lab class

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Has anybody dealt with people in there lab class that social undermined them to force them out of the class? Seems this has happened to me in my class. I honestly don't think I'm going to go back. It sucks because I feel I could pass this class no problem.

I blame my looks and my personality, but I also blame them for doing what they are doing.

Seems this only happens at certain times of the day when i feel like this. The class is morning which doesn't help. Would be nice to have an organic night class. Would probably make the class a whole lot easier

..

Are you registered with your college's disability folks? I don't get on with lab classes either, and like you say it's not the content, it's the other people in the class. Because I'm registered with disability services I'm allowed to run through all my lab components on my own and I don't have to pair up with anyone else and that makes it a little better for me.

I imagine it's harder for you though; I'm a mature student and it appears to be me that scares the other students.

I never registered with DSS because I don't think my Aspies warrants it.

Just tell him/her you prefer to work alone, and demonstrate you can. Ideally, instructors would like every student to do their own work on their own. That tells the instructor you can get from A to Z without any consult.

--------------Personal Experience below--skip if you're not interested.---------

My chem instructor I had for two semesters knew I had some sort of social anxiety. I only told him recently of my Aspies.

He always let me solo labs, even to this day, after my very first lab partner dropped in an intro chem a year ago. He noticed my lab performance, as well as results, were better when I worked alone.

Of course, your situation might be different. In my case, I did my one of intro and currently in my 2nd semester of inorganic chem. O-Chem might be different, but it won't be until next semester to see how it flys by with a new instructor.

Yeah thats probably what I'm going to have to do. I still have the class though, the seating arrangement was different from General Chem. whatever I just need to get through the class and get a grade that I want and I'll be happy, No Lab with annoying classmates= me comfortable, I work way better by myself. I usually go into analysis paralysis when around them. I'm sure it doesn't make them comfortable as much as it makes me uncomfortable. So I'm sure we are both benefiting from it.

Yeah register with the universities disability service. I don't have problems with my peers (they do their thing, I do mine), my main problem is the fact I can't learn auditorily and as a result, I struggle with classes where they don't upload the lecture notes online. I registered with the disability services and the disability officer was insanely helpful. He offered to help with any and all problems I might be having as a result of having high functioning autism. I think you should register with the disability office and tell them all the problems you're having. They'll help you. They offered me extra time for exams and a change in venue.

I dropped it, might of been the worst idea ever but whatever.

Just go back and do it next year. People with ASD/HFA are built for science fields. I'm in my 3rd year of a chemistry course in uni and I'm the only one in the class that actually knows what the hell hes doing in the labs. I work way better alone too. At the end of last year in org chem lab they did a surprise test where they got everyone to work alone and recrystallise an unknown compound. I had pure crystals after 2 hours. The rest of the class where there for the whole day. Most of them didn't even get it finished. Being able to work alone is a good sign.

I'm a visual thinker and can't read that well. so answering non visual questions in class is a no go.

If something seems nonvisual to you, you should try to come up with a visual interpretation of it that you understand so that you can answer questions about it.

I am the most visual thinker that I know. I have to visualize everything before I can start to feel comfortable with it or confidently say I understand it.
This is great for classes like biology and organic chem(lecture) where visualizing is really central to getting answers, but for classes like physics, math, gen chem, and physical chemistry it really gave me a lot more work to do than everyone else, who solely relied on mathematical results/intuition, had to tackle. I ask questions during math based classes about "why would that happen if... " or "is the reason why this equation makes sense _____?" and these questions sometimes throw my classmates and some teachers for a loop since algebra and abstract mathematical reasoning is very clear proof to them. Once science classes start featuring calculus (which I struggled through, until I put in lots of time trying to visualize what was actually going on with all these symbols on the board) they actually got a lot more intuitive since I can visualize what the equations actually are telling me and how they can be derived from one another.

I need some kind of a picture in my head and sometimes I need to do research on my own in order to create a "working" picture that will get the job done. To double check my model, I ask questions during class to check my understanding - I try and articulate the concept (as I see it) back at the teacher so that they can tell me "not quite, almost, here's how it actually is" or "yes, that's exactly it". If you are not comfortable asking questions during class, go to office hours and ask them and they can help you at length.

One of the most important things I've learned in college so far is that knowing how to ask a question and get an answer that will help you best understand things is much, much more important than understanding something the first time around. As a student, my job is to be confused - there is no shame in it. The way something is taught is not always the best way for you to understand it - everyone learns differently and those differences give you unique insight. Asking questions the right way is an art (as is answering them properly) and it takes practice but it really does pay off.


As for the lab worries, I've been there and here's how I coped with things:
The last class where I had to work with a lab partner was gen chem lab. It was crowded, half the people didn't want to be there, and about 50% of the time my partner had no idea what was going on. Honestly, it was as close to misery as I've ever been in a college class and I, like you, was worried about making it through. Working with an unfamiliar person (we actually had to pair with a different person each week to attempt to avoid having one partner do all the work so I couldn't even get used to the person) + being timed was my own personal nightmare. First semester, I pushed through it with sheer willpower and I was rather miserable.
Second semester, I worked out something with my teacher where I could do most of the work before class so that I just had to physically run the experiment and fill in a few blanks in my lab notebook during the timed class period. My instructor made me still work with a partner (she said that the partner thing was a) part of the class and b) necessary for space reasons and therefore I had to do it) but by doing my lab report before the actual class period, most of the time pressure was taken off (less furious writing during the last 20 minutes while trying to help along an often clueless lab partner) and I understood the lab well enough to feel more comfortable doing the manipulations during the actual experiment.
Basicly what I'm saying is that the better you understand the actual science-y bits of the experiment before you come to the stressful environment, the easier it will be to cope with the pressure that all the people and the time contraints in lab cause.

I know this is crazy long, but (if you even made it this far into it) I relate with you and I really want to help. So, I have one last thing to add that I hope is encouraging.
Once you get in upper level classes, even if your school is large, there will be less people in them and it is therefore much less likely that you will have to be formally paired up in labs. Also the students in the upper level labs are more likely to want to be there so they are easier to deal with. And, additionally, the fewer people in the upper level classes makes the environment much less generally stressful and chaotic. For example, I'm taking an analytical chemistry class this semester that is ~95% lab based - you're graded on the accuracy of your yield and lab technique almost entirely. It has a reputation of being difficult (conceptually and technically), but there were only 15 people in it with me so I had my own set of glassware, own table space, etc so I found it more manageable and less stressful than gen chem lab. Only when we had to use the fume hoods or the analytical balances did I have to share space with my classmates and I could usually move at my own pace.

Anyway, good luck with your second go round of the lab. I know the crowded lab classes are really difficult but, once you get past them, the subject matter will be more awesome and so will the people you work with - and you aren't as likely to be forced to work with them either. Good luck! Let me know if I can help.