Replies to 'Asperger's Syndrome'

Hello.

Growing up has not been easy for me. I was bullied relentlessly in my childhood and early teens. My biological parents were very cruel to me. Then, I moved to another city where I lived in a poor neighbourhood for a couple of years. I also spent nine days in jail a couple of years ago, even though I insist that I didn't do anything wrong.

My peers consider me to be a very intelligent person. I graduated from Ottawa, Canada's Carleton University in the nineties. I also consider myself to have a lot of common sense with plenty of "street smarts".

I once spent my time with other mentally ill people. That was a terrible mistake. Successful people surround themselves with other successful people & that's exactly what I've done.

I was on social assistance on two occasions but now collect a disability pension while working full time at a coffeehouse. While I am very happy with my current situation, I am not yet content.

I'd like to go back to school so that I can reach my potential while no longer being classified as an underachiever.

One of the knocks against mentally ill people is that they have poor social skills. However, my life experience has enabled me to learn from society on how to interact with others.

In the past, I have been in and out of psychiatric wards. Now that my living arrangements have drastically improved, I can function a lot better as my visits at the hospital have become fewer and fewer.

I take medication every morning to help make me remain sane. Yet, it has been the bold choices that I have made in my life that has prevented me from being sucked into a downword spirral. I no longer have any contact with any of my biological family nor am I a client of that mental health agency any more. Those two groups did not make me feel good about myself as they tried to run my own life against my will.

Now, I live independently on my own. I take excellent care of myself and my precious cat.  It took an awful lot of time, but things are finally going well for me. My advice to people with Aspergers syndrome or mental illness in general is to hang in there and persevere. Do not consider suicide or any other way of quitting on life. There are plenty of people to turn to. Even though life has been good to me, I continue to see my family doctor and social worker on a monthly basis. It's what keeps me humble.

That is what I'm willing to share with all of you. May you all have the fortitude to excel in life rather than settling for the limitations you think you have. Thank you & God bless.

Sincerely,

Fred.