Dismayed By Lack of Adult Support

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I have noticed the same thing when it comes to non verbal learning disorder support for adults. There is practically none. All the support is pretty much directed towards humans that are under the age of 25. All the online support groups for nvld are filled with parents of child with nvld looking for support from other parents with children with nvld. I am pretty much convinced as with Aspergers once he hit the age of a young adult you are pretty much on your own. I think it has to do mostly with the fact that children and teens are a captive audience. Parents still have some control over them and what they do. There is some hope though. There are some Aspegers support groups on meetup.com

Here is a discussion-thread on Asperger adult concerns that discusses specifics regarding adult supports: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt255730.html

The Asperger’s Association of New England’s Life Management Assistance Program is mentioned in the story 'Adults with Asperger's get help from LifeMAP Coach'
http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20140 ... /140415800

Here is one program that provides one of many examples; in drawing parallels to develop and support appropriate Asperger adult programs anywhere.

Not to be dismayed by lack of adult supports, or discouraged (to a point where we feel our voices in Forums such as WrongPlanet make little or no difference); hence we remain silent to "out of the box" approaches deserving further discussions, support and results that actually serve Asperger adults!

Thank-you

one time i tried to get some sort of help and the autism expert (phd) said that adults were out of his league; he only could help children.

I often wish I were living at a home and had some help with basic living tasks, like managing bills and doing laundry, and being organized...

I just seem to yearn for understanding, and acceptance. It feels like everyone thinks they know better about myself than I do, and my input is pushed aside sometimes.

The councilor/therapist I'm seeing normally deals with children on the spectrum. She tried to find a support group for me recently and was rather surprised when all she found was support groups for children or parents of children on the spectrum.

Well, she shouldn't be. Money goes to support mandatory school programs (the districts must provide IEPs etc.) and the courts. ASD kids are in the system in school, but don't make up a significant part of the mental-health/neuro problems the justice system sees; people just implode quietly at home or struggle along. Thus no services. The support groups that exist for people with various other issues, rheumatoid arthritis or what have you, don't have social impairments that preclude their forming functioning groups, and often have spouses/families that help with organization when they're unwell. There's also little adult counseling for AS, so few counselor-led support groups.

Pete1061: I noticed you mentioned Portland, OR as your location. Support groups for adults I know about in Portland include ASAN for political advocacy, Roger Meyer's support group that meets one Sunday a month and usually includes group-chosen topics and the occasional movie with autistic characters, Dorks on Parade meet and informal discussion at a cafe, and maybe related to the Dorks a group that advertises Parallel Play, where we would get together and do art next to each other. Now that I've had a cochlear implant and can hear again, I'm hoping to be able to go to Parallel Play.

Hi.
I agree with Tomas73, that practical help and advocacy, rather than "support group" assistance is beneficial.
I live in New Zealand, where autism/AS is not, er, how to say this..... as much in the news as in the USA and Europe.
The population is much smaller, and people here tend to have a black-and-white view of "disability", in which there are either "normal people" or "disabled people" (non-verbal, wheelchair-bound etc etc).
Therefore the "disability support" available is geared toward those people.

Personally, I could do with an employment advocate, who would make initial contact with potential employers, saving me from those anxiety-inducing phonecalls. But no, I'm too high-functioning to receive assistance and I can't pay for private help. Sigh.

I know one thing that helps with my practical function, and Temple Grandin talks about it a lot... to have a clear behaviour around things like grooming, chores around the house, manners and so on. She usually talks about this in terms of teaching functionality to a child on the spectrum. However, it applies equally to adults.... just that we have to do it ourselves rather than have a parent or therapist teaching us.

For example,
I wash my hair three times a week (otherwise I would forget entirely).
Tuesday I vacuum the house.
Wednesday is rubbish day.
Thursday is cleaning the bathroom.
If job seeking, apply for one position per week.
Have dinner with brother/s once per month (otherwise would never see them).

I think it's best not to become too strict about my routine, because I want it to be productive i.e. achieving the practical goal, rather than doing it for the sake of "doing a routine". So, if I don't get around to vacuuming on Tuesday, I do it within the next day or two. Spacing out practical tasks this way stops them building up into a massive task, and helps keep my energy moving forward every day.

I'm sure there are other things like this that we can do as self-help, when there is little else available to us.