Problems with education-thoughts on how to help appreciated

[D776]

OK, so to cut to the chase... I'm officially diagnosed with Aspergers, highly intelligent, great linguistic skills and ironically I get along socially with people fine. My one big weakness is that I'm not great when I'm *learning* and the environment is noisy and cluttered. When I'm working it's not a big problem, actually I cope better than most NTs with that.

I've also discovered a rather specific problem; in order to focus in a noisy environment tailored for neurotypicals I have to expend significant amounts of "concentration power" that cannot be sustained for an entire day. This becomes a crippling and profound problem when every educational venture I have attempted until now the teachers will go over and over and over and over and over again, seemingly ad infinitum, on the fundamental *theory* of what we're studying. I have a science and mathematics background from early childhood, so I've never met a class where the theory is unknown to me, though obviously I won't know the specifics.

I have to try and follow allegories about red butterflies and dialogue from action movies, or how you could twist your hand in a particular shape, cut off fingers and if you followed the line from your fingers somehow it would have relevance to what I'm supposed to be learning (I still don't understand what they were talking about, my best guess is that was supposed to explain the idea of a three-dimensional shape such a cube??!). The problem is, by the time we get to studying formulae or actually applying what we've learned, I'm so mentally fatigued I cannot remember the lesson at all, and in many cases I've worked so hard to associate new allegories/metaphors with my existing knowledge and try to tie this in with known models/comprehend relevance I actually denature/forget what I knew prior to the class.

I have experience with this, as during my primary and secondary schooling I was unable to learn in the environment calibrated for the neurotypicals (complete and profound sensory overload every lesson, every day, forever. Parents and teachers made no attempts to change learning environment or provide assistance despite several hundred complaints and attempts to rectify from me, eventually I gave up) and eventually they let me go after I could no longer pass exams on knowledge accrued at home.

This has persisted to adult education, I have tried to communicate with teachers but am met with a mixture of being totally ignored (no eye contact, noncommittal response) to outright aggression from the other students, and some of them laughing while talking over me constantly so I couldn't be understood. And yes, I waited for what I felt was appropriate, when the teacher wasn't teaching the class and was at his/her desk, I spoke quietly and asked if it was OK if I could speak beforehand. I don't need or want help in basic social skills).

I guess I'm asking, how can I cut through that endless irrelevant rubbish and get to the heart of what I'm trying to learn? I can't maintain that kind of focus and can't glean anything useful from references to action movie stars, flying insects or occult voodoo rituals. Why is it that learning is basically being bombarded with specious and irrelevant data until you lose your ability to comprehend? Online learning seems a lot better as I skip the theory and introduction and can work to my own pace (extremely quickly) but as I want to train to be an electrician, that's not going to work for everything.

Any thoughts on strategies, possibilities for education streams etc would be appreciated.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

Well I've always worked on a principle that if they're using metaphors I can safely ignore them and just make note of the actually method or theory being discussed and if necessary look them up at a later date. Do your lecturers hand out notes? Do you have a dictophone? It may be useful for you to record the lectures so you can go over them in you own time and pick the important point out from all the rubbish.

If you are not in contact with the institutions disabled student services do so, they may be able to give you advise, or even have someone speak to your teachers on your behalf to ask they to make their lecture more accessible to you by not using metaphores, or at least explaining things clearly first and then highlighting that the following metaphor is just to assist understanding if needed.

 

[Bella Pines]

This has persisted to adult education, I have tried to communicate with teachers but am met with a mixture of being totally ignored (no eye contact, noncommittal response) to outright aggression from the other students, and some of them laughing while talking over me constantly so I couldn't be understood.

You are mixing 2 problems. The first and most important problem is your learning, your getting good grades and passing exams. The second problem is your being understood.

At the end of the day, this is your problem, not theirs. Primary school education is setup to help children, not so much in adult education and definitely not at work. It's a difficult adjustment but you need to come to terms with the fact that the teachers and other students don't care and may never understand you.

I guess I'm asking, how can I cut through that endless irrelevant rubbish and get to the heart of what I'm trying to learn? I can't maintain that kind of focus and can't glean anything useful from references to action movie stars, flying insects or occult voodoo rituals. Why is it that learning is basically being bombarded with specious and irrelevant data until you lose your ability to comprehend?

Because that's what makes neurotypicals feel comfortable. For example, if they are told that an action movie star does something, then they deduce it is the right thing to do. This brings them comfort and happiness. They also like group learning environments, it makes them feel like they are learning, even when they are not really achieving much at all.

Online learning seems a lot better as I skip the theory and introduction and can work to my own pace (extremely quickly) but as I want to train to be an electrician, that's not going to work for everything.

And that is the crux of it. All of what you have said, how the others treat you, how this compares to earlier education, how other people learn, is in fact extraneous information.

The import part is that you learn what you need and pass the exams. That's all that matters. So you need to focus your attention on this and this alone. I would recommend;

1. Start at the end. Get hold as as many exam or test papers, or end of term essays as you can. Getting a good grade is all that matters.
2. Get hold of the syllabus, relate it to the exam.
3. Attend the course, even if the information is irrelevant. Because among that irrelevance might be a snippet of something useful. The teachers have experience, don't underestimate that, there will be something useful in there somewhere.
4. Keep regular, the classes give us the structure and discipline to get out of bed. Structured learning is difficult for aspies, so employ whatever tricks you need to get through it. First point, get up in the morning, every morning.
5. Make detailed notes outside of class and hit up the teacher every time you don't understand something. If they get annoyed, ignore it, that's their job and they need to suck it up just as you do.

So go forth and get educated

 

[D776]

My sensory overload is too severe to process what the teacher is saying or parse their meaning to a significant level. If there are four people talking then I am simultaneously processing four conversations and am of no use to anyone in that state. By the end of the day, I am too mentally fatigued to accomplish any useful work at home and what memories I retain of the day are disjointed and blurred. I am simply unable to function in a classroom; I could learn at home, but that defeats the idea of doing a class. I have had 1 class, and I mean -1-, where the teacher was extremely strict about talking and noise, and by the end of the year I was routinely doing work four years ahead of my level. I have never before or since had a class I was good at.

I take it most other aspies don't experience such severe sensory overload??

 

[Mr Allen]

I didn't have sensory overload in front of my "Head of Unit", I just thought she was a.....word that I probably shouldn't use here.

 

[tducey]

Had more issues with my K-12 teachers than those in college. To me I think you should expect them to help you if you need the help. Does your school have a disability office? If so I'd go and visit them to see if they can help you. Good luck.