The older person on the spectrum and the downplaying of how they're doing

This is really bad of people to be so dismissive! I have a number of family members in their 70's who don't get any support, because they don't need it, in fact my mother-in-law still works full time as a support worker. IF someone is getting support then it is for a reason, such as disability. There seems to be a reluctance of people to accept that someone actually has a disability though!

So true Kitsune   . With me - there's diagnosed, Asperger's and schizophrenia .Probable but not diagnosed - Dyspraxia and learning difficulty.

I have diagnosed ASD (Aspergers) and ABI (Acquired Brain Injury). People seem to have a real difficulty accepting that people have impairments and need help due to disability. I've had it for years with the Brain Injury. People either:

Dismiss - 'oh but you're not THAT bad are you!'

Normalise - 'oh yeah I do that all the time too!' (really?)

Invalidate - 'that's not an excuse!' (no, it's a reason!)

Incidentally I don't get any support but I am looking into it.

Yes, that need for advocacy is so under-recognised, and organisations who provide advocacy for those of us who don't have family or friends to support us are often the first to be chopped when funding dries up.

There is absolutely no way that I could have navigated the disability benefits system or won my appeals without the support of the advocate that I had at the time. Prior to having him, I have been in multiple situations where I've been on the verge of bankruptcy or homelessness because my difficulties with communication, especially by telephone, have made the process of getting help all but impossible. Likewise with social services.

There are many of us, I think, who are stuck in a catch-22 - the traits which we most need help with are precisely the same ones which mean that we can't make our case for needing help. It's not just that the application of the rules is biased against those of us with hidden disabilities; the mechanics of the process itself are biased against us. We just can't reach the first rung of the ladder.

In a few months time, my current PIP award, which took a two year long appeal to eventually win, will expire. The dread is building already, and all the more so because the advocacy organisation who helped me before no longer exists - a victim of local government cut-backs. I just know that without an advocate, there is no way I will be strong enough to go through that again. The fact that this will probably be interpreted as "not needing the help" makes me fume.

It's really good that you are able to get support now, some areas are better than others. Your step daughter seems very helpful! I'm in North Essex so might be slightly different allocation of resources. We shall see!

I was in Southend .

I was in Southend .

It's really good that you are able to get support now, some areas are better than others. Your step daughter seems very helpful! I'm in North Essex so might be slightly different allocation of resources. We shall see!