Thomas Wood:  

I myself have always had Autism and Cerebral Palsy. Growing up, I was "high enough functioning" to just about "pass for normal", except for performing well in sports. I was the one everybody enjoyed "bullying". After High School I attended and graduated from Wentworth Institute with both Associates and Bachelor of Science degrees in Electronic Engineering Technology. I did not have much of a "career" after college. Have spent most of my adult life "unemployed". 90%+ of us adults with Autism, including the milder form, known as Asperger's Syndrome between the ages of 18 to 65 are permanently unemployed or underemployed. What little employment I ever had between 1978 and 2001, was intermittent, and I was always the last hired, and first fired from the 5 employers I briefly worked for. I only became "independent" in adulthood after the death of my Father in March of 2011. My Mother passed-away in March of 2008. She was profoundly mentally-ill and psychotic and never received any mental healthcare treatment. If it were not for myself and my younger non-disabled brother, she would have "died on the streets", as a "Homeless Bag Lady". Since 2006, I have been prematurely retired and living on a low poverty Social Security income, and my only Medical Liability Insurance is Medicare. Much of my days now as an older Autistic with Cerebral Palsy, are passed by sitting in front of my computer communicating with other adults with Autism and Cerebral Palsy. Occasionally, I do do some technical tinkering with my own...Expand for more