Undereducated and Aspergers?

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I'm undereducated and I have AS/HFA. I did get good grades and I'm average to above in intelligence. The thing is that I've spent two thirds of my school career in Special Ed. I've spent my elementary school years, receiving services, at least 50% of the time. I was mainstreamed in high school, 75% of the time, and than I went to college, where I was in a special education job readiness programme. That doesn't bother me, and I know that I'm not the brightest member here, at WP which also doesn't bother me. I'm just wondering if anybody else here is undereducated.

Compared to most here I'm undereducated. Compared to my family and friends, I have the highest education among us.

I graduated high school with highest honors and received a full scholarship to a university. I muddled through almost 2 years of college before I dropped out. Math is my weakest area (really.. not all aspies are naturals at it.) and I just couldn't keep up with pace. I had an extremely difficult time navigating the campus, even though I lived at home and commuted. After almost 2 years, I still would get lost trying to find my classes. Commuting added time management issues. Then I found the computer room at the campus, and it was my first introduction to the internet. (we didn't have a computer at home) From that moment on I was hooked, and it became my obsession. I started skipping classes just to spend it in the computer room. Eventually I started going to university just to use the computer room and not even attempting to find my class.

I also wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's until 12 years after my college experience. I didn't have help or any special services in place. I think if I had that I might have done better.

Anyway that was a lot to say that yes, I am undereducated as well.

I too am undereducated, quite a lot actually. I have the highest degree of education in my family but at this point only amounts to a few credits from a community college. Because I missed basically all of my early education because of the abusive environment I was raised in, I didn't really think I was college material to my way of thinking back in the day with only a GED which I hadn't even studied for but managed to pass only barely for the sake moving into my adult life with some measure of dignity. I was so overwhelmed and stressed from the group home I was still living in at that time that this was the best I could do. Their school was private and they basically didn't bother to do anything to teach the kids and just housed them so my education was further lost. My education has always been exceedingly important to me, since I was very young. As a young adult I tried and failed many times but always dropped out because of my inability to handle the social and communication demands. It was near impossible really to handle but I was there trying nonetheless. I didn't give up. Finally in my early thirties I managed to follow through and completed four courses and even learned I was quite smart and much faster at learning than the other students in my class and my talent was quite noticed as well in the art classes. By the time I had taken these few classes successfully, a trusted friend convinced me to move away to an area that wasn't in my best interest to move to. It was a really big mistake which caused a massive breakdown in my coping abilities. Now, too many years later, I'm poised to go to an art school finally which has been a lifelong dream as well. I'm still vulnerable in many ways but this school is only a block from where I live and I believe I finally know enough about how to get what I need to make it happen and believe I will finally be able to follow through with this lifelong dream without anymore interference. I'm a little crippled by all I've been through and it's going to take all the courage I have to move forward, but I have gotten myself here which was probably the hardest, maybe not. I don't know how I'll do, after all. I'm just glad to be here where I am now.

I finished high school getting extra help with my school work. I did make good grades and honor roll thanks to having my work modified. I had been given extra help since 7th grade. I have always been a special ed student and been on the IEP long before my AS diagnoses because of my early history.


I never went to college except for Spanish, art and softball. I have no degree.

Based on responses in other posts, I would say I'm "average" when it comes to education. However, I often feel rather inadequate when it comes to insight and communication skills.

Many times I will read someone's post and want to respond, but not know what to say.... then I will read another person's response and they have managed to put into words the things I was thinking.....many times quite beautifully.

So I just lurk most of the time.

^I have to really work at it. If I were to put out a first draft of how my brain spits out language in its original form it would be near impossible or very unpleasant to read. Thank god for the word processor. Sometimes just the simplest things are the hardest like everyday things I'm trying to figure out how to respond to rather than historical type things. I have to do a lot of editing before I hit the post button and even then I have to go back and fix things. It's very hard and I find I have to be rather ambitious to pull it off at the level I feel most comfortable with, otherwise I would just have to give up because it's so hard and tiring for the simplest things, but I can't do that. I understand your feelings and frustration.

I took a typing class which helped me out a lot and my speed was actually the highest in that class as well but that was only the learning copying speed and not formulating. Over the years the word processor has been a lifesaver for me.

definitely under. Social stuff killed me in college, couldn't deal with it, I should have definitely stayed home and just went part-time. Two other times school-mate stuff has killed me, it just saps the life out of me and takes my will to live. I just can't complete stuff, which I now know is common for AS females.

I finished grade 10 and skipped out of school when I couldn't finish grade 11 due to low attendance (major depression, anxiety disorder).
And in my country it's pretty much impossible to be home-schooled. Basically the reaction of people was and is 'but you're so clever, what difficulties could you have?'

I have a GED...but I was only missing one semester of one credit.
I took a break for a little while because I was so glad to finally be out of school...

I muddled through community college for a couple of years and it was miserable..I was MORE than invisible....I felt like a ghost.....I didn't have any financial or "mental" support to continue with the drudgery....so I didn't last long.

At least I don't owe my soul to student loans...

If you graduated high school and attended college, then you're of a higher education that many people. AS and NT inclusive.

However you got your education - you got it. Don't criticize yourself because you didn't do it the average way. You DID do it.
And that's plenty fine.

^I got into a student loan once for two classes I wasn't able to complete and was stuck paying it back for years but finally learned I was eligible for financial aid. What a blessing, but then there were so many other challenges I had no support in trying to figure out how to deal with and that's all I've done my whole life. What a waste of a really good life.