What program should I take at Uni?

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I have developed a strong obsession with Autism/Asperger's/other neurological disorders over the past few months, and it is not likely to subside anytime soon. I was originally planning to go either into life sciences, engineering, or pure mathematics. However, I have surprisingly found Chemistry very difficult to understand, and would like to pursue my new passion. What program should I enrol in, and what could be the possible career choices for me?

Any suggestions are welcomed. I know that this is a very broad and difficult question to ask, but at least give me some hints!

Some possible choices that I feel might be appealing to an Aspie are in fields that you can work by yourself or with small groups such as in research science, wildlife management,
fishfarm manager (or something similar). Some other possibilities are Library Science, Museum Manager, educational research, etc.,

Heh, you don't get my point here >.<
As long as the profession has to do something with my special interest, even if it's social work, the obstacles like sensory stuff and having to socialize won't bother me if I'm very interested in the job. On the other hand, I'll most likely not be able to keep a job that has nothing to do with my interest, because I'll get distracted all the time. The question is, what program should I take at uni if I want to do autism research or work with autistic people or do anything else that pertains to the subject?

Psychology would be the obvious choice if you want to study Asperger's.

If you're still interested in the life sciences, but don't like chem, do what I'm doing- major in math, minor in bio. By doing this, you get to avoid taking chem classes but can still be in the life sciences. There is currently a desperate need for mathematicians with a decent understanding of biology, since biology is growing increasingly mathematical and few biologists understand enough mathematics to use it usefully in their research. And even if you don't like the life sciences as much, you can transfer the math to any number of other careers.

i would say go in pure mathematics and as your optional classes take some psychology(or even take a minor in psychology). If you still have a passion for math that would definitely be the best way because if your still interested in science/math a major in psychology might not work out well. Anyways just make sure you take a bit of both in first year and you will see what you like best.

Also i should add that if you go into social sciences first and decide to change they might not let you just go to math like that. But if your in pure math and want to switch to social sciences they will let you no questions asked. I would definitely take a semester / year to figure out what you want to do. Worst case if you absolutely want to finish in 4 years you can take some summer school if you get late because you changed programs .

Just curious, but what are you having trouble with in chemistry? You might just have a bad teacher.

A basic science degree will give you a good foundation for any post grad specialization work. I found chem to be daunting from the way it was taught. When i sat down with the text and did it my own way i enjoyed it.

It would be the most suitable major indeed, but you have to work yourself through a lot of stuff that has little to nothing to do with AS or something related. If you don't have a problemw ith statistics (as I assume, since you consider majoring in math), this won't be too hard (it is the reason I won't enter int he degree program in psychology and just take some courses). However, there's all the introductory courses you will have to get through, and these are possibly quite boring. I am currently taking devleopmental psychology and neuropsychology, and will start in clinical psychology I soon. Only neuropsych has a little about autism (as in, a few pages); both of the other courses don't have anything about it. I don't midn and still fidn it interesting, but if your obsession is just with AS, don't expect to find much about it in the intro courses.

I found it difficult to learn at the pace that it was taught at, and although I often felt like I understood a unit, my test/lab results ended up disastrous. I think it all had to do with the fact that there weren't enough explanations in the notes which meant that everyone was supposed to listen attentively in class, something I've always found difficult to do. Added to that was the stress of lab work, done in groups.
Another thing I've hated about the notes is that most of them were typed, with fill-in-the-blanks. Switching between writing, reading, and listening is much marder for me than writing all my notes continuously and listening. I can't learn in bursts like that.

What are the introductory courses in psychology about?

I think the pretty typical ones are basic/intro courses in animal behavior, biopsych, research methods, and abnormal psych, as well as the 101/overview of everything.

I think I'll go with majoring in psychology. I like the choice because I always do very well in humanities, especially when a lot is based on memorizing facts. Math is not particularly a "special" interest, just a subject at school that I really enjoy. Besides, I don't know whether my abstract thinking ability is enough to get me through a math major. Another reason why I was somewhat hesitant to major in math was because notes at lectures have to be taken by hand. It's way easier to use a laptop and type stuff quickly and then maybe go home and go through the notes and make them more legible than having to think about making good notes and listening to the professor at the same time. It's great that there's also statistics, meaning that I'll still get to do some math, and there is even a biology course in the 4th year! This is perfect.
Thanks.

I would still try and ask about the exact topics in the psychology degree. I once worked with a girl who was majoring in psychology, and I overheard her telling some other co-workers: "Autism is a disease. Only a few people are born with it, most get it from vaccines." Which led me to believe that the autism education in (at least my) University was rather lacking. Even though there is a couple of professors at my Uni who do research work with young adults with AS. One wants to specialize in women, but I haven't had the time/guts to approach either of them. They probably want someone with an official diagnosis first.

Social work might be an option. But they want a very specific type of person. The good news, is that (at least on my campus), Social work is the faculty that is most friendly towards 'minorities' (with 40% of their enrollment set aside for "special employment equity consideration"), however, it's also the easiest faculty to get kicked out of (due to a "professional unsuitability" bylaw). This essentially means that if you say or write something they don't like, they could kick you out. It's also the only faculty to do a criminal record check.

MathGirl, I've noticed that you're from Toronto too...which universities have you applied to?

I highly suggest you apply to York if you haven't already if you're looking into a B. Health or a BSc in Psychology...I know their popularity has gone down because of the recent strike, but the quality of education I've been receiving there has been top-notch.

It's a great place to go if you have a refined interest in certain aspects of Psych...Ryerson places the emphasis on too many humanities type courses, and U of T is a bit large and impersonal.

I also have an interest in autism/AS/developmental disorders and am going into my third year of a Bachelor of Health in Psychology there. I've learned quite a bit: the profs I've had so far are passionate and helpful. I'm planning on doing my masters there alongside some of the top autism researchers in the province. Plus, there's a support group for Aspies, which is a nice little bonus.

At York, you're required to take a full year of Statistics, as well as a Research course that allows you to apply the things you learned in Stats, so there's plenty of math to be found in both programs!

Thanks for telling me! Every one of my friends has been trying to convince me NOT to apply to York because of the strike... it's this whole stigma going on against it now. I'll apply to it for sure now, but what other universities in Canada have reputable psychology programs, besides York?

I'd suggest trying to get a second major, or at least a minor, in mathematics if you do go the psychology route. This will give you a lot more flexibility, as math is probably the most versatile major.