Autistic Student - Tumblr Posts

i struggle so badly with school its genuinely frightening. I love my major. I'm super passionate about history and archeology. I want nothing more but to pursue history as a career, but oh my gods why cant i just sit down and focus on school?

im scared. im genuinely scared.

i am autistic and school has never been a walk in the park, but I never had as many issues with it as I do now in college. I never had extra help because getting accommodations was like pulling teeth.

But now i risk failing. Again. For the third time. I can't. I cannot fail again. I have an essay due tomorrow I haven't even started. I have homework that's been due for weeks. My professor knows of my issues but they cannot do much due to the fact I have no written accommodations.

I am financially unstable. I have a job I can barely do due to my brain just fighting itself about going.

I know I need to do all these things. I want to. I want my degree. I want to get money from going to work. I want to be successful.

I just can't do it.

And I hate myself for it.

accommodations i’ve had approved as an autistic college student

helloooo today i finally had a meeting with the disability office and have accommodations after 2 years of being in college without them. im autistic and have cptsd/dissociative issues and had a hard time finding what was even available to me to request for accommodations so i wanted to make a list to help anyone else who might be having trouble.

• Priority registration

i get to register for classes earlier each term to make sure i can create schedules that’ll work for my routine

• Extended time on assignments

self explanatory i think? was also offered extended time on tests or a separate room to take them but testing isnt where i struggle

• Flexible attendance

as long as i email beforehand i dont have to stick as strictly to professors attendance policies

• Alternative formats

if i buy a physical textbook i can request the ebook/pdf/audiobook for free to have multiple methods of studying depending on what works for me on a given day

• Note taking

allowed to audio record class and send to a service called messenger pigeon who will give me a transcript of the class and professional notes based on it

• Access to lecture notes

able to access professors lecture notes prior to class/instruction

• Devices

allowed to have phone/ipad/laptop for social buffering and notes in classes that may have policies against electronics

• Flexible participation

no cold calling, option to work alone for group projects/assignments, not required to present in front of class

if anyone has any questions lmk these are just what i have been able to get at my school so far! hope it helps

edit: this is blowing up so fellow autistics, students, language nerds, etc pls be my mutual i want friends lol my dms are also open any time !!

midterms tomorrow!

i have 2/3 midterms tomorrow but heres how im feeling about them all in general

- Bio Anthropology: been going crazy studying for this one since this midterm will include the most information (covers 4 chapters + videos we’ve had to watch for homework). feeling pretty good for the most part but a little iffy on cell structure stuff.

- Cultural Anthropology: little confused on what this one will actually cover. we havent had any assignments and havent read any of the book and no study guide was provided so im quite scared tbh lmao

- Archaeology: this only covers 2 chapters and has been my favorite class this semester so far so im fairly confident but again no study guide so not sure exactly what to expect

kinda worried i wont get enough sleep tonight bc i accidentally took a 4 hour long mid afternoon nap but fingers crossed all goes well in the morning lol

will update after the exams + when i get the grades back

photos from today :)

- studying & eating lunch while watching bones before bio anthro midterm

- spent the afternoon in the archaeology lab washing artifacts from the unis summer field school

now waiting for dance rehearsal to start and wishing i didnt forget my vape at home 😭

anyway! feel like I did pretty good on my bio midterm but we wont get the grades back probably until next week.

i got an 84% on my cultural anthropology midterm. was hoping for better but some of the wording in the questions was hard for me to process, i also hate online exams so happy with the result.

archaeology midterm is next monday then i think thats the last of the exam anxiety until finals

How did you get those accommodations? Asking not for a friend

I met with my schools disability center over a zoom call with an advisor from there to go over my documentation & what i struggle with. They went through with me to see what they could offer that I might need and sent me back a list with all the information about each, as well as links to academic coaching for executive function skills. All students with accommodations get priority registration at my school no matter what though.

school updates!

- been making friends finally and im really happy (i knew a total of like 3 people at my community college after going there for two years)

- midterms are done! still waiting on grades but very happy its over

- just met with my advisor today to finalize my class choices / make sure they make sense and ill get to register next week for spring! finally starting language classes (mandarin) up again

- really enjoying all my major classes so far

- currently struggling with my ethnomusicology seminar (assignments/topics are interesting but we have no textbook and kinda hate my professor) and am a few chapters behind in dinosaurs simply bc dinosaur biology & anatomy is overwhelming for my brain so i keep putting it off

- meeting w academic coaching office this week to get help w above issues

- had my first performance over the weekend with the dance crew i joined on campus !! it was scary there was a much bigger crowd than i expected but it went well and now we’re preparing for a showcase at the end of term :)

updates !! finally !!

got the last of my grades back for the fall semester :)) very happy w them and my gpa (3.425)

enjoyed my classes a lot this term (with the exception of ethnomusicology due to the professor).

did better in dinosaurs than i expected tbh but it was a super fun class even if some of the work was hard.

overall a good first semester at my new school, made some friends, joined some clubs, and love my program so far :)

I also majored in anthropology!! I really enjoyed it

its really fun!! i love how broad or specific it can be depending on your interests, i have so many class options (i just wish we had anything related to linguistic anthro at my school 😭) im super excited for some of the courses i plan to take in future semesters tho

if i’m not autistic but struggle significantly with mental illnesses that make it difficult to function and suspect a learning disability, do you think i would also be able to access some of these accommodations?

this would sadly be dependent on whether you have some kind of diagnosis as they do require documentation of a disability and also possibly what your schools disability office decides they can offer based on that.

i was told quite a few of my accommodations, such as extended assignments/attendance flexibility, are typically available for people with conditions that are episodic in nature (i also have ptsd along with other comorbid conditions + some chronic physical health issues). i’m not sure what accommodations would look like otherwise or what can be offered for disabilities aside from what i personally have. i obviously can’t give a straight answer but i’d say its worth a try to ask about!

in my experience you’ll usually have to meet with someone from the disability office to discuss your diagnosis, how it effects your day-to-day/where you struggle with school, and then decide which accommodations are applicable to your situation. it could be helpful to take some notes beforehand on anything you might want to bring up.

hope this helped! i wish i could give you an easier/more complete answer but they like making these things difficult :/ wishing you luck!!

a nice cherry mocktail while im in class :)

just because your best friend is long distance doesnt mean you can't study together! we have a shared notion calendar and a pretty great setup with discord and shared music.

also, have yall checked out the trader joe's candles for this fall? the honeycrisp apple one is so nice and helps me get into a studying mood.

don't forget to eat good meals and hydrate a lot when you study.

sushi and bio? i think so.

sushi and bio? i think so.

studying quadratic functions today for math 🕺

hard to do after work, but i can do it!

studying quadratic functions today for math 🕺

hard to do after work, but i can do it!