Asperger's Syndrome and Homelessness

Did you know there are homeless people on the internet? Some currently homeless, and some who no longer are.

I was googling for information on homelessness *just in case* and I came across a number of homeless pages and blogs and a homeless forum.

Today, when I decided to blog and googled again, I found The Homeless Guy's blog, and he has a post about Asperger's.

I guess it only stands to reason that there are a lot of homeless people with Asperger's. If you can't FULLY pass as neurotypical, folks won't hire you. As you get older and still don't have a solid employment history, they REALLY won't hire you. And if you get hired and don't act normal enough on the job, you won't last long, and if you are pressured to resign and do, your unemployment is All Your Fault. (So if you are an Aspie and you have a job but you think they want you to quit or they are constantly dissatisfied with your work, tell them you have a disability, Asperger's Syndrome, and DON'T QUIT! Even if you hate your job. And if they fire you, get a lawyer and file a discrimination suit, you'll need the money. I wish I'd known these things when I taught at a Christian school and it 'didn't work out'.)

One problem with Asperger's is that on a very superficial glance most of us look different than the severely autistic head-banging person who can't speak. People with Asperger's are articulate, often intelligent, and we try to *pass* as normal to avoid the shame of being lumped together with the severe autistic kid in diapers or the out-of-touch-with-reality schizophrenic.

So folks think we aren't *really* disabled. The first time I, out of extreme desperation, applied for SSI, I was sent to a shrink who asked me who the president was and to name some other prominent people, and to multiply some numbers. I was denied. But for some reason there are not a lot of jobs for folks who know how to multiply and name presidents, but can't look folks in the eye, don't dress right because of sensory issues, can't keep their oddball ideas to themselves, and for a host of other reasons just strike their co-workers and the public as being oddballs, loners, and potentially dangerous.

Another problem is that Aspies have a 'lack of executive function'. In my case that means I have 100% of the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, ADHD), and lately in a very severe way. So I'm perennially disorganized. And applying for and keeping up with disability aid programs is a full time job requiring organizational skills I don't have, and if there are any disability advocates out there that help folks with this, someone like me would be last on their list because I seem like I ought to be able to do it without help.

But the great thing about reading blogs and other internet writings by homeless people is that it shows that even if the worst happens to you, there is life, hope, and the internet.

Comments: People with Asperger's/autism, have you been homeless, or feared it? What about the rest of you? Have you thought about what you would do if you became homeless? Would you still be welcome in your church if you became perceived as a 'bum'?

And: I know someone out there is going to tell me I am a lazy pig-dog-bum for applying for disability and not having a job. It's easy enough to verbally abuse me for my disability. How about offering me a job in Menominee county, Michigan, USA? Or buying a copy of my book?


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Links in the chain:
The Homeless Warrior: Helping the homeless one person at a time
The Homeless Guy: Why do people become homeless
Girl's Guide to Homelessness
and a break from the depressing homeless thing
Tea with Morbius: Why Romana is more interesting than River Song personally I like them both
Tea With Morbius: Doctor River Song and Self-Marriagea most excellent theory about River Song's identity