Losing a Job and Self-Esteem

MARENGO, Ill. -- Always clean and perfectly pressed, Eddie Mrkvicka’s McDonald’s uniform gave him the same sense of pride that a sailor might feel in his dress blues.
The 38-year-old from Marengo more recently was employed at a rehab facility in Woodstock, but like many in the rocky economy of recent years, he lost his job to cutbacks.
Mrkvicka, however, is not like the majority of unemployed U.S. workers. He has a controlled seizure disorder, suffers from adult attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and has learning disabilities and Asperger syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism that affects a person’s social interaction skills.