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Academic difficulties with autism

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Verdandi
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05 Jun 2011, 10:51 pm

Kon wrote:
Verdandi wrote:
Or as a teenager, not having the coordination to learn how to type despite working at it...I also eventually learned how to type really well.


I actually took a typing course and I failed it in highschool. I've been using computers for eons and at work and I still finger type! I have a similar problem when taking messages from the phone and writing them down at work. I think I have a gap/memory block when switching from verbal system to motor system? It makes my work-life very difficult because I'm afraid of picking up the phone.


Yeah, I just couldn't connect my brain to the typewriter. I learned to do the two-finger hunt and peck thing on computers over the next few years, though, so when I finally learned how to touch-type, that probably helped a lot.

I really do not love talking, though. I'd prefer to communicate entirely in text.



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05 Jun 2011, 11:35 pm

I had trouble with anything involving abstract reasoning. Also, it can be difficult for me to follow the instructions. I often manage to skip steps or misinterpret them.

Slow/clumsy handwriting can also hinder performance, especially if your mind thinks way ahead of your writing speed. I find that I also can get so caught up in the form of the writing itself that I forget what I was trying to convey in first place.


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Roman
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05 Jun 2011, 11:47 pm

littlelily613 wrote:
First of all, this is not a personal question. This question is not a "what are your personal difficulties with academics?" You are free to tell me if you want, but I am really just asking in general:

What are usual, common academic difficulties people with high functioning autism tend to experience? (Yes, I know not all share the same ones...I am just looking for general information of what a child or an adult with autism might have difficulty with due to their autism alone.)


All the way through high school and college I was ahead on my favorite subjects (math and physics) and average on everything else. I only started having academic difficulties in graduate school because some of the physics concepts seemed a lot more abstract than the ones I encountered before. I don't know how relevant it is to Asperger. When they say aspies have problems with studying abstract concepts, they are probably referring to high school, not graduate school.

I guess the only thing that IS clearly related to Asperger is the fact that I wasn't flexible enough. I mean, MOST of the grad school physics is fine with me; I only had problems with some specific areas of physics. So it was pretty fullish of me to insist doing the one kind of physics I have trouble with instead of switching to some other area of physics where I can get phd reasonably fast and then come back to the "difficult" area of physics later on. So that kind of persistance IS probably related to Asperger.



Jumla
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06 Jun 2011, 4:13 am

littlelily613 wrote:
I can completely relate to this. I went for a meeting a couple days ago, and the person in the office was actually quite rude to me. She clearly has a bias against Aspergers students, and would have been more openminded if my official diagnosis was autism instead. I did manage to get a private exam room, but that is all. She said she doesn't see a need to accommodate me for anything also because my grades are quite good. Yes, my grades ARE quite good; however, they are not my highest potential. I score less than I could be because of my disability. I have a lot of sensory issues and need extra time on exams. She refused to give me that. I took a transfer credit at another school last winter. They, without hesitation, gave me time and a half. I completed the exam strongly, and it took me the entire 4 1/2 hours to do so. Had I only been given 3 hours I would have failed. This is because I was in a smaller room (rather than a private one), with someone who coughed incessently. I found it really loud, and could not adequately collect my thoughts until he left. If I hadn't had the extra time, I would not have even been half finished. I also sometimes need extra time on assignments, but not always. And I need considerations to be taken into account when evaluating my participation mark. The woman was very rude and denied that I needed anything at all but a private room. I am really very frustrated right now. I was planning on going to this school for my Masters as well, but if they cannot accommodate me, well, a Masters is only going to be even more difficult, so I may have to look elsewhere.


Run, Little Lily. Seriously, run as fast as you can to another college with a disability office willing to listen to you. If I had any inkling of the things I would be put through as a result of my having AS, I would never have gone to the place where I went (and trust me, the things I have mentioned in relation to my experiences are only the very tip of the iceberg).