Gifted or honors classes: Are they suitable for us

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I note that a lot of students with AS high functioning Autism are enrolled in higher-level classes. Now please share with me about these, whenever applicable:

(1) Do you think we should take these courses?
(2) What are the challenges that we have to face in order to do these courses?
(3) What can we do to overcome those challenges?
(4) What are the alternatives to those higher-level classes if we really want to further our intellect?

You may feel free to discuss these questions here.

--- Personal experience ---

Let me share with my experiences first.

I was in higher-level classes for 7 years or so, from Grade 5 to junior year in high school. Then snap! Out of the bolt, I had depression in junior year, which was so serious that I took some medications. For the first time in my life, I just lost the motivation, focus and energy to study. I flunked my exams so much that I was forced to give up these higher level classes. I feel enraged, I felt so angered. But oh well, I took my final senior year exams and felt awakened by 'reality'.

Some WrongPlanet users should have noticed from an earlier post, that because of the reasons above, I could not really get the 'academic rigor' and 'extracurriculars' needed to apply to a good, desirable college. Then it's all the nasty and detrimental thoughts that flooded through my mind.

- Should I have not done honors classes totally at all?
- Should I just spend time completely on studies, which I am able to handle? (The only bad parts of not doing extracurriculars that I don't like is that I cannot apply to those Ivies, and I can't get scholarships)
- Had my autism affected my depression? What if I had known about my conditions earlier and acted upon them?
- Should I move on with my 'wasted life'?
- Should I forget what happened and I continue to move on?

Nevertheless, my mind had straightened out, and I am okay with all the options available to me. I think those classes really improved my academic experience. I was taught numerous analysis methods and I feel stimulated by people doing their best in everything, in working towards their goals. I thought it was still time well spent on hindsight. However, I should also had prepared mself better on the possible conditions that will pull me down, especially on the challenges posed by my HFA. should have handled my relationships with my teachers, fellow students who did not work hard enough, fellow students who had worked hard and are more competent than me, my non-'gifted' friends, my family, and so on...

1. yeah, i think they are pretty much our best bet. i mean, they cover more in depth than normal classes. they provide an almost necessary intellectual challenge. plus, they let us develop sort of beyond how we would normally go in normal courses. i definitely enjoyed all the advanced ones i took in high school. i usually if not always enjoy the higher numbered courses as opposed to the lower level ones. the breadth of the topics is a little bit narrower, allowing for more detail and a better picture of the subject and such.

2. i guess, maybe, a challenge would be choosing topics. i'm very indecisive. maybe, if the course is more emotional, we would have to kind of bs our way along, which brings me to number 3.
3. bs your way along. or, your teacher can be informed of your condition. they usually get concerned if you suffer from depression or something. but, communicating about aspergers is difficult. not sure if i have it, so it's even more awkward, i think. um, yeah. also, teachers really like data. if a conclusion is well-supported for ample amounts of data, then it's gold, i think.
4. spectrum, extra-curriculars, office hours. ask your teacher for more material, if you are interested in the subject. spectrum is good if one is in grade-school. extra-curriculars can expand your horizon a little. even if one is clumsy, one can still try their hand and dance. no biggy if one is not good at it...

i'm glad you have your life back on track. i know how you feel. depression has the tendancy to ruin a lot of things... including gpas...
it was definitely good to take those classes. it was an experience, right? sometimes, i regret having worse relations with my peers and such... then i just think to myself, it's in the past. you can't change the past. it's just how it is. so, i try to talk to people now. sometimes they surprise me with kindness!

It sounds like depression was more of an issue than was AS in your experiences. Depression is episodic in nature, which means that it could happen again. You will probably want to seek treatment for your depression, and there are both chemical and social means by which to minimize your risk for another occurrence. That having been said, I spent my entire school career in honors classes, despite several episodes of depression and severe anxiety.

Let's set this clearly. Your life is not wasted because you failed an honors class due to depression. Nothing is settled and your life is not determined. It may be that you will not attend an Ivy league school. This is not going to prevent you from being successful or leading a fulfilling life. Rather than forgetting what happened, you should remember it and use that knowledge to better prepare yourself when next you face similar adversity.

Well said, I may not go to an Ivy (sobs) despite my hard work in previous years, but I will learn from my previous experience and I will strive to be the best I can be.

By the way, kraken, may I know what are your personal experience in these classes? Just something fun or something to show that 'oh I am smart'? (For me, these classes are stimulating so I can't bear to leave them)

There's no way to know if someone will or not have a depression, and even for very smart students a depression is a good bet for failing school. Not all asperger get depression.
You said that you liked honor class, so overall it must have been a good place for you.

According at least to this article gifted class are good place for gifted aspergers. ("Schools services" page 4) http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=4171&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

Now I will try to manage my own depression.

My experiences were varied, and frequently depended on the teacher specific to the class. The following are some examples...

My biology AP teacher was an avowed creationist, and I learned to use the internet scouring it for information with which to refute his assertions to that effect.

My algebra/physics/pre-calculus teacher had a swivel platform in his class that he used to demonstrate centrifugal force. I spent most of the physics class my junior year standing on it and swiveling during his lectures and while doing classwork at a nearby lab table. He allowed me to do this, and even later helped me pay for a semester of calculus at the local university when my school did not offer calculus AP.

I had an English teacher for my freshman and senior years in high school who frequently allowed me to turn work in late at her house. I spent several nights at her house discussing whatever writing topic was being covered in depth.

I should note that these experiences were simultaneous to a couple of bouts of depression and an obvious array of social difficulties that seem to be typical for posters on this forum, though these problems were typically associated with being socially isolated and 'wierd'. Asperger's had only recently entered the public awareness at the time.

1) I think honors classes are great. I have been in one sort or another my entire life and continue to do so as I am still in college.

2) These courses are better for me than regular courses because the classes are smaller, the people more intellectual and usually more mature, and the teachers more interested in their respective subject which transfers over into making the class more enjoyable. Thus I did and do not find them challenging.

3) The one challege I can think of is that there were some required reports, but because it was an honors class we were told EXACTLY what topic be presenting (with some personal choice involved), what criteria to meet, what material to cover, etc.

4) I guess an alternativer would be self study. But I do not do well without a structured environment and schedule to follow like in classes so it does not work effectively for me.

For these "Gifted And Talented" classes, you have to be a study-holic and if you are a studyholic and enjoy working your ass of in school and know what you are doing, then go for it then!

I've been in gifted/honors classes since 5th grade. I liked the classes because my brain was actually stimulated for once. My 4th grade teacher recommended I take higher classes because I had seemed bored with the work in regular classes, which I was. Each year the classes would be a breeze, until about my senior year. From 10th grade to now, I've been number one in my class. When junior year came and everyone was talking about me being valedictorian, I got a boost of confidence and energy and got straight As. Easy. Near the end of that year when we picked our classes for the senior year, I basically signed myself up for death. I was so overcome by peer pressure and super high expectations from my family that I signed up for every AP/honors class I could take. I was even willing to drop lunch to add another class, just to make sure I would stay at the top. I'm in 12th grade now. I only got through 2 months of school before I had a mental breakdown from the stress. Panic attacks everyday, going to school for only two periods, and my depression and anxiety hit me like a train. I even had a stint in a mental hospital. My brain was just shot. I got out and went to an alternative school (no honors classes) and I'm just fine and still at the top. I brushed it all off.

Sorry, I didn't mean to type a big paragraph about me , but I just wanted to give you a scenario of what could happen if you take on too much. 1) I think it's fine for us to take these courses, but only to gain more intelligence about a subject, not for the sake of something or someone else. 2) I think the challenges we have to face are learning to accept what happens and not take on too much. 3) I think we could overcome these challenges by strictly taking the course to learn, if that's really what you want to do. 4) I think an alternative would be to further your intellect by yourself. You won't have to worry about grades or anything. I think learning would be more enjoyable that way.