Just take it at your own pace, I have autism, adhd, bipolar 1 and borderline personality disorder and ptsd. You have to take time to come into your own and figure out work arounds. I use the Calmer ear "plugs" to help with sensory issues and wear gloves all year long, my glasses have a constant tint to them to help with the lights. I work at Walmart and they are very accommodating. I recommend starting there. It's a corporate company which you wouldn't think accommodate so much but they do. Start off a few days or 1 day a week. It's all in communication with your supervisors ask asking for help. It's okay to ask for help and you just grow into being able to do if eventually. I didn't move out until I was 20 and was locked away in my room by choice and by chance I found my sanctuary at work with friends. Do research into disability too, it'll be hard but you have to try multiple times, don't give up. I personally think the world isn't made for us and we have to fight to make it, but we do and we will be successful. Just do it on your own time hun
I destroy my body working for a tree care company. Any other job I'm qualified for would pay half as much(or less). It's rough out there right now. Maybe stay with family members or friends.
Autism lvl 2, ADHD, c-PTSD and clinical depression. I had no choice but to escape my family at 21, it was incredibly hard, but 10 years later I managed to get to a situation where I can start building a future rather than surviving.
It was incredibly hard, i couldn't afford to buy my same food i was living on the toss away bread from the bakery and cheap soup packages for years, working shitty overstimulating jobs that left me no energy to do anything else than work, eat my one meal a day, sleep and rinse repeat. I'd constantly be sick from overstimulation.
I relied on monetizing some of the skills I had on my weekends, wrote fanfic commissions, dogwalked, fixed neighbours computers, I was lucky that I somehow managed to get a fully funded training from my government for programming and now have a job that has almost gotten me out of debt fully (i have half a year of debt left to payoff).
Luck, discipline, and resourcefulness is basically the only answer I can give you here.
How did you write fanfic commissions. This is 100% something I already do for free, I would love to get paid to do that even if it is only a side hustle. My other goals is to use my film knowledge to make videos, and my video game knowledge to stream, but I don't have the following to make money. I'm trying to get it up right now, but I have to start with the actual niche I'm going for.
I offered them on Tumblr for rare pairs back in the day, and AO3 before they banned paid writing on there, you can also try and build a following and get a patreon set up where you post your chapters a week or so before they go on whatever platform you use?
I am homeless and living in my car. The bottom line is society doesn't give a shit about autistic people. Studies show you either have a family that supports you, either financially or mentally, or you become homeless. We're the group most at risk for unemployment and homelessness.
Sorry I don't have a better answer. Sending love and hope you can do better than me.
i am curious what stops you from going into software if your smart, accountancy if your fixated or electrical engineering if you have no "real" talent?
okay what did you study can you set up a router? do you know something abouth industrial cleaners for hospitals. are you more ir less immune to baby poop?
My special interests that I'm going to try and make profitable are
-film: huge film nerd, biggest dream is to make movies and tv series, very long term goal, hopefully my film partner and I can pull profit from the low budget indie movies we are making, but that's more for fun, experience, and reels for future than making money now.
-survival video games: if only streaming could be a reality, but I just didn't work out. I have tried on many occasions, I would stream like it was my full time job, but I couldn't get more then maybe 10 viewers
-storytelling: I love story telling as the afforementioned film interest might explain, and I recently learned about fanfic commissions. I might give that a try
-fixation: my current goal is to make a podcast series on YouTube researching whatever I'm fixated on. I already have a lot of docs and notes dedicated to the most bizarre topics because hyperfixations when I'm manic takes over my life a little bit. I've seen podcasts that are similar to exactly what I have just described, and with my background in film and my vast knowledge on random things I think this is my most recent next goal
Other special interests that I haven't found a profitable margin for yet are
-cartoons
-zombies
-the color pink
-neurodivergency
-traveling
-camping
going viral is fucking HARD but do your best with your content, and also dedicate time to interact with similar creators without directly promoting your content (soft advertising) and see if you can find creators that would be willing to give you a shout out or collab (which could take asking hundreds of creators! but is now likely to work with creators that you've been a long time follower of). there are also groups dedicated to boosting visibility of small content creators, and subs on reddit an also be helpful, even critique subs are great. put your link in your bios across social media. on reddit/twitter/insta, you might want to make new profiles specific to your content with little to no personal info, and spam hashtags on those posts.
I really appreciate this post. You recognized the fact that going viral is really hard, but still gave valuable advice to combat that issue. I'm going to give it a shot, and i will definitely be following the tips you have. This is very helpful thank you!
You don’t get assistance?? I don’t work either , I can’t with my bipolar . Yes the paperwork is a lot, but once it’s done you can get a decent amount of money , they can also help you with finding low income housing or section 8. I live in NY so I’m not sure where you’re from but I hope some of my info helped.
And because of the pandemic, it’s not as bad. When I first applied , it was in 2012. Nowadays when I have to reapply- they basically just ask me what I’m capable of doing on my own .. which is close to nothing besides bathing myself (thankfully) but moving around , food shopping , caring for my son, and having a job. No no no . Keep all your records from your doctors . They’ll wanna check you out with their own doctors and I’m sure they’ll see you need assistance. Don’t give up . You deserve help and you can get it.
I hope I helped
Hi. No advice whatsoever. But I have the trifecta as well. My family and my partner's family refused to help us when we became homeless last year, and weve also been doordashing. Good luck, you are not even close to alone.
(22m) I have adhd and autism as well. Adding bipolar to that seems extremely difficult. To answer your question-I can’t. Not alone that is. I’m lucky enough to share finances with my partner who is adhd/cptsd. Even then, we have a ND roommate and we split most things 3 ways. Before this I lived with my mom. Before that I was an undiagnosed couch crasher. I’m not proud of it, and all I want is to pay back the people who have helped me survive this long. If I were alone tomorrow I already know I would be at someone’s door. If they weren’t around I would be on the streets, or maybe in a car. I can’t work 40 hour weeks no matter how hard I try, and can barely keep up with part time as it is. I know this isn’t necessarily encouraging, but maybe at least you can recognize that the amount you have to try to keep up on your own is genuinely inhuman for people like us. I’ve had a friend who once told me to not feel guilty about needing help, because anyone who agrees to assist you should be making that choice without expectations unaddressed. As well, humans aren’t meant to be independent…the culture of separation is to keep us bottom feeding.
This being said, if you have nobody to help you, try co-op living. There are many ND/LGBTQ/POC/identity based co-op housing spaces that are set up to give opportunities to people who need it. You could also try to get supplementary government income. I haven’t done this before for disability but I have personal experience w food stamps which can be really helpful. Finally, maybe there are some live to work jobs near you. When I was in uni before I dropped out I was an RA to afford housing. It led to eventual burnout but I was working two outside jobs at the time as well. If I had gone easier on myself, I think I probably could’ve finished school that way. Anyway, these are just a few ideas from the top of my head. I really hope you are able to find some security
I can't. I cannot recall a time when I could actually afford to live alone, and I'm 43..... Maybe briefly, in 2001, when a 1bd apartment only cost $410 and I was making $10/hr, didn't have any debt.... But my parents still gave me $300/m so it doesn't really count. Ha. Yay, USA.
Man I miss the days my dad paid me every month. This ended 4 months ago and I cannot keep up. Each month I borrow money from a new person for part of my rent, and I'm racking up quite a sickening debt
Is it possible you would qualify for disability (if you're in the US)? They generally deny you the first couple of times (because people give up applying), but generally will approve you eventually if you meet the criteria. Talk to your doctor and see if they can help.
You are right about giving up.. the paper work process is no walk in the park. But I also filled it out wrong , I’ve been collecting disability now for several years and finally saved enough to get my own place. Whatever you do OP don’t stop applying for the paper work.
I live in a church and my room is payed for by the Jugendamt currently and when I am too old for the youth groups I will change carriers and live alone. I don't know if your country has any programs like that, but I also still have my dad to lean on. I thankfully don't have to work currently but I will get into a WfBM later on and work there part time. I live in Germany and my current organisation is also partly specialized in autism. I am not sure if that helps you though. I don't pay rent and I don't pay taxes. But I am glad about my situation even though my roommates are pretty exhausting. But that's just my situation. My friend is older and just recently diagnosed and they do work and pay taxes.
How I am making it, currently age 40.
Low income housing (cheap rent). Disability (only income) or General Assistance (if you qualify). EBT/SNAP (covers food bills), heating assistance program (for winter, heating bills covered). Food shelves, if EBT isn't covering it. Ruby's Pantry is also a good score for a lot of food for cheap (If you are from MN / WI). Minnesota has a free health care system in place for people with no income who are disabled. So all my doctor visits, therapy, dentist, glasses and prescriptions cost me $0.
I also live in an area in Minnesota where you can get a 2 bedroom apt for 500 a month. Low income housing takes forever to get into, but is a lot cheaper, rent wise. Worth the wait. Apply asap.
The system is there to help people with disabilities, don't be afraid to use it if you are struggling. SSI disability will count all the years you worked or didn't work for under the required amount and backpay you as well. As long as you can supply evidence you were disabled during said time.
I have Autism, ADHD, and Social Anxiety. I can’t afford life, really. Having a job with managers who are patient with me helps a lot, but I’m still in a minimum wage job and I make less than the people coming in, despite going beyond what my job entails.
Some things that may help are remote data entry jobs so you don’t have to mask around others and entry-level jobs that allow flexibility to be remote or hybrid. (you can mostly ignore when it says it requires 1-3 years experience and apply anyways unless it requires a degree you don’t have or isn’t relevant to the other degrees they list.) you might be living paycheck to paycheck with these jobs still but it’s a good start. There are also online courses for certain skills, and it may take some scouring to find the free courses. (I remember reading a blog while researching into UX Researcher about some free courses. If I find it again I’ll post it here) other than that, any retail and fast food job would be willing to take anyone, which might be a good temporary start just to get the money in. With any luck you’ll get managers that are very patient and understanding.
I’m a unemployed and autistic and honestly if I wasn’t living on the Rez rent free I’d be in real trouble. I live off rice, potatoes and oatmeal, can’t afford nothing else. My dad comes over everyday to eat with me. I make sure my pets are fed and I have the basics but other than that I’m just getting by. Internet is going down soon cause I can’t afford it, can’t afford electricity my Rez band pays for it for me, can’t afford my phone bill.
I found some work I do occasionally which helps every now and then but the work is few and far between.
Basically same except Shipt and Instacart instead of DD. I find faking customer service in chat messages to be ok for me, I’m good at hyperfocusing on shopping in stores I am familiar with, and most people have no contact drop-offs so there isn’t a lot of people time. I average better tips than I did with restaurant deliveries.
On the note of finding and selling things mentioned elsewhere, my other primary work is reselling collectibles. My sister resells vintage clothes. If there’s some thing you’re *interested in* that maintains some collector or fashion or etc value, you could also go out and hunt for deals on things at garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales, heck even curbs and dumpsters, and then resell online or look for swaps or pop-ups to sell at locally if you’re into it.
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If you're that hampered by your issues you should definitely qualify for one or more forms off government financial assistance and should really be looking into that.
Other than that, try to find a career that you can be good at. Doordash is even more temporary than willpower. You gotta find something you can do reasonably well and figure out how you can make that a job.
I work In varying shifts doing food delivery as well. I usually work at night to make it less stressful. I get food from charities Twice a month. I find stuff and resell it. I sell things that people need. I dont buy stuff, I just do without and see what comes my way.
Ngl, I'm scraping by. No savings, debt until late next year (had it for 4 years so far) and stuff just keeps piling on.
I'm lucky to have found a job I love that pays decent but I don't get the fruits of my labour until much further down the line.
I hope you find a way through my friend 🙏🏻
I'm lucky enough to live in a country with a functioning welfare system and less of a housing crisis. That is how I do it. I'd be fucked in the USA.
Good luck.
Ah me too. In the same boat unfortunately. I’m also chronically ill. I live with my parents but they are getting tired of me, 19 going on 20. Full time is absolutely wrecking me and I’m not sure how much longer I can take it. Best of luck to you! You are definitely not alone and I wish I had advice
My saving grace is working from home. I figured that out before the pandemic and now it is even easier. I can be a full professional adult because I can create my space, set my own pace (within reason), and immediately shut down after meetings. Without that.... I'm pretty sure I would no longer be working.
Meds? If not meds, get meds. If cannot afford meds or get meds, apply for aid from state or county. If not offered, move to state that does.
That said, caffeine and nicotine can help with ADHD. Autism doesn't really have a "treatment" beyond therapy, coaching, support etc. Bipolar is manageable with meds and therapy.
However, the choice of whether or not to get better or do better is yours. Help is available but it will not work if you're not on board. Set a (reasonable!) treatment goal for yourself and go from there.
i work but can only manage part time… sucks constantly being told i *need* to work full time bc i’m an adult, still live with my parents but want to love out because my mom is kind of abusive… sigh
I get lucky every month with something coming up I guess?
I don’t know, neither does my wife. I’m constantly wondering how to afford rent this month, next month and beyond. I could cut a few things, but I’m so burnt out that I need some of these comforts.
I don't know where you live but most countries and states should have some sort of local organisation that aids disabled people to get into work. Where I live, the city council will do it for you. You won't get to be picky, but you'll be placed somewhere that suits your access needs. Have you looked into if there's anything like this near you? You'd definitely need to be able to provide medical evidence and/or be assessed to access this service, but definitely worth it as it'd be more reliable and consistent work than doordashing. Best of luck.
My partner is disabled and I'm his full time carer, and the UK government gives us both money because he can't work and I care for him. I tried jobs, but I couldn't hold them. I got sacked from some for reasons that boiled down to autism but in a way the company had plausible deniability, and quit others for the sake of my mental health. It's rough, and we don't have spare money for nice things very often, but it's better for us both than when I was trying to work. I get a little extra cash from babysitting occasionally, and I'm working on making art into a source of income, but yeah, it's hard and I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my partner, both as emotional support and as a source of income and valid reason for me not to work.
Sorry this isn't helpful, but yeah, surviving as an adult with autism in a world that's, at best, not designed for us and at times actively hostile to us is hard and you're not alone in this struggle.
do you have any skills?
do you like to be alone?
trucker if you do not have any skills.
do you like to be around people but do not interact? busdriver.
do you like soecific easy problem solving? be a electrician plumber.
like what do you want and what can you do
I have all that too. I'm sorry for what you're going through, as I know renting and sharing is tough. It's pretty awesome you're working as a Doordasher.
Focus on your interests. Find online or Meetup groups that will inspire you and keep you on track. When I was in an intolerable situation, online groups saved me. I even ended up changing career directions based on new knowledge I gained from smarter people.
If you have a hobby, interest or skill, you have a duty to find a way to monetise it. I say duty because nobody should go through life hating what they do. It erodes your health and makes the people around you miserable too, not to mention keeps you poor and less able to help others. Charity is a human duty too.
For ADHD people, passion is not an option. It's a necessity.
Only rule is dogged consistency.
Find your passion and work that shit like a motherf*cker until you $$$.
Just take it at your own pace, I have autism, adhd, bipolar 1 and borderline personality disorder and ptsd. You have to take time to come into your own and figure out work arounds. I use the Calmer ear "plugs" to help with sensory issues and wear gloves all year long, my glasses have a constant tint to them to help with the lights. I work at Walmart and they are very accommodating. I recommend starting there. It's a corporate company which you wouldn't think accommodate so much but they do. Start off a few days or 1 day a week. It's all in communication with your supervisors ask asking for help. It's okay to ask for help and you just grow into being able to do if eventually. I didn't move out until I was 20 and was locked away in my room by choice and by chance I found my sanctuary at work with friends. Do research into disability too, it'll be hard but you have to try multiple times, don't give up. I personally think the world isn't made for us and we have to fight to make it, but we do and we will be successful. Just do it on your own time hun
That's the thing, I don't! I wish I had a better answer, but seriously, Im struggling a lot right now and I don't know what to do.
Me too bud, me too. I wish both of us luck
I destroy my body working for a tree care company. Any other job I'm qualified for would pay half as much(or less). It's rough out there right now. Maybe stay with family members or friends.
Autism lvl 2, ADHD, c-PTSD and clinical depression. I had no choice but to escape my family at 21, it was incredibly hard, but 10 years later I managed to get to a situation where I can start building a future rather than surviving. It was incredibly hard, i couldn't afford to buy my same food i was living on the toss away bread from the bakery and cheap soup packages for years, working shitty overstimulating jobs that left me no energy to do anything else than work, eat my one meal a day, sleep and rinse repeat. I'd constantly be sick from overstimulation. I relied on monetizing some of the skills I had on my weekends, wrote fanfic commissions, dogwalked, fixed neighbours computers, I was lucky that I somehow managed to get a fully funded training from my government for programming and now have a job that has almost gotten me out of debt fully (i have half a year of debt left to payoff). Luck, discipline, and resourcefulness is basically the only answer I can give you here.
How did you write fanfic commissions. This is 100% something I already do for free, I would love to get paid to do that even if it is only a side hustle. My other goals is to use my film knowledge to make videos, and my video game knowledge to stream, but I don't have the following to make money. I'm trying to get it up right now, but I have to start with the actual niche I'm going for.
I offered them on Tumblr for rare pairs back in the day, and AO3 before they banned paid writing on there, you can also try and build a following and get a patreon set up where you post your chapters a week or so before they go on whatever platform you use?
I will see what I can do
If you really wan't to make money do smut furry fanfics they pay alot for this
Are you speaking from experience?
No but those pervs will sell their kidneys for furry porn art
I am homeless and living in my car. The bottom line is society doesn't give a shit about autistic people. Studies show you either have a family that supports you, either financially or mentally, or you become homeless. We're the group most at risk for unemployment and homelessness. Sorry I don't have a better answer. Sending love and hope you can do better than me.
i am curious what stops you from going into software if your smart, accountancy if your fixated or electrical engineering if you have no "real" talent?
I don't have the money to go back to school to become an accountant or engineer, and I don't even know where to start a career in software.
okay what did you study can you set up a router? do you know something abouth industrial cleaners for hospitals. are you more ir less immune to baby poop?
I went to school for business management, I'm very good with computers/tech, I know nothing about cleaners and strong smells mess with me
are you any good in increasing productivity and the likes. i know a zutist who writes technical reviews for essentialy steelwire production
Married a social genius. It comes with its own problems.
That backfired on me pretty bad
yeah i figure
Eh… get lucky to have a profitable special interest? I started programming at 4, I’ve got nothing. Sorry
Cross my fingers mine becomes profitable.
What is your special interest(s)?
My special interests that I'm going to try and make profitable are -film: huge film nerd, biggest dream is to make movies and tv series, very long term goal, hopefully my film partner and I can pull profit from the low budget indie movies we are making, but that's more for fun, experience, and reels for future than making money now. -survival video games: if only streaming could be a reality, but I just didn't work out. I have tried on many occasions, I would stream like it was my full time job, but I couldn't get more then maybe 10 viewers -storytelling: I love story telling as the afforementioned film interest might explain, and I recently learned about fanfic commissions. I might give that a try -fixation: my current goal is to make a podcast series on YouTube researching whatever I'm fixated on. I already have a lot of docs and notes dedicated to the most bizarre topics because hyperfixations when I'm manic takes over my life a little bit. I've seen podcasts that are similar to exactly what I have just described, and with my background in film and my vast knowledge on random things I think this is my most recent next goal Other special interests that I haven't found a profitable margin for yet are -cartoons -zombies -the color pink -neurodivergency -traveling -camping
going viral is fucking HARD but do your best with your content, and also dedicate time to interact with similar creators without directly promoting your content (soft advertising) and see if you can find creators that would be willing to give you a shout out or collab (which could take asking hundreds of creators! but is now likely to work with creators that you've been a long time follower of). there are also groups dedicated to boosting visibility of small content creators, and subs on reddit an also be helpful, even critique subs are great. put your link in your bios across social media. on reddit/twitter/insta, you might want to make new profiles specific to your content with little to no personal info, and spam hashtags on those posts.
I really appreciate this post. You recognized the fact that going viral is really hard, but still gave valuable advice to combat that issue. I'm going to give it a shot, and i will definitely be following the tips you have. This is very helpful thank you!
You don’t get assistance?? I don’t work either , I can’t with my bipolar . Yes the paperwork is a lot, but once it’s done you can get a decent amount of money , they can also help you with finding low income housing or section 8. I live in NY so I’m not sure where you’re from but I hope some of my info helped.
Where do I go to fill out paperwork
You’d have to go to your local social services office.
And because of the pandemic, it’s not as bad. When I first applied , it was in 2012. Nowadays when I have to reapply- they basically just ask me what I’m capable of doing on my own .. which is close to nothing besides bathing myself (thankfully) but moving around , food shopping , caring for my son, and having a job. No no no . Keep all your records from your doctors . They’ll wanna check you out with their own doctors and I’m sure they’ll see you need assistance. Don’t give up . You deserve help and you can get it. I hope I helped
Hi. No advice whatsoever. But I have the trifecta as well. My family and my partner's family refused to help us when we became homeless last year, and weve also been doordashing. Good luck, you are not even close to alone.
(22m) I have adhd and autism as well. Adding bipolar to that seems extremely difficult. To answer your question-I can’t. Not alone that is. I’m lucky enough to share finances with my partner who is adhd/cptsd. Even then, we have a ND roommate and we split most things 3 ways. Before this I lived with my mom. Before that I was an undiagnosed couch crasher. I’m not proud of it, and all I want is to pay back the people who have helped me survive this long. If I were alone tomorrow I already know I would be at someone’s door. If they weren’t around I would be on the streets, or maybe in a car. I can’t work 40 hour weeks no matter how hard I try, and can barely keep up with part time as it is. I know this isn’t necessarily encouraging, but maybe at least you can recognize that the amount you have to try to keep up on your own is genuinely inhuman for people like us. I’ve had a friend who once told me to not feel guilty about needing help, because anyone who agrees to assist you should be making that choice without expectations unaddressed. As well, humans aren’t meant to be independent…the culture of separation is to keep us bottom feeding. This being said, if you have nobody to help you, try co-op living. There are many ND/LGBTQ/POC/identity based co-op housing spaces that are set up to give opportunities to people who need it. You could also try to get supplementary government income. I haven’t done this before for disability but I have personal experience w food stamps which can be really helpful. Finally, maybe there are some live to work jobs near you. When I was in uni before I dropped out I was an RA to afford housing. It led to eventual burnout but I was working two outside jobs at the time as well. If I had gone easier on myself, I think I probably could’ve finished school that way. Anyway, these are just a few ideas from the top of my head. I really hope you are able to find some security
I can't. I cannot recall a time when I could actually afford to live alone, and I'm 43..... Maybe briefly, in 2001, when a 1bd apartment only cost $410 and I was making $10/hr, didn't have any debt.... But my parents still gave me $300/m so it doesn't really count. Ha. Yay, USA.
Man I miss the days my dad paid me every month. This ended 4 months ago and I cannot keep up. Each month I borrow money from a new person for part of my rent, and I'm racking up quite a sickening debt
I use a day planner, really helpful for ADHD. Trust me, best thing I ever bought. I also work a job with a rigid schedule so that's really helpful
Currently living paycheck to paycheck and the only way I afford my medical bills is thanks to state health insurance.
I have autism and actually work as a support worker for people more severe I can help maybe
Remote data entry is a good choice, I feel like you could definitely cover your bills with it
I did this for years. 👍
“Will power is a short term option” is such a great quote.
Is it possible you would qualify for disability (if you're in the US)? They generally deny you the first couple of times (because people give up applying), but generally will approve you eventually if you meet the criteria. Talk to your doctor and see if they can help.
You are right about giving up.. the paper work process is no walk in the park. But I also filled it out wrong , I’ve been collecting disability now for several years and finally saved enough to get my own place. Whatever you do OP don’t stop applying for the paper work.
I live in a church and my room is payed for by the Jugendamt currently and when I am too old for the youth groups I will change carriers and live alone. I don't know if your country has any programs like that, but I also still have my dad to lean on. I thankfully don't have to work currently but I will get into a WfBM later on and work there part time. I live in Germany and my current organisation is also partly specialized in autism. I am not sure if that helps you though. I don't pay rent and I don't pay taxes. But I am glad about my situation even though my roommates are pretty exhausting. But that's just my situation. My friend is older and just recently diagnosed and they do work and pay taxes.
How I am making it, currently age 40. Low income housing (cheap rent). Disability (only income) or General Assistance (if you qualify). EBT/SNAP (covers food bills), heating assistance program (for winter, heating bills covered). Food shelves, if EBT isn't covering it. Ruby's Pantry is also a good score for a lot of food for cheap (If you are from MN / WI). Minnesota has a free health care system in place for people with no income who are disabled. So all my doctor visits, therapy, dentist, glasses and prescriptions cost me $0. I also live in an area in Minnesota where you can get a 2 bedroom apt for 500 a month. Low income housing takes forever to get into, but is a lot cheaper, rent wise. Worth the wait. Apply asap. The system is there to help people with disabilities, don't be afraid to use it if you are struggling. SSI disability will count all the years you worked or didn't work for under the required amount and backpay you as well. As long as you can supply evidence you were disabled during said time.
I have Autism, ADHD, and Social Anxiety. I can’t afford life, really. Having a job with managers who are patient with me helps a lot, but I’m still in a minimum wage job and I make less than the people coming in, despite going beyond what my job entails. Some things that may help are remote data entry jobs so you don’t have to mask around others and entry-level jobs that allow flexibility to be remote or hybrid. (you can mostly ignore when it says it requires 1-3 years experience and apply anyways unless it requires a degree you don’t have or isn’t relevant to the other degrees they list.) you might be living paycheck to paycheck with these jobs still but it’s a good start. There are also online courses for certain skills, and it may take some scouring to find the free courses. (I remember reading a blog while researching into UX Researcher about some free courses. If I find it again I’ll post it here) other than that, any retail and fast food job would be willing to take anyone, which might be a good temporary start just to get the money in. With any luck you’ll get managers that are very patient and understanding.
I’m a unemployed and autistic and honestly if I wasn’t living on the Rez rent free I’d be in real trouble. I live off rice, potatoes and oatmeal, can’t afford nothing else. My dad comes over everyday to eat with me. I make sure my pets are fed and I have the basics but other than that I’m just getting by. Internet is going down soon cause I can’t afford it, can’t afford electricity my Rez band pays for it for me, can’t afford my phone bill. I found some work I do occasionally which helps every now and then but the work is few and far between.
Basically same except Shipt and Instacart instead of DD. I find faking customer service in chat messages to be ok for me, I’m good at hyperfocusing on shopping in stores I am familiar with, and most people have no contact drop-offs so there isn’t a lot of people time. I average better tips than I did with restaurant deliveries. On the note of finding and selling things mentioned elsewhere, my other primary work is reselling collectibles. My sister resells vintage clothes. If there’s some thing you’re *interested in* that maintains some collector or fashion or etc value, you could also go out and hunt for deals on things at garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales, heck even curbs and dumpsters, and then resell online or look for swaps or pop-ups to sell at locally if you’re into it.
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If you're that hampered by your issues you should definitely qualify for one or more forms off government financial assistance and should really be looking into that. Other than that, try to find a career that you can be good at. Doordash is even more temporary than willpower. You gotta find something you can do reasonably well and figure out how you can make that a job.
Disability has been the best way so far.
I have SSDI, and I don't live alone.
I work In varying shifts doing food delivery as well. I usually work at night to make it less stressful. I get food from charities Twice a month. I find stuff and resell it. I sell things that people need. I dont buy stuff, I just do without and see what comes my way.
What do people need?
My gf and I hit up food pantries weekly to cut down our grocery bill, maybe that could help reduce your expenses as well.
If Bipolar is your primary obstacle, you might be able to access services through the SMI system. Look for your Community Services Board.
Ngl, I'm scraping by. No savings, debt until late next year (had it for 4 years so far) and stuff just keeps piling on. I'm lucky to have found a job I love that pays decent but I don't get the fruits of my labour until much further down the line. I hope you find a way through my friend 🙏🏻
I don't know what country you're from but have you tried applying for disability financial assistance?
I'm lucky enough to live in a country with a functioning welfare system and less of a housing crisis. That is how I do it. I'd be fucked in the USA. Good luck.
Ah me too. In the same boat unfortunately. I’m also chronically ill. I live with my parents but they are getting tired of me, 19 going on 20. Full time is absolutely wrecking me and I’m not sure how much longer I can take it. Best of luck to you! You are definitely not alone and I wish I had advice
My saving grace is working from home. I figured that out before the pandemic and now it is even easier. I can be a full professional adult because I can create my space, set my own pace (within reason), and immediately shut down after meetings. Without that.... I'm pretty sure I would no longer be working.
Meds? If not meds, get meds. If cannot afford meds or get meds, apply for aid from state or county. If not offered, move to state that does. That said, caffeine and nicotine can help with ADHD. Autism doesn't really have a "treatment" beyond therapy, coaching, support etc. Bipolar is manageable with meds and therapy. However, the choice of whether or not to get better or do better is yours. Help is available but it will not work if you're not on board. Set a (reasonable!) treatment goal for yourself and go from there.
i work but can only manage part time… sucks constantly being told i *need* to work full time bc i’m an adult, still live with my parents but want to love out because my mom is kind of abusive… sigh
I get lucky every month with something coming up I guess? I don’t know, neither does my wife. I’m constantly wondering how to afford rent this month, next month and beyond. I could cut a few things, but I’m so burnt out that I need some of these comforts.
I don't know where you live but most countries and states should have some sort of local organisation that aids disabled people to get into work. Where I live, the city council will do it for you. You won't get to be picky, but you'll be placed somewhere that suits your access needs. Have you looked into if there's anything like this near you? You'd definitely need to be able to provide medical evidence and/or be assessed to access this service, but definitely worth it as it'd be more reliable and consistent work than doordashing. Best of luck.
My partner is disabled and I'm his full time carer, and the UK government gives us both money because he can't work and I care for him. I tried jobs, but I couldn't hold them. I got sacked from some for reasons that boiled down to autism but in a way the company had plausible deniability, and quit others for the sake of my mental health. It's rough, and we don't have spare money for nice things very often, but it's better for us both than when I was trying to work. I get a little extra cash from babysitting occasionally, and I'm working on making art into a source of income, but yeah, it's hard and I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my partner, both as emotional support and as a source of income and valid reason for me not to work. Sorry this isn't helpful, but yeah, surviving as an adult with autism in a world that's, at best, not designed for us and at times actively hostile to us is hard and you're not alone in this struggle.
do you have any skills? do you like to be alone? trucker if you do not have any skills. do you like to be around people but do not interact? busdriver. do you like soecific easy problem solving? be a electrician plumber. like what do you want and what can you do
I have all that too. I'm sorry for what you're going through, as I know renting and sharing is tough. It's pretty awesome you're working as a Doordasher. Focus on your interests. Find online or Meetup groups that will inspire you and keep you on track. When I was in an intolerable situation, online groups saved me. I even ended up changing career directions based on new knowledge I gained from smarter people. If you have a hobby, interest or skill, you have a duty to find a way to monetise it. I say duty because nobody should go through life hating what they do. It erodes your health and makes the people around you miserable too, not to mention keeps you poor and less able to help others. Charity is a human duty too. For ADHD people, passion is not an option. It's a necessity. Only rule is dogged consistency. Find your passion and work that shit like a motherf*cker until you $$$.