(Aspergers Support) Introduction

[Guest guest]

My son has Aspergers, ADHD, OCD, and tactile issues. I worked until he turned 2, but only 2 days a week. Then I taught piano for 12 years, which I did from my own home so I didn’t have to leave him or get child care. (I only had 10 students.) Now he is 18 and graduated last June. Since then, and some months before that, I’ve been doing a lot of research trying to figure out how to handle a person with Aspergers as a young adult. He refuses to work; he’s taking one class at Edmonds CC but he’s not very motivated. All he wants to do is play computer games. He went through a period of time where he saw a counselor at DVR, and then I was able to get him eligible for the Division of Developmental Disabilities. I have talked with his case worker several times and she has been very helpful. Next week we have an appointment for a DDD assessment, which will possibly get us a little money to get therapy at the UW Care Clinic, where they do not accept insurance. Then I got him on SSI, and we are charging him rent and having him pay for his cell phone plan, part of his tuition, and bus transportation. I am his representative payee; otherwise he would spend it all right after getting it. I am trying to teach him how to budget his money. Anyway, I can’t really explain what I’ve been doing all these months – it’s kind of a muddle in my head. All I know is that I have been so busy with research on the internet, emailing, and phone calls. There’s no way I could work outside the home right now! He needs so much monitoring and supervision, and on top of that, he has a very oppositional and argumentative temperament. I always feel like I’m stressed out about something. What makes it more difficult is that my husband and I often do not agree on how we should handle some of the issues that come up with him. - Kay