Hello
I am 17, recently diagnosed with autism and feeling stuck and alone. I am looking for reasurence that I am not alone and true stories of people older than myself who have sucess in life. But please read this first with background information and then specific questions to follow. Also, while most of this relates to collage and should be in the education section, my quetion is about work which is why I put it here.
RecentlyI have been looking at a lot of new collages since I am so unhappy where I am now. I am looking at some sort of unit within a mainstreem collage which offers lessons learning life skills -such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, using public transport, etc.
However, many places I approach with my mum seem to automaticly reject me. Despite the fact I am none verbal (or at least when I am somewhere new, or with new people. I like to refer to it as selectedly none verbal. none of this is diagnosed though, all I am diagnosed with is high functiong ASD) during these visits and mum explains what sort of course would be best for me-always the lowest level because I have no independence skills but they want to start me on level 3 because I have always been at mainstreem schools. But when they ask my GCSE results, mum says them and we get a "you have GCSE's, you are clearly very able, go away!" type responce. No-one is even insterested in me when I have GCSE's and directs me to A levels as I am doing now which makes me so unhappy.
Just because I was only diagnosed age 15 years 11 months and then promtly shoved away from childrens support when I was 16 and given none of the support that was reccomended from the diagnosis. So I have battled through mainstreem schools all my life and unfortunatly I have GCSE's and good academic skills. I say unfortunatly because if I did not then maybe getting support now would be a bit easier! But as i battled through school with no support then collage to do A levels for universtiy is the natural progression. This is clearly not working and now looking back I can see never really has. But I am stuck in this "you must do this" path in life and can't get out! I understand I would never manage at uni with the no life skills I have now but have no way to get them.
I am feeling trapped and alone stuck in a place of hell. I feel I have no future in life anymore. I can not imagine life even in 5 years time. It feels like I will never be able to live indipendintly and I know for other reasons mum can not look after me much longer-she is struggling too much already and has been doing for a long time. I do not picture myself living alone but needing support i just can not get.
It feels that since the diagnosis which offerd help I have infact been punished. I understand myself and the diagnosis really makes sence to me and people that know me. But other than that it has made life a lot worse! Just a few months after the diagnosis I was told that all the reccomended support could not happen because I wa 16, and then after that I was told I could not persue my new found insterest in being in the Navy because I have autism. I have no other idea for work but what I really want is to use my insterests in a career. But that feels impossible.
Please can someone reasure me that Autism does not mean that I will not somehow be succesful like get a job and get support when I am older. All I am looking for is either similar stories that I am not alone or preferably stories of adults who are able to live alone, have a job and enjoy life. If these people could also tell me what support they got to get where they are now and how I could get it I would be very grateful!
Amy
