Struggling With University

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I could probably have posted this in the school and college life subforum, but I'm posting here because that subforum isn't very active.

I started studying Information Technology at university in late July after concluding that that'd probably be the best option with the career counsellor I was seeing. I started behind the 8-ball, not doing my due diligence to realise that there was course material I was meant to look at before my first class, and I've stayed behind the 8-ball ever since.

Part of the issue is my poor time management skills and choices, sometimes not looking at unit material before class and that sort of thing, and I think part of it might be executive dysfunction or something.

I feel embarrassed to ask for help when I need it, particularly during classes, but oftentimes I can't even identify what I'm not understanding, or what questions I need to ask to get the answers I need in order to wrap my head around the material. I also often struggle to figure out what I need to do for the assignments and how to start, and it doesn't help that I often seem to only start them a few days before they're due.

I guess overall I'm feeling lost and unsure of what to do to get myself on track. If this doesn't work out for me, I'm really not sure what I can do in terms of career.

I feel like I should be smart enough to succeed at university, but something isn't clicking properly. In a lot of ways, this is similar to the first experience I had with university. I thought things would be different now that I'm older and a bit more mature, but apparently not.

I almost dropped out of University after being one the best students for several years. If you don't already, you must prioritize regular exercise, proper rest and recreation as absolutely necessary activities. Our brains just incapable of learning and having motivation without proper biochemistry, which depends mostly on our physiology. It's a huge fallacy that we don't have time to exercise because we have a lot of pending assignments and postpone exercise until less stressful period.

I am coming at this from a few perspectives, a teacher's perspective, fellow spectrumite, and college student. Lots of education experience, both good and bad, and having been on both sides of the aisle so to speak, let me say, I fully empathize with you as a fellow student, and applaud your bravery in posting here. My teacher self knows if you are already seeking answers, I have full faith you will find them for yourself and have a successful career.

As an educator I can tell you I see this in my students often. Most professors and teachers won't know how to help you, as they aren't all trained in supporting people like us -yet. To get the help you need, you will need to go to the counseling department and student center or something similar and request testing and supports. They are available at the college level and will help you in a few ways, first by getting tested or assessed or just speaking with someone with knowledge, you'll have a clearer idea of what exact obstacles you are facing. Is this executive dysfunction, ADD etc? Will meds help, or just behavioral adaptations? Do you have hearing delays, auditory or visual processing differences? Etc. Etc. This then enables you to use specific interventions to give you a bigger edge in tapping into your natural talents and intelligence and finding the success you are capable of.

I hope you keep going and don't give up. It is harder for us at times, but you can do this and we are supporting you here. Keep us posted?

Does either the school or the department provide tutoring?

Also: Are you working full-time in addition to attending school? Are you attending school full-time or part-time?

I sure hope you're not doing BOTH full-time. If you are, that's just too much work -- even for most NT's, and all the more so for autistic people, who tend to need more sleep. Alas, too many students feel compelled to do this, and it rarely works out well.

If that's what's going on, then I would strongly urge you to drop about half your classes ASAP, if you can, and attend part-time from henceforth. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

(You will need to look into the financial aid implications of this, however. I have no idea how this works in your country.)

Also, in between semesters, I would suggest that you prepare in advance by watching YouTube videos on the topics that will be covered the following semester. There are lots of excellent educational resources on YouTube. While they won't cover all the details you will need to learn in your classes, they will give you an excellent overview, so you will feel much more oriented.