I'm a parent of a child that suffered debilitating, not catastrophic, brain damage at birth so reading Chrysalis's post cheered me. It is good that there are some who understand.
Another thing of note is that employers are far more demanding than they were when I was young. There was usually some employer who would have an undemanding job that they could hire "the village idiot" to do. I'll even go so far as to say there was a little social conscience in that hiring.
There are many disabilities that are not obvious to the casual observer. For my child it is a total inability to handle stress. In volunteering, people accept her as she is, she contributes well and enjoys herself. Her favourite is ReefHQ where they log hours and give badges. She has over 5,000 hours. She has her "blue card" so can look after school kids from all over the north who sleep over in the aquarium which they see at night. I haven't done that myself. [see the aquarium, not sleep over, silly]
I have no doubt the system is rorted by some, but be careful not to make broad statements. I'm sure sympathetic doctors put some on DAP who, through age or whatever, have little or no prospect of getting a job. It is the civilised thing to do in the Doc's eyes.
