My school is going to be a building site next year, noise!

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The school that I attend is going to be a noisy, chaotic and very loud place for the whole year next year because we are having an extension built. I'm so worried because the change alone is going me a headache at the moment. I've went a week without talking to my mother very much because she painted the door a different colour at our house. I'm very sensitive to noise and can't even learn when there are one or two people whispering so naturally I have great difficulty at school as it is. I have often had to go home because of the problems with noise. I have no idea how I'm going to deal with the noise from the construction! I have emotional breakdowns very easily because of noise and combining that with the bully problems that I often have this year is going to be hell. It's also the most important year of my life, I need it to get into college to do what I want to; teaching.

I had a similar experience; actually, I've had two experiences like that! The first was my Sophomore year of high school and the other has been this past year at my community college.

The addition on my high school was worse, as I had several classes near the construction. The first week of the year, I just tried to deal with it, but after that, I started to figure out ways to "tune out" the sounds of the construction. I got a note from my parents that allowed me to carry a small bottle of painkillers in case of headaches, though I only used them once (be warned: DO NOT just bring a bottle with you, have your parents, and if necessary, your doctor, write a note. You may have to leave them in the nurse's office, but you would have freer access to the painkillers if you need them). One method that helped me ignore the sounds of construction was to have a reward system set up. I love to read, and had been begging my parents to get my own copies a certain series for god-knows-how-long, and we made a deal; if I could get through the first quarter without loosing it because of noise, I would get the books for Christmas (I ended up getting them for my birthday in November). Another thing I did was focus only on the voice of my teacher, to the point of not noticing any other sounds; some great practice for that is having a loud song playing in the background during a conversation.

The construction at my college was easier to deal with in general, simply because they intentionally kept noise to a minimum. Though, again, I did use my reward system, though this time it was a trip to the movies with my friends every 2 months (can you say Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 premier? ).

If worst comes to worst and you really can't handle it, talk to your guidance counselor or a teacher who you like and ask them if they have any suggestions; my counselor was the one to suggest focusing on my teacher's voice to the exclusion of any other sounds.

As for bullies, just tell yourself, "Ignore them, they don't matter." I know most people don't want to squeal on someone else, but if the bullying is so bad you can't focus on schoolwork and getting into college, go to your counselor or principal. Going to my counselor is probably the only reason I even graduated from high school, to be honest.

My school is currently being worked on. They likely won't be doing EVERY part of campus simulataneously, will they? I mean, you might be to alter your path somewhat to avoid it until it is over with?

I took a summer class this year, and out of all the empty classrooms they could have put us in, they sent us to one that had about a 6 inch wall separating us from the workers. I mean, really, if you looked out the window, there was a worker right there. They were sanding (my university is old and made from stones), and sawing at things, and doing incredibly loud....I don't know what...out there. Is was AWFUL. I just called the school and told them I am paying 600$ to sit there and I have a lot of sensory issues and am missing EVERY word the professor says. They moved us the next morning. So there are ways to avoid the noise. Hopefully you'll have some options at your school next year as well.

Not really because every class room is used at all times in my school and it's too hard to try and reorganise them while the work goes on, we struggle to find classrooms as it is at the moment.

Thanks musicforlife! I will try just listening to the teacher's voice probably will have to try the loud music over a conversation idea too as I have tried just listening to the teacher's voice but people whispering has always been a challenge for me. This could help me in every class I love Harry Potter xD

No problem! Just remember, if you try the loud-music-as-practice trick, try not to pick music that you like for the background (that was my mistake the first time!).