School can be pretty tricky at times with my autism, especially when it comes to assignments. For example, I can have a hard time figuring out exactly what a teacher is trying to assign. When they talk to the whole class I can miss key parts of what I am supposed to do because I don’t hear all of what they are saying. I can also get a little distracted sometimes if I’m either tired, bored, or wanting to be somewhere else. When I am distracted I miss a few things.
I get another teacher in class to help me if I need it when there is one available. The assignments on papers can mean different things to me so I ask the other teacher to clarify it. I like it when the teachers talk to me so I understand them best, which can mean talking slowly or repeating things.
I feel it is better for me if things are explained simpler. I used to get low grades in one of my classes because I didn’t understand how much I had to write about the answer. At first the teacher told me I wasn’t writing enough. On the next test I wrote as much as I possibly could. The teacher realized the questions needed to be separated to give me the right size of empty space for the amount of a response I needed. This approach helped improve my grades.
Also, when I have trouble understanding I then start to worry, which adds to the problem. When a grade isn’t as great as it could be I worry about what I am doing wrong. I know that I need to pay attention and work hard to get good grades, but I can use extra help when I get anxious about finishing my work and figuring out how to do it.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m being treated too easily compared to other students. I want to be able to face challenges, but my autism creates a need to take more time to realize and process stuff. I don’t want my autism to define me, but I accept that it’s a part of me so I can both work hard and get extra help to pass school assignments and reach my goals.
