On the outside, I'm an autistic success story. I was dux of my high school and moved to the city for university, studying in two languages, in Australia and then Germany, to earn a double degree. After holding full-time employment for several years, I was headhunted for a PhD scholarship, and I've lived both alone and with housemates, never once missing rent.
I'm thoroughly, excessively independent. or signup to continue reading But I've also always struggled. I grew up in poverty in a regional town, and at 16, my father died.
At 27, my mother died. As well as being autistic, I live with multiple disabilities, crippling depression and anxiety, and the stress of managing my autistic twin sister's bipolar disorder and chronic suicidality. I know my life of complex medical and social trauma has complicated my "development".
I struggle to make friends, have never had a partner, and battle to find meaning in anything except work. Now, at age 30, I've never been so isolated. I'm desperate for help.
My story isn't unique. The research shows that poverty, trauma, disability, and social isolation go hand-in-hand. Thankfully, Australia has a lifeline - the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which was designed to support the dynamic and complex needs of disabled children and adults, shouldering some of the cost of being disabled while linking us to the help we need.
Like many disabled people, I know what help I need. In fact, I already fund what I can. I see a psychologist, ps.