B"H
I have always wondered if it was apparent that I was on the Spectrum while attending college, even when I did not know it. In any case, I am glad that a Professor like yourself is out there. Thank you for posting here.
B"H
I have seen your site before. Very good. The subject of students on the spectrum is an important one for me. Please post more on the subject.
Thank you,
An apparently undiagnosed guy in my classes seem to be aspie and get an A in quite alot of tests. I however don't do that well.
I did very poorly in primary & secondary school. I ran off to sea for four years before I decided to attend university.
I did really well, excellent grades, loved it. It suited my learning much better (and computers were available for word processing --> being literate).
I was chosen from a list of about 100 applicants for my graduate program, but when one of the instructors found out I had a disability, she told me it was inappropriate for me to be in their field. All but one of the others were unkind as well. I did graduate with good grades nonetheless.
I sometimes think of returning for a PhD, but I am in a small field of study and I fear the treatment I got in my MS program.
However, if a person can do without it, and is not interested in the research end, there is no point. Getting a Ph.D. can be a real pain.
sage advice, I am sure. I am also too old for it to make economic sense.
One of my best friends is a PhD in your field. She taught sociology at the university of cincinati, but she is rescuing feral cats (and other animals) these days. She is such an amazing person!!
B"H
I'd like to resurrect this thread because it is an important subject. I am a student (adult) who has already earned his Degree, but who never seems to leave college. I am therefore the ultimate "student on the Spectrum." I therefore ask my Professor, Dr. Nominalist, whom I have adopted as my Professor, a set of questions:
1) Are college students who have difficulties with organization truly "high functioning?" I have papers going back to the Eighties still lying around.
2) What about social interactions on Campus? I get the strange feeling that whenever I ask a question in STAT class, no matter how good it is, that it is unappreciated.
3) I am currently eligible for a bunch of services like extra time on tests, et al, that I really do not need. The AS diagnosis gives me that, but these service do not FIT me. Rather, I'd like help with organizational strategies. I don't need the extra time since I'm usually done with tests on time or before. (If they want to provide me with a note taker who is a SJF/25-35, Traditionalist/Orthodox leaning, so that I can post on Guess Who's Date section, I won't refuse---but I get the sense that that's not realistic.) My point is; Are there services for people who don't fit the mold?
4) Other questions that I may not be able to verbalize, but which Dr. Nominalist might be able to anticipate, knowing the scene as he undoubtedly does.
Yours Truly,
Philosophical Platonist, but still willing to buy dinner should we meet.
B"H
One point of clarification: My Stat Professor is cool. It is some of the other students who seem to rumble when I ask questions. The teacher himself is great.
And yes, I am buying.
All the best,
One point of clarification: My Stat Professor is cool. It is some of the other students who seem to rumble when I ask questions. The teacher himself is great.
Oh, I suspect that is almost universal. Personally, I prefer it when students talk a lot. However, most students seem to prefer when I do most of the talking. I think that some of them feel as though the other students are taking time away from material they can use on exams.
Fortunately, it is the professor who is evaluating you, not the other students. ;-)
Where did those learning ideals of antiquity and the renaissance go?
They have been replaced by the hedonistic ideals of modernity and angst.
One point of clarification: My Stat Professor is cool. It is some of the other students who seem to rumble when I ask questions. The teacher himself is great.
Oh, I suspect that is almost universal. Personally, I prefer it when students talk a lot. However, most students seem to prefer when I do most of the talking. I think that some of them feel as though the other students are taking time away from material they can use on exams.
Fortunately, it is the professor who is evaluating you, not the other students. ;-)
ATM: Yeah, well, I've got a few friends there. One of them is a person who may be a little bit on the Spectrum. Good with languages.
So, when are you coming to the SF Bay Area?
Outside the fact that I had to teach myself to read when I was 23, I have done well in college. Well, I guess I didn't do too poorly before that either. I have a really funky memory and can relate all sorts of weird stuff. Learning for the sake of learning is one of my old aspie rules that I can't seem to tone down.
As to test taking... when I was 10-11, I discovered how to ace the reading comprehension section of the old Iowa tests. The answers were always direct quotes from the texts, and I just matched the shapes of the sentances. 100% score. But I only recieved a 7% on language mechanics. Nobody suspected anything, other than I was a bit weird. I was diagnosised until 2006.
Life got in the way of my studies, but I get free tuition now at work and am always taking the max. classes I can.
So, when are you coming to the SF Bay Area?
I actually do go to SF once in a while. There is a religious studies association which meets alternately on the east and west coasts of the U.S. and Canada. However, I don't know if they are planning to meet in the Bay Area in the near future.
Well, the thing is, learning is about learning, not about exams. While exams are designed to assess ability and often do a good job at it, studying not to learn the material but to pass the exam is self-defeating. The purpose of teaching is that students should learn the material. It's not that students should ace the exam. Acing a test should be because you mastered the material, it shouldn't be because you mastered the art of acing tests.
I agree with you there... learning isnt and shouldnt be about cramming for a test (which afterwards you'll forget about) learning is for use in the near future... something you'll remember for a long time.
There are always those (especially, I think (and hope) in lower education) who manage to not learn but still do well with grades because they perfected the technique of learning exactly what the test will test for, instead of learning exactly the important things to learn.
Um... not always in the lower education... you find all kinds of people everywhere... I study with a couple of guys who've always "live for their A's" and do everything to get a good grade on a test.
And I say this not out of bitterness, because I generally do well on tests, but because I feel it's such a waste: education is about learning, not about grades, not about competition, and not about testing.
Once again... I agree with you education is about learning... not about getting a "good grade" its about what you take with you once all is said and done.
* Chimera I didnt fully understand what you meant about the IQ.... about the Apraxia... that interests me... I'll look into it 
TTFN
Me
B"H
I really want to resurrect this thread. So, I will with a new set of thoughts. I believe that the whole college experience can be extremely hard for "Aspies." I think that the whole High Functioning category (capitalized?) needs to be deconstructed. I really don't know how to go about doing that. What I can say is that it is hard to be a college student and an "Aspie" at the same time. It is difficult to deal with the social structures as they are, including the unwritten rules.
The best hope that I can see would be Professors like "Dr. Nominalist." Sorry Mark, but that name has stuck with me for some reason. However, I might also appreciate a degree of thought for what accommodations colleges can make outside of "extra time on tests," "note takers," and other things that I really do not need. Help in other categories would be nice. I almost can't verbalize what changes could be made, so I will throw it out to the thread.
Question: How can college adapt itself to us better?
Think about it and discuss.
All the best.
What I can say is that it is hard to be a college student and an "Aspie" at the same time. It is difficult to deal with the social structures as they are, including the unwritten rules.
I had almost no problems as an undergraduate. However, as a graduate student, I had some difficulties with patience (though I am not sure if it had anything to do with autism). I really wanted to finish, and it was hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that reading my thesis, as an M.A. student, and my dissertation, in my Ph.D. program, was not the number-one priority of each member of my committees.
The best hope that I can see would be Professors like "Dr. Nominalist." Sorry Mark, but that name has stuck with me for some reason. However, I might also appreciate a degree of thought for what accommodations colleges can make outside of "extra time on tests," "note takers," and other things that I really do not need. Help in other categories would be nice. I almost can't verbalize what changes could be made, so I will throw it out to the thread.[quote]
Okay
[quote]Question: How can college adapt itself to us better?
What I think many aspies need is to have course requirements and expectations explained in a different manner. For that purpose, perhaps an educational therapist might be helpful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Therapy
http://www.aetonline.org/
I don't know whether that kind of resource would be provided by your special services office. However, that seems to me to be one possible option. Another is to consult an occupational therapist.
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One simply cannot accurately assess IQ for someone who cannot easily communicate. With physical support to type, these people are frequently found to have a lot to say.
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I have the American Psychiatric Association position statement for IQ if you'd like me to send it as an attachment.
I only wanted to give an answer to A True Monotheist's question about the term "high functioning" which he feels doesn't describe him very well. I never said that (and don't know if) the measuring of someone's IQ has to be accurate to be used for the ICD-10 qualification(s). As far as I know, you can easily score lower than your actual IQ is because of additional issues (e.g. having a bad day, obviously also having apraxia), but if you already scored "high" enough to be labeled "high functioning" that's not the question for you (whoever). You just want to know why reality feels so different from what that label suggests (i.e. you don't "function well/highly").
No offense meant.
Chimera, if you'd PM me the American Psychiatric Association position statement for IQ I'd appreciate it.
ATM: No offense was taken. My situation is as such; I scored substantially higher on my "theoretical" IQ than on my pragmatic IQ. Do not ask me what test was offered, because I would not be able to tell you. And, I was never told it was an IQ test until it was over...
I think that something was fishy. On the other hand, it might accurately describe me, at least in part.
All the best.