I was recently diagnosed as a lvl 2 autistic but but i drive and work but it took me a long time to get comfortable driving and i still hate it to a extent and work is hard at times and im perpetually stressed out by it but at the end of the day i have bills but its just so much sometimes i wanna cryš¶ sorry just needed to vent it somewhere
Its nice to know im not the only one and it is a struggle but i try to do the best i can with what i have but its hard and i hope moving back can make your life betterš
I hope so too, also driving is terrifying! Iām almost 19 and have been in at least 2 accidents a yearā¦..but where I live thereās no public transportation thatās reliable
Do you have any family or friends that could help?
My parents live 2 hours away and i live with a sibling but they are disabled but my parents helped as much as they can from afar and been driving about 6 years now and luckily no accidentsš¤
I am Level 2 and have difficulty driving, too. I got my license a few years later than typical and don't drive much. It's very stressful and confusing. I also have trouble speaking when I am afraid, and I'm afraid of being pulled over and suspected to be drunk because of my coordination and speech.
I do have a successful career, but it is fully remote and flexible.
Thats awesome and for me personally after a year or two driving slowly got easier but i still cant fo interstatesš
I hate driving also ! I only drive on back roads Iām very familiar with and try my best . But people always beep at me for driving too slow š„
Yeah for the first year or two i could only really drive around town but it slowly got better
Tbh I'm blind (only a little residual vision left) and so driving wasn't ever a big option for me. Now that accessible driving tools are better understood my parents (I'm 33) really want me to try it. And it's only now that I'm realizing how hugely my autism would affect my driving!
Im driving, kinda have a successful career in pharmaceutical chemistry (currently almost a yr down to the bestest burnout so far) lived alone for a while (freaking hard!) and am now living with my poly-partner clusterfox. Only recently diagnosed, but somewhere knew for a long time. Didnt expect to score a nice solid 2 though... Currenty working on getting help
Iām level 2 and drive and worked up until October when my boyfriend gave me the opportunity to stop. It took me a long time to learn to drive due to poor depth perception and visual sensory issues, but the idea of losing my car and license will throw me into a full on meltdown due to a MAJOR trauma trigger. When I worked I was often fired for not fitting in or would become burnt out and/or sick really easily. I worked because I did not have an option to not do so and the things that kept me going were fear of being trapped in an abusive situation and self shaming and calling myself a loser for not being able to work. I had no idea I was autistic because the mental health world refused to even acknowledge I had ADHD, labeled me as borderline, and spent years gaslighting me so me not working meant I was just a piece of shit, not a person with a disability. I never knew how much I struggled until I got the results of my assessment back and I was given the gift of being allowed to stop working and focus on healing not survival.
I drive but it's really really hard for me and took me 6 years longer than my non autistic brother to learn how to (he learnt super quickly and is great at driving) sometimes I can't do it at all tho and I only drive short distances w breaks sometimes in the middle. I avoid it as much as I can but where I live rn u have to drive to even get to a bus stop for public transport so I usually do that if I wanna go somewhere not w my support worker I drive then catch a bus then bus back and drive again it's rlly tiring and exhausting
also I can't work but I have done studies 1-2 days a week before, idk why but learning is different than work to me I think bc went to school since 4 years old so it's normal to me, I get a bit upset abt not being in school rn but yeah anyways I understand if u can't be on disability payments and have to force yourself to it doesn't mean ur not autistic šš» be kind to yourself and give yourself a break, it's very hard out here for us
Iām MSN I also drive work and live alone! Once my lease ends Iām moving back home, I literally canāt do this, my little sister and my mom are the only reason I donāt have roaches. Last week I found a mouse in my air fryerā¦. It sucks when you donāt have a choice, like even tho it (working full time, living alone) makes me suicidal, I have to do it to survive. Sorry if this comes off wrong Iām trying to say I relate to your struggle and your not alone!