used to live with my parents in a 500 SQF bachelor pad. They converted the carport into a living space for me. It has a walk-in closet and a full bathroom. I just share the laundry room. kitchen, and dining room.
As a result of my DX of ASD 1 I was able to get on Disability assistance at 19, got the disability bus pass, the disability ferry pass, the disability entertainment pass, the disability tax credit, and in 2010 I got the Disability savings plan. Way back then the disability assistance was only $745 a month. Now it is $1183 a month. Back then you could only make $100 a month before they cut back your disability assistance check. Now you can make $12000 a year before they cut back your check.
With the disability tax credit, I don’t have to pay taxes till I make over $20000 a year in taxable income.
With the disability savings plan the government puts in $1000 a year for 20 years of bonds which comes to $20000 that I do not have to pay back. Plus, they put in 3 times the amount of money that I put in up to $70000 total in grants that I do not have to pay back. So that means that I get $90000 towards my retirement. I have to wait till I am 59 years old before I can start to take money out of the plan. Plus, you have to wait 10 years from the time you get the bonds and grants before you can take money out and not pay them back. I have another 20 and a half years to go before I can start taking money out of the plan. I live in BC Canada that is why I get such good options.
I now live with a support worker who takes care of me and cooks my suppers. He also is an advocate for me helping when I need it. Like taking me to dr appointments and things like that. The government pays him $716 a month room and board. I get $467 from the government after paying the support worker. So, my total disability assistance check is $1183 a month.
I am working at the library part time putting books away. I work 4 hours a day 4 days a week at the library. I make minimum wage which is at $13.85 an hour which gives me $437 every 2 weeks doing that job. I get paid 4 hours for stat holidays so that is just a bonus. They take deductions for Canada pension plan, employment insurance, and workers compensation. That is why my check is only $437 instead of $443. I have been doing it for over 4 years now.
At the end of the year I put whatever is left into a tax-free savings account which is invested in mutual funds. My disability savings plan is also invested in mutual funds, so I earn lots of interest and reinvestment into the funds.
I love computers, hockey, star trek, video games, alternative music, crime tv shows, most movies except romantic comedies, lord of the rings, harry potter, most fantasy and sifi books movies and games, Netflix, apple products, reading, writing and blogging, Facebook, cartoons, comics, and so much more.
I am always up to making new friends on FB and getting new followers for my blogs. I am also always up to talking to people about what it has been like for me. Or about anything that they want to talk about. I am way more social on FB then I am in person that is why I love FB and am glad that it is around so that I can feel good about being social and giving me the time, I need to make conversations.
I am 18 months older than my brother but have not spoken to him in 18 years. I was adopted at 18 months and did not find out about him till 18 years ago. we met once and he is so much like me it is amazing. he does not look like me, but his mannerisms are so similar you would atomically know that we were brothers.
He got to grow up with my birth mother till she died when he was 14. I never got to meet her so all I have is what my
brother said about her and what my blood grandmother said and what was in her medical file. she died from a brain tumour so that is how I found out about them at all. My biological grandmother got in touch with my parents to get me tested when I was 16. the docs first DX was OCD at 16 a year later they said ASD 2 PDD-NOS then 6 months later said ASD 1 Asperger’s syndrome.
It is just so frustrating to feel like you should be able to do all the normal stuff that everybody else does and that it should not be this hard or difficult. That there is no rhyme or reason for how much anxiety you feel all the time. That it should not be this hard to talk to people and keep friends. It really is hard to deal with sometimes. I just wish the good days would out way the bad days once in a while.
I hate when people ask how I feel. I have no freaking idea how I feel so stop asking me this please and thank you. I could not tell you or anyone how I am felling at any given time. I might be able to tell you if it is a really strong emotion that I am feeling but otherwise I have no clue.
I love music and have loved music since the first time I heard it. I love singing to music, dancing to it, listening to it. anything with music is a passion of mine.
I calm down drastically when listening to music so whenever I get upset or am starting to have a meltdown, I grab my iPod and plug in the ear phones and play some music and it calms me right down in no time.
I did not start to read for fun till I was 18 and my parents bought me the first harry potter book. Till then I thought reading was just a waste of time and would have nothing to do with it.
Since then I have become a big-time reader and have read more than 50 books for fun.
I really love audiobooks and own more then 100 of them. I listen to them almost every day as I take the bus to and from work.
I am 5 foot 8 and weigh 145 pounds. I have next to no muscle tone in any of my body even less in my left arm which is pretty much useless. Thank god I am right handed because I cannot use my left hand for anything except typing and holding onto utensils. I cannot move my left hand to cut food, so I hold the fork in it while I use my right to cut the food then take the fork in my right hand to eat with.
I cannot even move it to print with or catch with or anything. It is so annoying.
When they test my academic skills, it shows that I have grade 2 age 7 writing, grade 4 age 9 spelling, grade 6 age 11 reading and grade 9 age 13 math skills. That was done 20 years ago when I was 17.
I am on clonazepam, divalproex, olanzapine, and abilify. The clonazepam is for my anxiety, the divalproex is my mood stabilizer, the olanzapine is my anti-psychotic, and the abilify is for the behaviour issues and helps with my meltdowns.
I was never medicated for ADHD. I was for the OCD symptoms and it was a nightmare. For me anti-depressants caused me to get many times worse.
I found turn based computer games to help a lot. Like civilization and games like that. They are educational and fun.
I always knew that I was different from other kids my age, but I never really thought of myself as having more than just a mild learning disability. So, it was not really that hard or difficult for me, but I think it was for my parents to see how I was treated by the other kids. I had a couple good friends and whenever I lost a friend, I usually found one or more to replace him with. I am still getting used to all of the symptoms and more seem to crop up or get worse every year.
Man, kids get it good these days. I never had any OT, PT, ST or stuff like it when I was a kid. I never had an aid worker or got any treatments. I guess it helps to get the DX early not like me starting at 17. That is way too late to be of much good. I had to do all the regular classes and courses. I had to fend for myself. Teachers never paid me the siltiest bit of attention. I never got any help from teachers to teach me anything. I had to teach myself how to do everything. I was expected to do everything a regular kid has to do at each stage of the game. The problem is that I never told anyone that I really could've used some help.
I really hate September and October. September always reminds me of going back to school and that meant a new teacher and new classroom to try to remember. I hatted going back to school. within a week or two I would be fine I just hatted the going back part not the school part. I did not mind school so much as the change in routine. October is thanksgiving up here in Canada plus I have my moms and my grandma's birthdays and Halloween to deal with. It is just too much to deal with in a short period of time that’s all.
Christmas and new years were not much better for me also. I never get any sleep Christmas eve. I think it goes back to when I was 5 and I was determined to catch Santa in the act of putting out the presents. I stayed up all night and caught my parents in the act. that was the end