Asperger's Syndrome news.

tony.aspergers wrote: »

Support in the areas of housing, jobs, and general life?

Hi Tony

Would you like to expand on the particular needs of people with Aspergers Syndrome in relation to housing, jobs and general life? What kind of supports are needed?

Thanks for the detail, Tony. Can we discuss these points a bit further;

- Lots of people don't like cooking! But really, that is just something we have to work around or live with. Is this a 'need' relating to the condition, or a 'want'?

- Lots of people want houses, but why should people with Aspergers have additional entitlements relating to their disability?

- I can understand that some people with Aspergers would want quiet places, away from children. I'm wondering if this is one of those 'be careful what you wish for' things. Does it really lead to a healthy community where there are no kids, and no families with kids around? In my personal experience, families with kids are often the ones who care most about taking care of open spaces, and keeping an eye out for strangers etc. Also, some people with Aspergers are parents themselves, so how would this work?

For supported employment, aren't there supports available through local organisations under IASE? What more is required that isn't available today through IASE organisations?

I'm really not arguing with you - I'm just trying to explore this further to understand the issues.

quiet, yes for you can SPIN in noise and clatter.
cooking - i know of one person who LOATHES cooking and cleaning but for me, i see that as not a fault in this person but something very strange.
suddenly in the middle of washing up, just as the person comes to the end of the whole darn thing, a scene happens, a tiny dance and offa the scene, its very funny to watch, just cannot tolerate it long enough to finish a job pretty much being well done!
screaming children, nope not for me, but worse, barking dogs...AHHH! work, never able. fine about work, always a pretty damn hard worker but it was other people who did my head in with fright. i can cope on one to one and when sure of my stance otherwise, i am offa out of there/here!

tony.aspergers wrote: »

My ideal landlord needs to be able to realise that I'm not necessarily going to keep the place spotless at all times, nor am I going to want to keep his supplied moveable furniture in the exact places where he originally placed it, and that I may for example require a heavy blackout curtain in my bedroom to enable me to sleep properly.....

Nothing you've said in terms of living arrangements applies only to people with Aspergers. There are many young people who are leaving home for the first time and haven't learned or had the interest in learning how to keep a home clean. Many people in rented accommodation move furniture around (the main thing is not to damage it, and put it back where it was when you're leaving).

I need blackout curtains to sleep, and always bought my own blackout linings when I was renting, which I put up and took away with me when I left. I can't sleep with weird lights (such as those on some sockets) on, but rather than expecting the landlord to do something about it, I covered the lights with a post-it.

Nick, the drinking must go!
i am an older aspie and believe that once you know your strengths you will cope better.
help is there.
budgeting help can come from MAABS.
jobs, well now there are E-courses to upgrade skills.
and working at home is always possible for aspies. i did it all my life.
social life - try for this when you are young.
try to understand your stengths here too and just little outings and bravery at first.
it can be very lonely later in life to have no one, as i do, bar a gorgeous twin sister. but i believe if i had not succumbed to help in the wrong source, aka psychiatry i would have been better. help for aspies now is there and us older were not even recognised as this, i was as late as 54 to get this diagnosis. it has helped put understanding to all the 'why's i had about self.
discover what is making you binge drink and then attemp another way to solve that, or part of that.
best of luck and sorry for the preach.:)

to go through what others have said about their needs and to consider these as 'normal' and most people would be prefer such and such misses the point entirely.
you have to be an aspie to understand what it can be like and how anxiety provoking the so called 'normality' of ordinary day to day stuff can be.
try telling someone for instance, who is picking out all the onions in a dish cos the texture is strange and its a food that 'feels funny' thats another aspie i know.
so stay away from being so judgmental, its important to the person/s who say what they say here on this forum.

i think you can earn a certain amount when on disability.
never dive anywhere and you right to get the experience.
i had to as well.
that part was difficult for me, and again the supportive element wasnt there and i think most jobs now understand far more about asperger.
allowances is being made to a degree and this is helpful and useful.

tony, you have lost the run of yourself!!!!!
:)

yoyo wrote: »

I have Aspergers Syndrome and would love to work, my issue (due to AS) however has been making it difficult and frustrating for me to have a chance. I only wear Tracksuit bottoms, T shirts and Runners. I do not wear suits, Jeans etc type clothing. Now people may say sure just throw on a suit, its just for an interview etc. People just don't realise how "minor" issues we with AS have can be such a burdon on us.
I have tried plenty of times to "overcome" this issue,

Dress code generally isn't an issue for 'back-office' roles in many IT companies. If your main role is going to be testing or coding, it wont really matter what you're wearing. Having said that, wearing a tracksuit all the time would probably be a bit unusual.

You could try being up-front about your condition and your needs. This might well work with some employers. Or maybe you could try to find a middle ground. The line between tracksuit and combats or some other casual pants isn't huge, so maybe you could find something suitable there.

tony.aspergers wrote: »

What would be rather interesting is a major company being formed, lets say somewhere in the Greater Dublin area in one of the many empty business parks, formed by and run by people with AS.......

Even if everyone was employed on a voluntary basis and kept their Disability Allowance. The rules for DA allow for each person who is claiming it to have cash assets of anything up to €50,000 as far as I know, excluding the value of any one owned/occupied property.

The €50,000 could be made up of shares in the company, for example.......!

Only an idea....

No disrespect, but this sounds like a terrible idea to me - it sounds very segregated. People with AS should be involved in IT companies, on the same basis as everyone else. If they can run their own companies, that's great. Let them run companies with the right business partners, rather than choosing people based on their particular disability.

treecreeper wrote: »

hey, is there ANY help for adult aspies?
what is available and how do you source.
i would like some photo media and audio visual education as i want to put something together with all my artwork.
have you seen any such stuff for adults to engage with this sort of thing?
and help for those aspies who are mobility compromised as in sticks and wheelchairs?
advocate doesnt seem to be able to help and brian miller was approached to no avail.:)

I guess FAS would be the main training provider. They have good experience with people with all kinds of disabilities. Why not look out for what courses are available at your local FAS office, and tell them what particular requirements you may have.

tony.aspergers wrote: »

but FAS are going.....going.....gone, or will be soon....

It's just changing name. The training service still exists.

tony.aspergers wrote: »

My ideal landlord needs to be able to realise that I'm not necessarily going to keep the place spotless at all times, nor am I going to want to keep his supplied moveable furniture in the exact places where he originally placed it, and that I may for example require a heavy blackout curtain in my bedroom to enable me to sleep properly.....

These requirements don't sound unusual at all. Many tenants will kids will want blackout curtains.

tony.aspergers wrote: »

And no the National Advocacy Service appears to have been abandoned, haven't had anything from them this year or last year.... Eric Isherwood seems to be the only person doing much and most of that he is doing voluntarily....

There is nothing at http://www.citizensinformationboard.ie/services/advocacy_services/ about the service being abandoned. Just to be clear, I'm referring to the individual support service provided. If you're referring to some kind of campaigning role, then this doesn't come under the National Advocacy Service.

hi there,
you are between a rock and a hard place for sure.
try to stay calm, no. 1.
there are very little options open to you in this matter as i had the same difficulty.
remember though, diagnosis will not change a lot.
you still have to face your difficulties.
but diagnosis will and even help you understand better about yourself.
you went to fitzgerald for the asperger assessment and he gave you the diagnosis of asperger?
he is used a lot for such but there are others out there, eg Rita Honan or others at the Autism unit at Trinity College dublin.
the most important thing right now is to stay safe and try not to be absorbed into the psychiatric system.
it can so easily happen and i am afraid that there you may find alot of stigma and prejudice thereafter.
this is my experience.
self injury or such is not good and means that you are in a lot of mental and emotional pain. this too will lead to awful judgements from the doctors you will encounter throughout life.
once they see self injury you will immediately be seen as a malingerer, a nutter and lunatic!
self injury is a real response to inner turmoil.
contact Aspire and your local support group for people wit h Autism and AS.
these people, even though little help is out there are very very supportive of people with as and in trouble.
they will and can be on the end of a telephone line for comfort and encouragement.
remember though, there is very little help especially once you become an adult and all that is supposed to go with that after 18. all grown up and an |Adult, little do they understand that a lot of adults are never such and never will be and many want to be and many do not even act in an adult fashion.
take heart...just stay calm and try to self comfort, do small things each day that will make you proud of yourself. nothing big, do not look at the bigger picture right now.
and lastly on the family, dont even consider them just right now, dont go down the road of trying to sort the barrier there just right now. you have to care first for yourself.
i was rubbished all my life by family and i still do not have them. i am 60 with a very rare syndrome and a shortened life expectancy. so its important to feel that each day is Alive and vibrant and worth it.
it is, i feel, verymuch so.
take care:)

Hi, this is a comfort to know. remember when one door closes another opens./
have you dont the written questionaire for asperger cos its useful to have that done so that dr. honan can see this and also get someone you know who knows you very well to fill out a similar one and to give his/her opinion, its actually a fair testing method. i got my twin to do it and i didnt interfer. it needs to be very objective. but remember, at the end of the day, all traits even if asperger is just another way of viewing the world, acceptance of that and who you are is the order of the day.
but one thing i implore stay away from cutting into yourself. there are far less invasive methods to deal with inner turmoil, try writing or speaking intoa camera/'computer etc. but not the blade.
people who see self injury on an arm believe one thing 'oh a nutter!\

Asperger's Syndrome is no more... At least according to the Irish Independent newspaper.

http://www.independent.ie/health/asperger-syndrome-is-no-more-3320150.html

What they don't say here is Asperger's Syndrome may now fall under or should I say may be misdiagnosed as social communication disorder.

Janneke wrote: »

Two of my nearest and dearest have Asperger's and my family were never aware of it being classed as a disability for which you could get disability allowance in the first place. One was never diagnosed (despite the best efforts of his family) and never received proper support.

So what happens now? Will people with Asperger's be lumped in with autism?! From my experience, Asperger's isn't a black and white thing at all. I've known some people who go undiagnosed but manage to "blend in" with some degree of success and others who don't. Lack of diagnosis was a HUGE problem for our family, and it seems insane they're just "removing" it.

It will be classed as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, think of it as a line 1 meter long, Autism is at the beginning and Asperger's would be anywhere from near the start of the line to the end depending on the individual, their needs and the support structure in place and when they are diagnosed.

I was diagnosed when I was 25, I am 30 now and have received very little support, I am now getting a small amount of support. Also to answer your question it's not being removed so to speak it is rather being revised which is in it's self insane as many people will be lumped in now in areas that do not concern them. Speak with your GP on the concern for your family members may be they may know of local services available to help.

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Asperger's Syndrome is no more... At least according to the Irish Independent newspaper.

http://www.independent.ie/health/asperger-syndrome-is-no-more-3320150.html

What they don't say here is Asperger's Syndrome may now fall under or should I say may be misdiagnosed as social communication disorder.

That article is a mess.

I feel under obligation to point out that the originator of this thread "tony.aspergers" has just received a 4.5 year sentence in Trim for serious sexual offences:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sex-offender-assaulted-teenager-at-audition-233449.html

As someone with AS myself I do not believe that was a factor (whether causal or mitigating) in his offending.

aare wrote: »

I feel under obligation to point out that the originator of this thread "tony.aspergers" has just received a 4.5 year sentence in Trim for serious sexual offences:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sex-offender-assaulted-teenager-at-audition-233449.html

As someone with AS myself I do not believe that was a factor (whether causal or mitigating) in his offending.

am in agreement and do hope they dont use ASD as an excuse.

some people with aspergers do have issues in that area; am severely autistic and live in a specialist autism residential centre which also has a independant living service and one of the lads in that has aspergers; his biggest issue from it is social rules as he doesnt understand how to handle women and he has been in the police station many a time for his behavior towards women, however he has the capacity to learn not to do it and he has got to the point where he doesnt have any staff at all at night anymore and he has independant time during the day with no staff.

the person involved in this article has lied and manipulated to abuse a boy- lying and complex manipulation are difficulties found in people all over the spectrum,is he actualy a diagnosed aspie?

So what happens now? Will people with Asperger's be lumped in with autism?! From my experience, Asperger's isn't a black and white thing at all.

aspergers is autism,there is no label called autism and never has been.
why make it sound as if aspergers is the only label affected in this-it affected every other label on the spectrum! why the worry about aspies being 'lumped in' with us,perhaps those of us with classic autism didnt want to be 'lumped in' with anyone either as aspies arent the only people on the spectrum who can make opinions, it isnt nice to automaticaly make judgements about a group not being good/worthy enough to associate with.

there are a number of famous classic autistics who are/were under the label of high functioning and as adults are on a level with aspies; temple grandin, stephen wiltshire, einstein to name a few.

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Some good news on the employment front;

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/22/us-sap-autism-idUSBRE94L0ZN20130522

Here's the Irish angle on the recruitment story;

http://www.irishtimes.com/sponsored/skills-matched-up-with-technology-needs-in-specialist-link-up-1.1424670