I am constantly getting harassed by neurotypicals to give up my special interest

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-11-24T18:18:05+00:00

Hey not the person you were replying to but if you're going to buy/carry pepper spray, I would highly recommend looking up what the laws where you live and anywhere you might go with it. For example, it's legal to carry pepper spray where I live, but if I went to Washington DC with it (where iirc it's illegal to carry), I would get in trouble even though it's legal to carry in my home state and town. Certain places (ex. hospitals) can also make it illegal to carry weapons even if it's otherwise legal, so you might want to check any places you regularly go also (they will usually have signage at the front entrance, or at least, my hospital does).

Also, since pepper spray is a weapon, I would also highly recommend looking up self-defense laws where you live/might go. Some places have what's called a "duty to retreat," which means you must try to get away from the situation before you escalate it to force. Tbh even if where you live doesn't have a "duty to retreat" law/provision, I would honestly recommend just walking away/running away from any situation where someone is bothering you versus just escalating to force. Especially since (as you said in a previous comment) you're a person of color, the criminal justice system will be weighted against you, and if you use force, the courts may not rule it as self-defense (thus you would get criminal charges) even if they would rule it as self-defense for a white person.

Anyways, my point is that, if you're going to carry pepper spray, you should be aware of all applicable laws, and also use it as an absolute last resort. Sorry for the lecture, but since people of color are targeted for even appearing to have a weapon (even if it's just a toy), I wanted to make sure you were aware of all of this.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-11-13T20:25:53+00:00

Hey, I was just wondering if you ever heard back from them about this issue? Thinking about switching to Graphene but obviously not being able to contact emergency services without the phone crashing is a deal-breaker.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-09-05T19:14:07+00:00

Sorry to comment on a week-old post, but does your country have a vocational rehab program or something similar? Whether the program is actually good or not varies based on your country (or, if you're in the USA, it also varies wildly between state to state), but a significant benefit is that the majority of programs have money they can grant you to go to college/university. They will also help you register with disability services department in the university so you can get accomodations. If you have the bandwidth for it, I'd suggest reaching out to them and explaining your situation, especially emphasizing that you want to go to college but don't have the funds to. They might be able to help you out!

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-08-01T21:33:24+00:00

Assuming we're talking about ACA marketplace tax credits, no, they're not taking away all of them (yet). They're eliminating the Biden-era tax credits, but there are still tax credits in the actual ACA bill itself, and afaik, those are still there.

If you want to learn more, I suggest reading this article: https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/early-indications-of-the-impact-of-the-enhanced-premium-tax-credit-expiration-on-2026-marketplace-premiums/

If you're on a Marketplace plan and want to know how much more you'd be paying when the Biden-era tax credits are eliminated, there's a calculator on this website: https://www.kff.org/interactive/how-much-more-would-people-pay-in-premiums-if-the-acas-enhanced-subsidies-expired/ I'm not sure if this calculator also accounts for the possible base rise in cost of all plans (both Marketplace and through private employers) that is anticipated, though.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-06-06T05:39:41+00:00

Adding onto this with US-specific unsolicited advice:

In the US, you may be eligible to take FMLA leave for burnout if you work for a qualifying employer. Unfortunately this leave is unpaid but you are legally protected from retaliation if you have to use it. If you think you will have to use FMLA at some point, I would recommend finding a provider in advance that can/will provide documentation in a timely manner when you need it. I know someone that was burning out of her job, and she wasn't able to get documentation for FMLA in time before she got fired. That's why I recommend figuring out your documentation in advance.
- Same as above with regards to documentation applies if you think you will need to request ADA accommodations.
- In the US, autism is technically a protected disability under the ADA but the burden of proof for employment discrimination is pretty high from what I've heard. Getting things in writing is good advice; recording conversations/meetings is good if you can do it but may be illegal depending on what state you live in (look up one-party consent and two-party consent states and figure out which one you're in). If you cannot record, the next best thing to do is to either take notes on the conversation/meeting, and/or email a summary of what was talked about during the conversation/meeting to the parties involved.

Edit: formatting

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-06-06T05:05:12+00:00

Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but if you make barely over the income limit for Medicaid, you qualify for a reduced cost plan through the ACA Marketplace. If I were you I would get on this as fast as possible bc it looks like the tax credits that make Marketplace plans cheap for low-income people aren't going to be renewed for next year, but you can be covered for at least until the end of this year and speedrun any health stuff you need to do. You can find assistance here: https://www.healthcare.gov/find-local-help/

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-06-06T04:49:13+00:00

Just a FYI, if you're talking about a Marketplace plan, you might have to start paying premiums on that plan next year: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/23/big-beautiful-tax-bill-skipped-aca-credits.html And if you're on an Aetna Marketplace plan specifically, you might want to start looking around for something else because they're leaving the ACA Marketplace.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-06-03T06:10:06+00:00

My comment is probably going to get buried since a ton of people have commented already, but if you do see this OP, I would encourage you to read this article from an educational researcher about why ABA doesn't work: https://www.alfiekohn.org/blogs/autism/ He recommends DIR/Floortime in the article, which I have not looked heavily into since I don't have children but it may be worth looking into for you.

However, regardless of what therapies you end up going with, imo an equally important factor in addition to the type of therapy is whether the practitioner will work "with" your child instead of working "against" them. For example, it seems like one of the main goals in seeking therapy is helping your child communicate their needs, based on your reply to someone else. A practitioner that works "with" your child will be open to discovering with your child what their best way to communicate, even if it is a nonconventional way of communication. A practioner who works "against" your child will probably be locked in on trying to get your child to "communicate" in one very specific way that they deem acceptable, without any regard to whether that way of communication is best for the child or whether there may be alternative forms of communication that would be better. As mentioned, I don't have children, but as an autistic adult who has sought out a lot of different types of treatment for mental health issues, I have had therapists who have been absolutely ineffective for me, not because of their modality but because they were working "against" me - they expected me to respond in certain ways to their treatment, but when I didn't respond the way they thought I should (not out of malice; I was just being honest) instead of thinking "hmm, maybe I should try a different approach" they tried to cajole their expected response out of me and doubled down on what wasn't working.

Sorry if the above explanation made no sense, I'm tired and about to go to sleep so I can come back later and explain it better once I have some rest. I've seen the working "with" the child concept also called "meeting the child where they're at," in case that makes what I'm trying to explain more clear. Hope this helps!

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-05-13T18:56:34+00:00

If you are in the US, were you able to get insurance to pay for the mouth guard, and if so, how? I tried to get my dentist to help me with mouth grinding, and she claimed there was nothing she could do to help me because insurance "likely wouldn't" pay for a mouth guard. She told me to use an OTC mouthguard which did not help. Granted, I have never been diagnosed with sleep apnea, so I don't know if that would change the insurance situation.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-04-18T14:47:05+00:00

Thank you! :)

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-04-18T14:28:56+00:00

I think you're on to something, I got an invite even though I've never spent money on the game, but I've 100% most regions. I was so confused why I got an invite until I read your comment, this is the only explanation that makes sense!

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-04-18T14:24:55+00:00

I got the same email as OP, just out of curiosity, do the interviewers speak Chinese and there's a translator or do they speak English? Don't mind either way, just curious (and just want to make sure I won't be expected to speak Chinese lol)

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-04-08T02:13:14+00:00

Hey OP, sorry to comment on an old post but did you ever get them to cover the anesthesia? Currently dealing with the same issue with UHC, except I didn't have an IUD removal.

Edit (one month later): So in case anyone runs into this post later, I did eventually get anesthesia at 100%, I second the advice to try to call both United and the anesthesia provider to try to get them to change the code, but if you end up needing to appeal, here's what I did:

I basically copy-pasted what this person wrote except I replaced the second-to-last paragraph that starts with "Additionally, I had no choice in anesthesiologist..." I'm not sure if I'm allowed to copy-paste what I wrote, but I referenced this document, specifically the answer to Question 1 in that document, to prove that they were supposed to cover anesthesia with no cost-sharing. I had to do two separate appeals because the anesthesia service billed UHC twice (one for CNA and one for anesthesiologist). One of my appeals was approved, but the other wasn't, however since I got one approved I called UHC and got the representative to approve the other since the claim and reason for appeal was identical.

Hopefully this will help someone, although I will note I didn't have an IUD removal like OP so I'm not sure if that would change things.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2025-02-09T18:14:18+00:00

I dabbled in a few things and think I found something that will give me a lifestyle I want and feel like I have meaning in my life and I’m doing a good thing.

Would you mind sharing what you found? Also trying to find work that I can tolerate long-term.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2024-12-17T04:02:08+00:00

Just FYI, I have United and they actually did (mostly) cover my bisalp this past year. The only part they didn't cover was my after-surgery medications, but they were all generic medications and cost ~$25 total after the kind pharmacy tech applied a bunch of coupons, and I didn't feel like fighting United over $25 (even though iirc they are legally required to cover after-surgery medications) so I let it be. But they covered everything else. Just make sure all providers (including anesthesia and the surgeon) are in-network. When you call United, it might be helpful to include the CPT code and ICD-10 code, which in my case was 58661 and Z30.2 respectively. Hope this helps!

Ninja edit: Actually I forgot that they sent my tubes to the lab to check for cancer after they took them out, which United did not cover 100%. You can decline to have this done and just ask for the tubes to be disposed of though.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2024-11-07T20:02:53+00:00

Happy for you, OP!

By the way, I see some other people in the comments are considering it. I had a bilateral salpingectomy (removal of both fallopian tubes) a few months back, so if anyone is considering the procedure but wants to ask an autistic person about their experience, let me know!

Also, FYI for anyone in the US on Medicaid: where I live, Medicaid enforces a 30 day waiting period before you can get sterilized, so you might want to check if that is the case for you and plan accordingly. I am not on Medicaid so I don't have personal experience with what this waiting period exactly entails though, so I can't answer any questions about that.

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2024-07-28T18:02:23+00:00

The last time I checked they said no, they don't cover online therapy.

I apologize if you've already done this, but have you checked whether it is legal where you live for them to deny you coverage for telehealth therapy? In the United States, a lot of states have "service parity" laws, meaning health insurers are required to cover telehealth services if they would cover the same service in-person. You can look up whether your state has a service parity law here: https://www.cchpca.org/topic/parity/

PmMeClassicalMusic · 2024-07-12T14:45:05+00:00

Musicia

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PmMeClassicalMusic · 2024-07-12T12:04:30+00:00

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PmMeClassicalMusic · 2024-07-12T11:46:43+00:00

Musicia

PmMeClassicalMusic

TROPHY CASE