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Sora
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23 Feb 2008, 9:57 am

Does anyone else have an ASD and has periods during which they're unable to concentrate? Do you take meds? Is the concentration deficit because of the ASD or because of AD(H)D?

The therapist mentioned medications to me, but I don't want to take anything. Really, just no. If I had a concrete AD(H)D diagnosis, then maybe, but even then I'd have to think hard about it. On the downside, I failed an exam just last Thursday. It was extremely easy (NY Mayor Giuliani speaking about 9/11), we could even pick which tasks we liked best and I had all the answers I needed. But it took me 2 hours to write the first 200 words for task 1st and then time just flew and I barely completed the 2nd task.

Well, there were at least 35+ people in the room. Which wasn't that bad, really. It didn't bother me. Very much not-autistic, I'm aware.

I have no idea what I did in all those 5 hours. I know I was sitting there and all, but what I did all the time without becoming bored is beyond me. I know what everybody else did though... oh, and I coloured my papers and wrote the most amazing notes.

Sooo, I just hope I didn't fail completely although I just completed half of the exam. Uhhh, this is bad.


I either need to hope the same doesn't happen in the real exams in one month's time or I need another solution. Thus the questions above.


Edit: Will come back to read the answers, just feel too light-headed to answer much. First I can't concentrate then my routine was changed too, ahhh, it's chaos right now.



MissConstrue
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23 Feb 2008, 10:16 am

Dear Sora, I can so identify with that. I've was misdiagnosed with having Attention Deficit Disorder. I was on so many meds and they weren't doing anything. Not saying that one diagnosis is the same as another. I even had experiences where I'd be trying to listen at a class setting. My concentration was there, there were even sum people in my class that would talk and listen at the same time. This drove me crazy. Taking tests and I'd be the last one out. I finally went to an ABLE Program, a thing they got in my community college. For me, I found I learned differently and also was better working one on one with someone I was comfortable with. I also get easily distracted by other people and couldn't and still can't hear the instructor's diction well. Through these forums, it might be an auditory processing disorder. I also found I learn better visually and also by audio, like videos so learning manually is my biggest weakness. These have helped me a lot. I don't know what your strengths and weaknesses are. You may have ADHD, but from what I read with others, it could also be related to AS. Best of luck, I know it can be frustrating. Just keep in there, I know if I hadn't, I wouldn't have graduated. That would've been bad. So hang in there. :!:



Danielismyname
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23 Feb 2008, 10:25 am

I had a psycho tell me with complete certainty that "aspies" have difficulty in concentrating on anything that's not their special interest/obsession for longer than 15 minutes.

Could be that you were overwhelmed and you didn't know it too, we have trouble in figuring out how we're feeling at the time; it can take literally years to finally figure out how you were feeling at the time if you were overwhelmed (taking a test with people all around you). You said you weren't overwhelmed, but it's possible.



InSpades
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23 Feb 2008, 10:46 am

I have major concentration issues as well. I can't do anything really.



Sora
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23 Feb 2008, 11:24 am

Thank you, MissConstrue. I remind myself that I only have 3 (or was it 4?) weeks more to go until school is finished. Such a misdiagnosis is exactly why I'm very suspicious of a professional diagnosis of AD(H)D. If I hadn't autism, it would be easier to determine, but with both things mixed up one can easily be mistaken for the other. And I do react badly to any meds that are intended to calm me down or stimulate my activity.

One psychologist told me exactly the same Danielismyname and my therapist said exactly the same when I asked about it. But for me it doesn't matter though, how well I can concentrate depends on the day and not on the topic.

You're right though. I could have been overwhelmed without being aware of the source of the distraction. Besides the noise, there were lots of more subtle annoyances, such as the artificial light for example and that there were so many people in room.

I try to compare it to the exam I wrote Monday because of what you said. So far, the differences between the two exams were that:
- Biology exam on Monday, English on Thursday
- natural light on Monday, artificial light on Thursday, usually get headaches from that
- different rooms, I'm not used to both though
- somebody decided to run a lawnmower half into the exam on Monday, I thought it was horribly funny, the others didn't which in return annoyed me, because they started making irritating noises
- I was close to being in tears on Thursday, because one hour into the exam after I had finished most of my concept but couldn't concentrate on writing it down, they put a sixth grader on my table for 45 minutes.

Grrr, it's problematic to determine what can cause an overload, because: I tend to imitate what people say when they talk while I am talking, because I can't shut out the distraction. On the other hand, I need the computer on, music turned on and TV running in the background in order to concentrate.

InSpades, for me, it depends.
I have an excellent concentration at times, mostly on days on which I feel that I'm more autistic. But there are other days, on which I'm easily distractable, hyperactive and impulsive. The good thing about these days is that my autism is much less than on the other days, means mostly that I don't need to keep to routines and get almost no overloads. The downside is that I just can't do anything that takes more than minutes to finish.

I can't control at all whether I have an autistic day or a hyperactive day though. Wish I could.



poopylungstuffing
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23 Feb 2008, 12:08 pm

This is part of the reason why I did not make it very far in school...and why I did so poorly all the way through school.
Oh the memories of taking tests....these essays on which we had no time limit, where I was the LAST last last student to leave the room.....I have no filter when writing essays...i go off on tangents.....Every bit of school work took me so much longer than anyone else...homework would make me cry.....I would have meltdowns over these worksheets that seemed like impossible alien gibberish....I had trouble understanding the directions half the time......

I am not diagnosed with AS...I just have alot of traits.
I was diagnosed as having ADD as an adult a few years ago.



Icheb
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23 Feb 2008, 12:33 pm

I can't concentrate longer than twenty minutes or so on a task that doesn't interest me. Luckily, I loved writing essays in school.



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23 Feb 2008, 1:56 pm

I find that antipsychotics are actually improving my concentration levels. Good thing.

Not that I'm saying you should take those for your concentration problems.

Before going to a psychiatrist for a attention deficit prescription, it's a good idea to get a blood test or something like that. Your problem may be something else, such as diet or hormonal disbalance (i.e thyroid) and not neurological.


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2ukenkerl
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23 Feb 2008, 2:28 pm

Sora,
Just for more moral support, I know JUST where you are coming from. At times I can do the most complicated things with ease, and can learn LOTS of things FAST. Other times, I feel like I should just crawl back into bed.

LUCKILY, I spend most of my time between those two extremes. I'm not the best, but I can still do a job plenty well.

I forget if you are in germany or poland. Either way, if your task requires you to understand English, THAT might be part of the problem. Trying to understand a foreign language, even if you are fluent in it, can take enough mental energy that it can push your ability, elsewhere, down a bit. I don't mean that to insult you(You obviously understand english, and at least write it well), but just to tell you another mitigating factor.

When I graduated highschool, it was the first year my state required a test before graduation. They actually required three tests. I was sick at the time, and probably did my worst work. Although they were EASY, I actually feared I would fail. That REALLY hurt my ability. I even had a headache. Normally, I would have just stayed home.



Nikky91
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23 Feb 2008, 8:38 pm

I can relate to this. Wednesday and Thursday were really bad days for me this week in regards to that. I couldn't concentrate on anything the teachers were saying, but I was still able to do my homework and do what they told me :?

I have days when I'm fine and days when I feel like I could watch a person get shot right in front of me and I wouldn't be able to snap out of my "spacing out" to realize what was going on.



Wordish
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23 Feb 2008, 9:35 pm

I was sitting in an area at work for about 9 months where there were no windows and only fluorescent lighting. I found it almost impossible to write. My brain just would not work and it seemed to also affect my mood.

I insisted on being put near a window with natural light. It is amazing the difference. I can concentrate for ages now! It definitely made a huge difference.

Other things that affect my concentration are different types of food. I recently had an appointment with a dietician who specialises in ASD and ADHD. He confirmed the relationship between the gut and neurotransmitters in the brain.

My concentration is also affected by being around certain people, the one's who seem to be really judgemental. I find my stress goes up and I can't think properly, though I guess that probably happens to everyone.



EvilKimEvil
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23 Feb 2008, 10:09 pm

I'm struggling in school this semester because I can't concentrate. My classes are excruciatingly boring and my life is full of distractions that I cannot control (sick family members, etc.). I fear I'm about to go from straight A's to straight F's.



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23 Feb 2008, 10:13 pm

EvilKimEvil wrote:
I'm struggling in school this semester because I can't concentrate. My classes are excruciatingly boring and my life is full of distractions that I cannot control (sick family members, etc.). I fear I'm about to go from straight A's to straight F's.


Same here. And while taking three very rigorous courses (including calculus).


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Sora
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24 Feb 2008, 7:28 am

poopylungstuffing wrote:
Oh the memories of taking tests....these essays on which we had no time limit, where I was the LAST last last student to leave the room.....I have no filter when writing essays...i go off on tangents.....Every bit of school work took me so much longer than anyone else...homework would make me cry.....I would have meltdowns over these worksheets that seemed like impossible alien gibberish....I had trouble understanding the directions half the time......


That is an accurate description of me too. I know it's horrible not to be able to help it. I'm always last, I can rarely finish my papers in time. During these times I also find it incredibly hard to read and understand words. I read a sentence... but only with my eyes, if even.

SilverProteus wrote:
Before going to a psychiatrist for a attention deficit prescription, it's a good idea to get a blood test or something like that. Your problem may be something else, such as diet or hormonal disbalance (i.e thyroid) and not neurological.


Thanks for that suggestion! I'll do that, especially since I haven't done this yet. (Oh giving blood is gross.)

2ukenkerl thank you, moral support is always welcome. In Germany. Oh well, that it was an English exam actually made it easier. Probably sounds insane, but oh well, I wish I could explain but alas, I have no idea how come my (written) German is even worse.
Point is, German is hard. At least, I think it is. I know it doesn't make sense, but it's just like that. My brain has messed up big in my development I guess.

But you'd be right if the language was French or Russian. I'm totally incapable of learning languages. Totally. I've never met someone who's as worse and who doesn't get beyond 'hello' even after years of classes. Uh... I have a Russian exam on Tuesday and my aim is to achieve at least one point out of 15. That'd be passing grade!

Wordish wrote:
I insisted on being put near a window with natural light. It is amazing the difference. I can concentrate for ages now! It definitely made a huge difference.


Did they know you have AS/autism/something on a medical paper that confirmed that your demand to change seats should be taken seriously?
My school doesn't know, but I think I'll just try to demand a seat next to a window next time anyway. The problem is that some rooms just don't have much natural light and someone will switch on the artificial light.

EvilKimEvil and Tim_Tex, I hope you'll be able to keep up the grades! I know it's devastating when you go from A's to F's, which I confirmed as entirely possible (schools here claim it's impossible).

All my classes are boring too, except philosophy, which isn't demanding, but at least entertaining! I wish people would be quicker to understand everything and I wish I'd have the energy to endure the slowness of others and still succeed.



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24 Feb 2008, 8:38 am

I used to have legendary resolve and powers of concentration in the era before I knew about AS. But over the last 5 years or so that resolve has literally evaporated into thin air.

I'm an artist and everyone knew that I could go into a sort of trance and spend large unbroken spans doing my work. I regularly could spend 24 straight hours working on a piece. But now, here in 2008, it takes all my effort to just surf a webpage longer than one minute. Forget doing any art work. That would take several hours and that's just startling to me now.

I can't read books any more because it takes concentration.

I can't do art work.

I don't even play video games because I can't concentrate.

I'm on medicine for both depression and AADD and neither are working that well. I am desperately missing my ability to concentrate. I keep hoping something will happen and I will magically wake up one morning with all my resolve back, fit and proper. And able to hyper concentrate again.

Been thinking about taking a ad-hoc cocktail of choline, flaxseed oil and a few other things to help restore the balance I lost.



2ukenkerl
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24 Feb 2008, 8:49 am

Sora,

Were you bilingual as a really young kid(with one of the languages as english)? English IS a lot simpler than German, and most of the grammer and sentence structure is found in German, whereas much of the German grammer/sentence structure is NOT in English. But I thought that Germans just grew up with the ability to look past that.

After all, English ALSO requires some early consideration, so it isn't totally devoid of some kind of subconscious processing. ALSO, MY brain can now do some of the complicated German stuff without any conscious thought. BUT, as I indicated, it DOES become apparent that something is going on behind the scenes and english just comes easier. Then again, I have had few opportunities to think/speak ONLY in german. One of the reasons many give for english being easy is that it is ubiquitous.

But many studies claim that people that grow up bilingual may not speak either language as well, etc... I don't know how an AS person would react. Apparently normal kids don't really take any extra time, so they may end up with like half the vocabulary in either language, for example.

ALSO, I don't know if you take liberties, or are a perfectionist. Apparently, most Germans today take liberties, and aren't perfectionistic. If YOU are, you may take longer, and be more critical of yourself.