Alright, let me preface this by saying that I have a child with autism and a neuromuscular disease. He will never hold a job or live independently. Not because of the autism because he is high functioning. If that was our only hurdle, I could get him to independence. His body, like yours, limits him. So, I'm going to talk to you like a mother. If you were my son, I would tell you this.

You are hanging your hopes on way too lofty ambitions without having a base. You are capable of holding a job, just maybe not one you would want right now. But, part of overcoming limitations is knowing where start. You're trying to go from 0 to 60 with no middle ground. Writing a book is great. Awareness and public speaking/stunts are great for your cause. But, they're not going to feed you. Whatever you can do physically, go get that entry level job. Obviously you can type (though I don't know how). I'm assuming you can talk on a phone. You can bag groceries. If you can drive, you can deliver pizza. Are these high paying jobs with a lot of clout? Nope. But, having a job is better than not having one any day. And while you are working whatever job you get, you can work on your other goals. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I stay home with my son now because he can't go to school anymore. I'm looking for a PT job to fill the gaps for my family. Whatever I find will not be something I dreamed of doing as a child. But, I write as well. I do public speaking as well. I just don't expect to be paid enough to live by doing these things. Ideally, your passion and your job match up. But, more often than not, they don't. It doesn't mean you give up on your passion to work a dead end job. And clearly your passion is not paying the bills. I don't know the specifics of your condition, but you seem like a fairly intelligent person. You know you better than anyone else and you know what you are capable of. Go do something and get some experience in independent living. And keep working at your advocacy. Right now, it's not your condition that is limiting you but your line of thinking.

This post was edited on 11/14/14 at 8:08 am