What comes after you leave home?

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I mean, if you're Autistic/have Asperger's, and you can't work because of it or another disorder, what in the world do you do?

Are you stuck forever in your parents' home, Even if the situation there is becoming beyond unbearable, until they die and you are passed onto your next of kin like some screwed up inheritance? Are you forced into jumping from job to job after being fired again and again? Is the only way to get out of your home in such a situation to admit yourself to some type of institution?

I've been in out-of-home programs before, and I've improved drastically, but now that I'm of age, there seems to be next to nothing in my area to help me. Of course the people around me tell me that there are adult that live in a "group-like" home situation, where there are individual bedrooms but shared common areas and a landlord/councellor, as well as "day programs" (and I still don't know what the heck these are, as I've never heard of them nor seen one).

I know that awareness about Asperger's (especially adults with it) is a somewhat new thing, but does anyone know where information can be found on these kinds of things? I mean, I'm not out of high school yet (I'm a year or so behind where I should be) and my AISH has yet to go through (which is another bag of worms entirely; no seriously, it's as distressing as putting your hand into a bag and only feeling squishy, cold, wet, wriggly worms in there), but currently my home situation is not just holding me back, but pushing me back to where I just came and not letting me make any forward progress.

There has to be somewhere to go from here, right? Someone mind lending me some hope? I really need it right now.

I am 38 and this question has being going around in my mind for years but I was always afraid to ask it.

Edit you won't like the answer I have come to in my own mind.

This depends on how conventional you are, and what your needs are.

If you need others support to live, and your not wanting to live with your parents, then you might end up in one of those group homes.

If you are functional enough to continue your education, you MIGHT be lucky enough to find a field you can work in.

If you're functioning enough for yourself but almost nothing else, you could try to pick up a volunteer position, hitchhike, join a circus, take up a craft, there are options.

If you're too functioning to live in a home, but not enough to take care of yourself, then you find yourself in a very unfortunate situation.

I don't know what else to say.

What kind of help do you need, specifically?

I moved out on my own, held a few jobs briefly, spent a few years living in my car, became a drunk, got arrested enough times that the judge offered me rehab (where I learned how successful people think), my parents let me move back in and start over, I went to church and met my wife, and we just bought a house together and I work for a huge hospital as a phlebotomist.

So that's one option...lol. But I'm lucky to be verbal and able to control my stims when needed.

Even after the age of leaving home, many people still live at home with folks nowadays even NTs due to the economy.
What comes next is up to you!
Don't let a disability limit you.
Depending on where you live/what disorders you have you could apply for SSI possibly.
You could travel, take college courses on something that interests you.
If you have other relatives that you like who you can stay with in different states, you can travel a bit.
I lived with an older sister for a while.
Finally after saving up money, my awesome mom matched my amount and got me a small modular house in Florida. So i am very greatful for my mother and all she has done for me.

I've had friends who lived in group homes. Some can be nice, others not so nice. Some are very strict and regulated. Other people don't respect eachother's space and they steal things.
Yet if it were a group home for only Auties/Aspies i'd think it safer than a mental health group home in general.

If you can find a good social worker, maybe she can help you get training or into the work force. They will sometimes give you test to see what type job you can handle. Never give up! Even if you save up money, eventually you can have that to do what you want to do!

I've had several friends who had gotten "stuck" in a home after high school with parents that were actually mentally ill, and these individuals suffered acute stress. One was an Aspie. He found his "out" volunteering with a religious program and moved many states away to ND.

It's likely he won't stay in ND forever, however it got him out of the house which he needed and he gets to see the world abit and figure out what the next move for him might be.