Disability benefits for aspergers?

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Pandora
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29 Aug 2007, 10:04 am

Lessian wrote:
wiggerbeater wrote:
Most people are turned down for SSI the first time they apply, unless they have a serious physical injury. 2nd time might work though.


It does not matter to the Aus government how many times you apply, there are so many rules and regulations that the centrelink staff might as well have to get permission to scratch their itchies. Even the few good people who work there are forced to switch off and stop being human for 8 hours a day.
Stupid government... *grumble*
That's why I could never work at Centrelink.


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29 Aug 2007, 1:21 pm

I sure wish there was a safety net for me. I've always been terrified of what's going to happen if I lose my job, because I have big problems with it, and it's EASY compared to probably anything else I could do. I'll most likely kill myself at that point since there's no safety net (or at least I have no clue how to access it).



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30 Aug 2007, 8:11 am

In the USA, social security disability is VERY difficult to get--you would have to be unable to get a job even as a Walmart greeter. Most Walmart stores in the USA have an employee in a wheelchair at the front door, pretty much doing nothing but watching the customers come and go. This keeps them employed, and off of social security disability. Asperger's isn't quite so visible a disability, so people coming into the store would be unlikely to think "How nice! Walmart is providing employment for a disabled person!"



whatamess
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30 Aug 2007, 1:51 pm

I would say you need to check websites for kids with autism and SSI benefits for them. The fact that kids with autism can now get SSI would make a normal person (or at least an AS with reason...hehe) that an adult diagnosed with the same, should also be eligible.

Ah! The world of NTs...Let's see...Insurance doesn't want to cover therapies for children with autism because they claim that there is no cure...that people cannot truly "get better"...so they qualify for SSI and can't get therapies...then you become an adult and the SSA states that you can get better? If someone could just make up their mind...

I do believe some therapies are good for children and possibly even adults, but just as some states have now made insurance companies cover autism therapies for children under age 6 (Texas for example), because before that age they have a "chance" of getting better with intensive therapy...but not for anyone above it, then they also turn around and say that actually, you can get better at 50? So, maybe instead your insurance company should be paying therapies for you...

Sorry, type of thing that aggravates me about NTs and their logic...none at all.



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30 Aug 2007, 3:27 pm

whatamess wrote:

Sorry, type of thing that aggravates me about NTs and their logic...none at all.


Stuff like this that I see in every area of life makes me furious every single day.



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01 Sep 2007, 4:21 pm

You could also look in to vocational rehabilitation, which is generally a state-run program. Their goal is to get you the treatment and skills that you need to get a job, and also to help you find the right job, and to make sure that you have the correct accommodations so you can keep that job.

They are a lot less strict in their acceptance policies than social security. I just got notification that I'm eligible for services from them, after filling out the application, having my doctors fill out forms, and meeting with a caseworker for an hour. And I'm a self-supporting phd student who manages to hold down several jobs at any given time. Of course, these aren't "real" jobs, they are assistantships and such, which are a lot more flexible and don't have the same level of responsibility as a real job.

Anyway, the first order of business for me is that they are going to pay for a neuropsych eval to find out what my strengths and weaknesses are and what the best ways to approach things for me will be. Now, I could have gone out and gotten one of those by myself, but it would have cost me a couple hundred $. Since I've been made eligible for services, the state is paying. And my caseworker is going to see if she can find any resources or ways to fund part or all of my assistance dog (he's trained and ready to go, as soon as I raise the $6000). Basically, the state is willing so spend some money now to make sure that I don't end up on social security later.

And really, seeing as (like most of us here) I wasn't diagnosed until my 20's and never received any treatments, accommodations, or anything else while I was in school, I don't feel like I'm taking advantage of anybody. Heck, maybe if they'd figured it out when I was 4 and done all those fancy early interventions, I wouldn't need so much help now!

Okay, so enough rambling. My point is, if you would like to work but just don't know if you are able, there are programs that can help with that.


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Cyanide
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01 Sep 2007, 7:43 pm

Wait a minute.....why do we get government money for having AS?....



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01 Sep 2007, 8:00 pm

If you really have AS, you would not be asking that question. Since you are asking, I am going to assume that you are either lying about yourself or are so mild that you may as well be an NT.

While we may look and act superficially normal, we are not. Most aspies have no trouble in getting work, but keeping that work is very difficult. After the honeymoon period is over, people get used to each other and are a lot less willing to overlook peculiarities and oddities. Little things suddenly become bigger things if they keep happening over time. The average aspie often burns out because of the stress caused by having to concentrate all day everyday on to many different things (read the other threads...).
Imagine having a list of 10 sentances that you had to remember on an ongoing basis, without having a prompter. You will forget words or whole sentances at some point, which is comparable to the aspie having to remember things like the nitty gritty of social ettiquete, how to do their job etc. some things will be missed somewhere. someone will get upset. heads may roll, jobs may be lost.
Aspies do deserve some kind of assistance simply because through no fault of our own, we are the equivalent of a square peg being forced to fit into a round hole. Most of the time this simply does not work. which is why aspies are frequently either unemployed or on the verge of a nervous breakdown. depression is also a common side effect due to the accumulated belief that no one wants to work with them, its their fault etc. many aspies burn out and become psychologically restricted in the types of work they are capable of doing.


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02 Sep 2007, 3:40 pm

Lessian wrote:
If you really have AS, you would not be asking that question. Since you are asking, I am going to assume that you are either lying about yourself or are so mild that you may as well be an NT.


Why would I not be asking that question? And as for your "assumptions" I'm going to call "farce".

Anyhoo, I guess that sort of makes sense. I got canned from my temporary industrial labor job after 3 days (it was supposed to last 2 weeks). I couldn't get the bloody rhythm down quite right. I've also had about 5 job interviews that never panned out.



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02 Sep 2007, 7:07 pm

wolfpup...ah, yes, me too...daily...the older I get the more I stay home...



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03 Sep 2007, 6:25 am

Lessian wrote:
If you really have AS, you would not be asking that question. Since you are asking, I am going to assume that you are either lying about yourself or are so mild that you may as well be an NT.

While we may look and act superficially normal, we are not. Most aspies have no trouble in getting work, but keeping that work is very difficult. After the honeymoon period is over, people get used to each other and are a lot less willing to overlook peculiarities and oddities. Little things suddenly become bigger things if they keep happening over time. The average aspie often burns out because of the stress caused by having to concentrate all day everyday on to many different things (read the other threads...).
Imagine having a list of 10 sentances that you had to remember on an ongoing basis, without having a prompter. You will forget words or whole sentances at some point, which is comparable to the aspie having to remember things like the nitty gritty of social ettiquete, how to do their job etc. some things will be missed somewhere. someone will get upset. heads may roll, jobs may be lost.

Aspies do deserve some kind of assistance simply because through no fault of our own, we are the equivalent of a square peg being forced to fit into a round hole. Most of the time this simply does not work. which is why aspies are frequently either unemployed or on the verge of a nervous breakdown. depression is also a common side effect due to the accumulated belief that no one wants to work with them, its their fault etc. many aspies burn out and become psychologically restricted in the types of work they are capable of doing.
It's like being in a state of perpetual culture shock.


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04 Sep 2007, 1:25 pm

DLA (Disability Living Allowance) in the UK is a farce. You want to claim it, you're better off telling them you're a manic depressive. According to the letters I receive, the standard payment for AS is Lower Rate on both Mobility and Care. My brothers wife, who consistently LIES that she is depressed, gets higher rate on both. She's not depressed.. shes just a bloody emo. Strikesd me as curious that a life long uncurable neurological disorder that affects almost every aspect of life is apparently easier to deal with than depression, a treatable, curable, and non-permanent condition. Go figure...


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11 Sep 2007, 3:21 pm

I did apply and was turned down for SSI, but I managed to win the appeal with the help of an attorney. I'm mostly in it for the insurance benefits because once I get a job, chances are that I may keep it for a long time. It's nice having some income while I'm out there going to interviews, and something in between temp assignments.


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14 Sep 2007, 9:13 am

Macbeth wrote:
DLA (Disability Living Allowance) in the UK is a farce. You want to claim it, you're better off telling them you're a manic depressive. According to the letters I receive, the standard payment for AS is Lower Rate on both Mobility and Care. My brothers wife, who consistently LIES that she is depressed, gets higher rate on both. She's not depressed.. shes just a bloody emo. Strikesd me as curious that a life long uncurable neurological disorder that affects almost every aspect of life is apparently easier to deal with than depression, a treatable, curable, and non-permanent condition. Go figure...

they are wrong and are just trying to get out of giving an aspergan benefits,it's not the label that matters but the persons support needs,with DLA,unless they've changed.
am was originally diagnosed with aspergers and although doctors and speech therapist concluded it was AD and not AS,it still had to be the official name on the form,even after all that,was on high for care,and low for mobility, they accept autism now on the forms,rather than as even though haven't been able to be rediagnosed yet,it helps to have a social worker,speech therapist etc who can get involved.

it is crap how people on the spectrum are treated,especially those without learning disabilities but still have support needs, mental healthies can have a bigger problem with benefits though [especially with incapacity] because their condition can change either way and the government is trying to get them back to work even when they are not ready.



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14 Sep 2007, 9:24 am

Macbeth wrote:
DLA (Disability Living Allowance) in the UK is a farce. You want to claim it, you're better off telling them you're a manic depressive. According to the letters I receive, the standard payment for AS is Lower Rate on both Mobility and Care. My brothers wife, who consistently LIES that she is depressed, gets higher rate on both. She's not depressed.. shes just a bloody emo. Strikesd me as curious that a life long uncurable neurological disorder that affects almost every aspect of life is apparently easier to deal with than depression, a treatable, curable, and non-permanent condition. Go figure...

You know what to write on the forms next time then. Bear in mind you are supposed to write like its the worst possible day in your life, from what I can remember from filling out the forms. Anyway, Lower rate for both is £35/ week or over £1700 a year. Its not a bad deal at all.



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14 Sep 2007, 9:27 am

Hadron wrote:
Macbeth wrote:
DLA (Disability Living Allowance) in the UK is a farce. You want to claim it, you're better off telling them you're a manic depressive. According to the letters I receive, the standard payment for AS is Lower Rate on both Mobility and Care. My brothers wife, who consistently LIES that she is depressed, gets higher rate on both. She's not depressed.. shes just a bloody emo. Strikesd me as curious that a life long uncurable neurological disorder that affects almost every aspect of life is apparently easier to deal with than depression, a treatable, curable, and non-permanent condition. Go figure...

You know what to write on the forms next time then. Bear in mind you are supposed to write like its the worst possible day in your life, from what I can remember from filling out the forms. Anyway, Lower rate for both is £35/ week or over £1700 a year. Its not a bad deal at all.

if does not exist,they will know as they phone the gp up to ask about it.