How come people with Aspergers can't work ?

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cavendish
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24 May 2012, 4:49 pm

I just saw the following article on the Internet. I am not saying that people with Aspergers don't have some problems, but why can't they get out there and work?








Even if you go bankrupt, it's nearly
impossible to shake off your student loans.

But a lawyer for a former law student trying to "discharge," or obtain
forgiveness, for more than $300,000 in student loan debt recently found
a way.

Last week a Maryland judge forgave Carol Todd's $339,361 loan bill
because she suffers from

Asperger Syndrome, considered a high-functioning form of autism.

According to the legal news site Law.com Todd argued that her
disability prevented her from paying back the $339,361 she borrowed in
order to attend the Baltimore School of Law. Todd, who has a high
school equivalency degree and a Ph.D. from an unaccredited online
school, began law school in 1992 when she was 39 and later dropped out.
She filed for bankruptcy in 2009 at age 63.

While credit card debt and other kinds of loans are forgiven in
bankruptcy, shaking off student loans is much more difficult. Debtors
seeking forgiveness from education debt must prove the loans will
impose an undue hardship on themselves or their dependents.

Sometimes even death is not reason enough to have education debt
forgiven.

The judge in Todd's case ruled that her disability prevented her from
working and was thus reason enough to discharge her loans, according to
Law.com.


As college tuition rises and wages fall, and increasing number of
people are defaulting on their student loans.

And as outstanding student debt in America balloons to more than $1
trillion, some law makers are questioning the strict, unforgiving
bankruptcy laws that were put in place in 2005 to deter students from
abandoning the loans they took out to pay for college.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) has
introduced legislation that would make it easier for private student
loans to be forgiven during bankruptcy.



helles
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24 May 2012, 4:54 pm

Got Aspergers. Work until I pass out, Every f...... day!

And I got a real job as well.

But, a lot of people are worse off than me, I know.

Helle



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24 May 2012, 4:56 pm

Well there is a number of reasons it may be difficult for someone with aspergers to find a job or function at a job. I mean I tried going to college and my mental problems interfered with my ability to complete my studies. It wasn't just Aspergers, but depending on how severe someones AS is that could interfere to.

So yeah functioning at a job if I can't function well enough for two classes at a community college...is probably not going to happen. But I cannot say what every aspies reason for not being able to get out there and work is I can only speak for myself.

I think the way college loans are handled is BS, I mean coerce kids to take out huge sums of money they may or may not be able to pay back, in the hopes college will actually work out for them and then some end up in debt they have no way to pay back.


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SilkySifaka
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24 May 2012, 5:07 pm

I think it depends on the individual - some people with AS will manage to work but other's will not. Likewise, some people with depression work while others cannot. Presumably the Judge was privy to information not in the article and made the decision on the basis of the individual. This doesn't automatically mean that all (or even many) people with AS cannot work, or will not have to pay back loans.



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24 May 2012, 5:13 pm

Got it, and have always worked even while I was a student. Have held my current job for 7 years. I feel useless when I am not working ...

As someone else said, we are all different. Just because I can & do work, doesn't mean everyone with the same diagnosis can.

Although I do think that many more people could work than actually do (and this doesn't apply just to those with Aspergers, I'm referring to all people) but they just don't want to.


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24 May 2012, 5:15 pm

That case doesn't prove that people with AS can't work; it proves that this particular person with AS can't work. Many of us can and do work. I find myself constantly having to remind people of that--it's hard enough getting into the workforce without people assuming we can't possibly do it. True, some of us really can't; and there's no shame in that. What makes me mad is when you're prevented from working not because you can't, but because other people are convinced you can't. We've got the right to be hired for jobs on an equal basis with everybody else.


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bnky
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24 May 2012, 5:16 pm

She studied law, presumably to be a lawyer (?) I read the case as merely suggesting that lawyer isn't likely to be a successful career choice for an Aspie.
Unfortunately the article doesn't say when this person was diagnosed, but it was obviously after she'd already started her studies.



edgewaters
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24 May 2012, 5:19 pm

There's a lot of human capital going to waste because of discrimination. Everyone pays for it. Whose fault is it? It's always been the case that groups that are discriminated against, also get blamed for the discrimination. In literally every single case of a group that ever suffered any sort of discrimination. Just part of the head-game that goes along with that sort of nonsensical maliciousness.



League_Girl
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24 May 2012, 5:24 pm

The math is off. How was she 39 in 1992 and 63 in 2009? She be 56, not 63.



Callista
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24 May 2012, 5:24 pm

bnky wrote:
She studied law, presumably to be a lawyer (?) I read the case as merely suggesting that lawyer isn't likely to be a successful career choice for an Aspie.
Unfortunately the article doesn't say when this person was diagnosed, but it was obviously after she'd already started her studies.
No reason why it should be. An Aspie lawyer isn't impossible; it all depends on what sort of law you're doing and what sort of AS traits you have. If you are good with using very precise language and are capable of public speaking, I don't see why it shouldn't be possible, especially if most of your work involves writing and interpreting written information.

Evidently it wasn't possible for this particular Aspie, and it was definitely a bad idea not to do the research that would've uncovered that fact before she paid for law school--but I don't think that someone diagnosed with AS would necessarily automatically draw the conclusion that it meant they could never be a lawyer.


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24 May 2012, 5:28 pm

Why working can be difficult for someone with AS:

- sensory issues of which examples are that noises can hurt your ears and head and interrupt your thoughts every other second or completely prevent you from thinking for the time being (the same with smells, sights, so on)
- unpredictable events and spontaneous changes of plans (could cause different levels of anxiety for some, blackouts for others or shutdowns, meltdowns, "just" continuously sloppy and bad work due to inability to focus despite frequent disruptions and despite trying hard to perform well, mental illnesses in response to the over-stimulation of unexpected events (burn-out, reactive depressive disorder, the autism getting worse/autistic temporary or long-term loss of skills), physical illnesses in response to the over-stimulation of unexpected events (temporary or long-term immune deficiencies, gastrities and more and worse)
- social impairments that make it impossible to integrate into a regular workplace; if the amount of social communication necessary for a certain level of productivity cannot be fulfilled by either the autistic person or the normal people working with them; high (too complicated, heavy importance placed upon forming relationships rather than getting the job done) or simply unsuited (too "dumbed down", exclusion) social expectations for the autistic person by co-workers can also lower productivity at the workplace for the autistic person and the co-workers

There are more reasons I can't think of right now because it's past midnight and I need to get back to the film I'm watching.

Also, a lot of people with AS have co-morbid disorder that further interfere with their ability to function like a normal member of society but anxiety disorders, depression and bipolar as well as OCD aren't always listed as separates conditions for autistic people and articles, even mental health professional, will attribute the symptoms of those to autism. It's something to keep in mind however as that sort of "crime" is done to more (common and/or well-known) disorders than just ASDs.


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CuriousKitten
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24 May 2012, 5:37 pm

Aspies can and do work productively. I've worked in IT for 10 years, and 7 years before that as an Animal Care Assistant. I expect I'll get another IT job as soon as I get my certifications updated.

Everything I've read, and my own experiences indicate that the key to productive employment is to find a way to make a special interest profitable.

If Law is a special interest of hers, depending on her symptoms, perhaps she could be a researcher of some sort, or find some other role that isn't in the spotlight or as high pressure.

I've often thought the statistics regarding Aspies/Autie employment are skewed by several circumstances:
* Aspergers only appeared in the Psyc playbook in 1994 -- most of those who were diagnosed as children are still rather young
* Spectumites so often have a developmental delay. For me, my emotional maturity at 35 years old was roughly equivalent to a typical 20 year old. (I've often wondered if that is something we learn cognitively, like we do social skills)
* Of older spectrumites, mostly those with the most problems will seek diagnosis



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24 May 2012, 5:41 pm

Callista wrote:
That case doesn't prove that people with AS can't work; it proves that this particular person with AS can't work. Many of us can and do work. I find myself constantly having to remind people of that--it's hard enough getting into the workforce without people assuming we can't possibly do it. True, some of us really can't; and there's no shame in that. What makes me mad is when you're prevented from working not because you can't, but because other people are convinced you can't. We've got the right to be hired for jobs on an equal basis with everybody else.


I feel like I am mostly prevented from working by how others respond to me...I mean I could work if I could have time off when I need it and do the work when I can....but most jobs don't allow for that sort of thing so I'm kinda stuck not working for now since I cannot function to their standards. I mean I can do good work, when my symptoms are not bombarding me but unfortunately my symptoms are usually bombarding me especially the more stress I am under.


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24 May 2012, 5:42 pm

CuriousKitten wrote:
* Of older spectrumites, mostly those with the most problems will seek diagnosis


I plan to, but I wouldn't really bother if I didn't think it could help me access services that might help me get better employment or employment that I enjoy more. Hell, even just full time employment of a tolerable nature.



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24 May 2012, 5:45 pm

A lot of people with AS can work, but because of limited eye-contact, lack of experience, low confidence and a small social circle, very few are willing to give them a chance.



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24 May 2012, 5:49 pm

cavendish wrote:
Todd, who has a high
school equivalency degree and a Ph.D. from an unaccredited online
school, began law school in 1992 when she was 39 and later dropped out.
She filed for bankruptcy in 2009 at age 63.


Hmm... something doesn't add up here. Either that or Todd invented a time machine.