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MarcelloP
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Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Age: 33
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Location: Madrid

15 Apr 2014, 6:06 am

I hear all of these stories about adults who are 30 or even 40 with Asperger's still living at home (usually from the standpoint of the mother or father), but ultimately what do you do when your entire family thinks that Asperger's is just some made-up disorder? When I was younger I was diagnosed with bipolar and adhd and put on a ton of medication that ultimately did nothing for me at all. I quit all therapy when I was 18 and noticed no changes at all (because of course I was being treated for the wrong thing anyway. The diagnosis eventually turned to Asperger's when I was 17, of course they promptly told me there was no "cure" so any medication was meaningless).

Fast-forward and I am 22 and a Senior in college. I have no practical work experience at all. I have done some volunteering but nothing much. I live with my Grandparent's, who are kind enough to support me and treat me like I am a young child (they of course don't actually think there is anything wrong with me at all, they think that I will get some high-paying job out of college and be hugely successful and otherwise think me perfectly normal).

My parent's have already made it clear they could care less if I live or die, even telling me on multiple occasions that I should just kill myself now and speed up the inevitable, that when my Grandparents are no longer around I will be left on the streets to fend for myself. Idk, looking forwards that seems to be a definite possibility in the future. Idk what to do now, but it seems to me like the ones who are living at home at 40 are the lucky ones.

Anyone else have family members who basically told them they were freaks and they should grow up or die?



kraftiekortie
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15 Apr 2014, 7:10 am

I could understand your discontent and your hurt. It's terrible that your parents have that attitude.

What are you studying in college? I think the best thing to do is to just try to prove your parents wrong, and achieve success in life. I bet you can do it. :D

If you dwell on the past. the past will come to bite you.



iammaz
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15 Apr 2014, 7:39 am

I was.. asked.. to leave home when i was 16. I went to university on my own. finished, got a job and now manage on my own.

It definitely had some very hard moments. there were times when i thought i'd never make it but my only choice was to do what i needed to do to survive.. or not. There is a lot of freedom in having nothing left to lose.

I wont pretend that it all worked out ideally but its a life. its a living.



MarcelloP
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Joined: 13 Apr 2014
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15 Apr 2014, 7:51 am

I am studying accounting. The main problem is that it runs completely opposite to my "knowledge area", which would be music. I got really discouraged about not being able to make a living that way so I quit composing and playing the piano. Accounting is something I am good at, I am just finding it hard to get any kind of relevant work experience. Also many of the other business-oriented courses I am forced to take are incredibly distracting.

Its a real effort to not just sit around all day playing the piano or a video game, because I know once I do, I will probably be at it for hours (or days) on end.



iammaz
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15 Apr 2014, 7:54 am

I *love* music. I work as a programmer.

"Whatever you do, do it well" is a statement that has held a lot of weight in my experience. Paying attention to the details and knowing the rules of what you're working on can get you a long way. :)

Maybe you can find something you particularly enjoy in accounting and focus on that? Be the best at it.



Kiriae
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15 Apr 2014, 8:59 am

I'm 25. My dad keep telling me I "should leave the house and never come back and he doesn't care if I end up under a bridge or something" but fortunately my mom is against it since she believes it is very hard for me to get a job. To be honest getting a job was hard for me 1-2 years ago, after I got my bachelors degree in accounting and I didn't want to work at that. But I ended up working for a few months and had some fun. Officially I was a "younger accountant"- but my job was not related to accounting at all, practically I was "a help" - I was fixing computers, sending text messages and e-mails, preparing the furniture from Ikea, looking for stuff my boss lost, taking care of the file archives etc. They wanted to keep me longer but they added picking phones to my duties and I couldn't agree with that since I hate talking through phone. Everything distracts me when I do and sometimes I even forget I am speaking with someone.
Anyway. Right now I see my future in brighter colors. I am learning to become an IT specialist in a weekend school and I kinda like it so I believe I will be able to get a job related to this after I get my title a year since now. My dad thinks I should get a job because it is "only" a weekends school but I don't plan to wake up at 6AM seven days a week. I'm not a masochist. :D