New diagnosis, adult autism

Hi

You're in the right places to learn about yourself, but support from outside is a fiction, to get PIP you must be entirely unable to fend for yourself. If you had a time when you did manage that you will get refusal

I get high rate PIP because of my disabilities and while I won't say this is true, PIP is something you should only expect to get if your disability severely impacts your life.  The issue I can see with disabilities like ASD, ADHD or any mental health condition is that you can argue: why do you need money?  For me it was about going private for diagnoses, medication, therapy, and various other social aspects.

I think people applying should ask themselves why they need the money and what they are going to spend it on.  Physical disabilities may require equipment and treatments not provided publicly, but many people with ASD may not need to make these big payments to cater to their disability on a regular basis.  

I agree. I thought that's what I said - you can get it when you need it for good reasons.

I have never applied for PIP myself. I don't need it, I can fend for myself without help. Though once I was close to becoming homeless, and odds were I would starve to death before that. But I made it.

In my case support is a fiction because I would need help with getting a job and that will never happen.

Yes, I totally agree that this is an area that should be looked into.  With so many charities you would assume that there would be more awareness and as a result more help, but the only extends as far as under 18s usually.

I'm in South East Wales, people here are very lucky because the adult Autism service has a huge amount of funding and provides therapies that are beneficial to people like me, who have extreme social difficulties but not Autism, but they are only available for people with Autism.  Even with this level of support, many companies are still so behind in there treatment of Autistic and Neurodiverse people.  I think they must assume that people grow out of it before they get a job!

There are also many companies and organisations that consider ASD to be a plus point in hiring, such as the Civil Service.  It's about looking in the right place, but it's unfortunate that many of these jobs require higher qualifications.  So, don't even get me started on the lack of Autism support in schools.  It's like they want all disabled people to fail in life.

I haven't seen anyone mentioning it, but in regard to support there is always one problem - who is paying for that, so since funds are limited there is support for those who really need it first, and rarely any leftovers, which is understandable.

What would help many autistic that don't qualify for that is help with social issues, e.g. getting a job.

That could be solved at no cost if society became less ableist so recruiters wouldn't discard applications because it comes from an autistic and they don't want any weirdness on daily basis.

I never got a job after I sent an application for an existing job offer on a market, while meeting requirements. It happens I get invited for an interview, and that's where it ends. All the jobs I ever did were either minimum pay per hour agency jobs with no requirements, or when to my application was added a 'colleague referal'. It means from someone who knew me well enough to vouch for me, and there isn't many people like that.

I meant in regard to being 'entirely unable to fend for yourself'.  Many people on PIP would be able to mostly fend for themselves, a lot of it is about funds that can be used to improve one's living situation.  The money is there to promote independence, meaning that most claimants must have a level of independence to promote.  I don't think everyone on PIP would perish without a carer, because PIP allows people to take control of their own care and make their own decision on having a carer.

I wouldn't say support is 'fiction', there will always be services that are near impossible to access (social services are for me since moving health board), but there are always societies like this and many support groups.  I think with Autistic struggles being more social than medical, it can appear that there is less support than there actually is.

I meant in regard to being 'entirely unable to fend for yourself'.  Many people on PIP would be able to mostly fend for themselves, a lot of it is about funds that can be used to improve one's living situation.  The money is there to promote independence, meaning that most claimants must have a level of independence to promote.  I don't think everyone on PIP would perish without a carer, because PIP allows people to take control of their own care and make their own decision on having a carer.

I wouldn't say support is 'fiction', there will always be services that are near impossible to access (social services are for me since moving health board), but there are always societies like this and many support groups.  I think with Autistic struggles being more social than medical, it can appear that there is less support than there actually is.

Yes, I totally agree that this is an area that should be looked into.  With so many charities you would assume that there would be more awareness and as a result more help, but the only extends as far as under 18s usually.

I'm in South East Wales, people here are very lucky because the adult Autism service has a huge amount of funding and provides therapies that are beneficial to people like me, who have extreme social difficulties but not Autism, but they are only available for people with Autism.  Even with this level of support, many companies are still so behind in there treatment of Autistic and Neurodiverse people.  I think they must assume that people grow out of it before they get a job!

There are also many companies and organisations that consider ASD to be a plus point in hiring, such as the Civil Service.  It's about looking in the right place, but it's unfortunate that many of these jobs require higher qualifications.  So, don't even get me started on the lack of Autism support in schools.  It's like they want all disabled people to fail in life.

I haven't seen anyone mentioning it, but in regard to support there is always one problem - who is paying for that, so since funds are limited there is support for those who really need it first, and rarely any leftovers, which is understandable.

What would help many autistic that don't qualify for that is help with social issues, e.g. getting a job.

That could be solved at no cost if society became less ableist so recruiters wouldn't discard applications because it comes from an autistic and they don't want any weirdness on daily basis.

I never got a job after I sent an application for an existing job offer on a market, while meeting requirements. It happens I get invited for an interview, and that's where it ends. All the jobs I ever did were either minimum pay per hour agency jobs with no requirements, or when to my application was added a 'colleague referal'. It means from someone who knew me well enough to vouch for me, and there isn't many people like that.