival needs, food, water, some meagre form of shelter, those should be free. Your fancy BMW, not so much. So stealing basic foodstuffs, I'll steal those no problem. That's a survival skill.

I don't feel entitled, per se, I more feel that EVERYONE should be entitled to the basics. That people should work to better their neighbours, not themselves. But... that's not the world I live in. Sadly.

In today's society, yes.

I have the ability to hunt and to live off the land, but this is illegal, and this will lead to things that will threaten my ability to survive (I doubt I'd survive in jail/mental jail, as there'll always be a time where one is vulnerable). Also, I won't ask for help for myself, nor will I get assistance at my own volition; I won't ask for allowances, and I'll walk my own path, no matter the law of the land.

In my country of origin, it's not forbidden by law to steal bread. It's considered that if one steals bread, they're living in desperate conditions.

Yes, that's why it's a disability. I couldn't support myself, it exhausted me trying to keep a job for 18 years, then I had to give up, a wreck, at 40. But then, some people are luckier with work.

How do you sustain yourself now, postperson?

i'm aware that it do gives me some hard time

that's why i'm trying to be like "others" when i'm with them

obsessions give me a hard time needs to control

completly, definatly YES.

road crossing- v.poor.

i get annoyed with other people,and their noise- and show it.
one day when someone i ask (pointlessly) to speak quietly on thier mobile on a bus will smack me, rather than just shoting at me. someone was murdered on a bus near here for asking a kid to stop chucking chips about.

sometimes i cant speak- i often cant communicate properly- and am always in trouble in some way because of this.

i cant shop properly often, so live off biscuits and crisps a lot- im malnourished, if sated on monster munch and cadbury's fingers.

because i find people dificult to deal with, i dont have anyone i could call on if i were arrested or in hospital or in financial trouble.

yes, its quite depressing, isnt it........

My boyfriend can only do laundry if I guide him through and then he doesn't finish the task...I tested once and his clothes remained in the dryer for over a week. Though he has only even done two loads. ; P

I tell him to get some things to feed himself and he manages a few sandwich supplies and a 2 ltr. of soda. Though he is off for two days, he will bring home one days worth of food. ; P

I pay all the bills and handle all the finances, he seems fine by this typically...but occasionally will tell me I am controlling and he wants more responsibility. Then he changes his mind again. ; P

He cannot drive, nor does he want to...but he does hold a job, I am very proud of him for that.

I help him get them by driving him around and helping with the applications though...from then on he is a dedicated worker, even though he hates working.

I think he and I have determined he couldn't live alone, he needs help making things run smoothly...though he still fantasizes about being normal and being able to live by himself someday.

I vote yes.

I am blessed to be able to work and be self-sufficient, but I'm just getting by. I don't have a good paying job that allows me to save, build a retirement fund and I don't have a job with a pension plan, and my AS has largely been responsible for why I can't find a good job and hold on to it.

I do worry from time to time about what will happen to me when I get older and can't work or if my current job ends. I've always worked, so I shouldn't worry, but the tighter the job market, the harder it is for me to find anything and AS is a hindrance to open doors of opportunity.

Another interesting question from Greentea!

And an interesting answer:

As it suggests that if you were exactly the same, yet lived in a different time period, you would not be as disadvantaged as today. In , the better we work with others, the easier we can achieve our physiological needs.

Personally, my instant answer was "No". Not having problems with the basics of surviving, my problems have been exclusively social. But having thought about it a bit more, 'survival' is linked with being 'social', too. So in terms of Maslows heirarchy (which I don't totally believe in as a strict heirarchy, but I like the 'levels') , these days I have no problems with the lower 2 levels "Physiological" and "Safety". The next level is "Social"....and that's where my problems start.

When younger, though, I often ended up struggling in welfare because I couldn't keep a job. I lost them invariably for social interraction reasons, never ability to do the work. So it's not such a defninite "no" answer.

I don't really know. I mean, it makes me feel sick going shopping alone and all that kind of stuff but that's really down to other humans, isn't it?

I'd love to think I could go all John Rambo...find a big old sheet in the woods and make it into a tunic and stuff...in that sense, I think AS wouldn't affect my survival skills at all, but that's not very realistic, is it...

Disability pension + modest interest on investment.

Absolutely not.

It is disabling, yes, absolutely. But I can feed myself, dress myself, wash myself, use a toilet, transport myself around the community, etc. If left alone with no supports, I could survive--I might be homeless and eating out of dumpsters, but I would survive.

Down Syndrome, Rett Syndrome--those threaten basic survival. Asperger's does not.

I selected no; I'm only moderately affected with AS, I've had the benefit of a good education, and am stubborn as a tree stump, so I get by--I refuse to give up and turn into a mushroom.

I work with animals and do garden maintanence. I've also done construction work. I've held jobs for up to 3 years at a time before they finally got rid of me... always the same: you do good work but you don't get along well. The animal work and the garden work is more independent, requires less socializing, and if I loose one client there is usually another around, so it keeps the money coming in. It's not great money, but it's a living. And I enjoy it.

The days when I am too overwhelmed to run errands are relatively few and far between and I have a wonderful partner, so she picks up the slack when I need to keep my head down for a spell.

I also live in the country, where 'characters' abound, so my quirks are more normal than maybe they would be in corporate clone-dom. Cubicles give me hives.

While the corporate world has many distasteful elements to it, we are certainly not all clones. I'm lucky enough to be in a group that recognizes my strengths without dwelling on my weaknesses. There is no doubt, however, that I am the "odd bird" in the office.

I realize that the corporate world isn't for everyone to work in, and sometimes it's a challenge. But not all companies and groups are alike, that is for sure.