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DivaD
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27 Apr 2008, 6:48 pm

andriarose wrote:

DivaD wrote:

*eats all the cupcakes* .... oh, hello by the way :lol:

I always bake them in the evening, then I wake up the next morning and they're all gone!
And it's all your fault!
Guess I'll have to make some more now. Darn.

*eats the small furry creatures of doom* :twisted:

i'm also a lover of soft things, and purple, and soft purple things

and i can't stand travelling on public transport either. which is really frustrating because i have an obsession with trains and buses

and primark should be abolished! :evil:

i wanted to start doing a postgraduate course, but its a while since my first degree, so thought i'd warm up with some more undergraduate courses first. i've had and am having similar difficulties to you. every day i go there its like a reminder of how cut off i am from the others, how different and weird i am, it gets really depressing :cry:

and i produce perfect work, but can't argue the simplest point in a class discussion!

what support and help you can get depends what country you are in. i'm in the UK and get quite a lot of help, i have a support worker with me all the time which does give me a lot more confidence in classes (but on the other hand can be awkward to explain to people). if things have to be arranged with other students or tutors she will sort all that out for me, its magic

i know what you mean about gross people who make disgusting mouth noises. there's this one person who chews gum in classes, i hate it, it should be banned :evil:

and i'm sure in the last lecture i went to the people behind were having a picnic or something, horrendous!! :cry:

what would you study at grad school? music technology stuff sounds a lot more fun than law :mrgreen:

computerlove
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27 Apr 2008, 7:49 pm

hi man, and welcome

BTW Tim_tex is a robot, or an army of WP users under one name, because he always is the first to say welcome! :lol:

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One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

pakled
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Posts: 7,015

27 Apr 2008, 7:59 pm

howdy. Yup, we have the usual welcome-wagon here.

I've been in bands for decades (off and on), and if someone comes by and says "you guys sound great. has anyone ever recorded you?" most band members would be all ears, as it were..
Granted, the ability to make multitrack recordings has been made a lot easier (I started out in synth class with those modular moogs you had to connect with lotsa cables, recording on an old 3340 4-track. But that was '78... Still, if that's your thing, just be approachable, and bands will beat a path to your door...

My brother works part time as a recording engineer, doesn't pay the bills (his band does that..., but it seems to be a lot of fun.

Hope everything works out for you.

dongiovanni
Pileated woodpecker

Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 198
Location: North-east Ohio

27 Apr 2008, 9:23 pm

andriarose wrote:

Hi there.

I am Andria/Andy/Andy-Pandy/etc.
I like turtles, swings, soft things, and purple.
I dislike humans, public transport, and Primark.

I'm currently in my last term of a BA in audio/music technical stuff.
I'm also currently trying to get a proper diagnosis.

I know I'm on the spectrum somewhere, and I've known for about the last 10 years. It's taken me that long to work up the courage to tell someone. The only reason I am seeking a diagnosis now is because I'm realizing with school how much my social inability, peculiarities, and overall distance from the outside world is affecting my life, and I intend on applying to grad school within the next year. When I do that, I want to be able to explain to my instructors that while my IQ is through the roof, there are a lot of simple things that I find extraordinarily difficult. Those things include making/returning phone calls, dealing with other people, arranging things in such a way that I can get them accomplished, and generally being able to speak in a coherent manner.

Current problems I'm having:
- Yes, I can argue my thesis on paper. No, I can't sit here and argue the topic with you. No, it isn't a weak argument, I JUST CAN'T PUT IT INTO WORDS RIGHT NOW. Aaargh.
- Yes, I have musicians who'd help me with my recording project. Why haven't I recorded them? Because I can't bring myself to call them, or if I do manage that, I can't figure out how to arrange a time for them to come work with me. If I do get that far, I still can't convey what I actually want from them. By this point I've usually managed to offend them in some way anyways. Crap.
- I don't want you, teachers, or my fellow students to call me. I don't care if it's important, calling me won't accomplish anything. Seriously. You've tried and failed. Why must you keep trying? Why don't you send me an email or a nice little text message? Being able to see my words makes it much easier.
- Don't ask me to move to the front/center of class when I've chosen a seat slightly away from everyone else. I choose those seats for a reason. If I get nervous, can't answer questions, and end up leaving in the middle of class because the guy next to me is making weird squishy noises with his mouth that are seriously bugging me, it's your fault.
- When I have to ask you to explain an ambiguous concept and make it more defined, please do not respond with this sentence: "Andria, I know you're very intelligent, why aren't you getting this?" I am tired of hearing it, and I don't yet have a way of telling you the truth and backing it up.

In general, I don't think grad school will be as forgiving as the tiny school I attend at the moment, and I think I'm going to need a lot of help and understanding along the way. If anyone else has been in this kind of situation, I'd be glad to here from you.

Hugs, cupcakes, and small furry creatures of doom,
Andy

Gegrüßet seist du.
You sound cool. PM me sometime.

_________________
"Weia! Waga! Woge, du Welle,
walle zur Wiege! Wagalaweia!
wallala, weiala weia!"

I won't translate it because it doesn't mean anything.

jay_is_me
Butterfly

Joined: 22 Apr 2008
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 11
Location: Melbourne, Australia

28 Apr 2008, 3:05 am

Welcome!

I love your title too. Know the feeling! I also dislike humans, but I've found some are much nicer and fun than the rest. I have grand plans to evict all the idiots from Australia, then bring in all the good people from overseas, then lock the gates (which I will have to build). We have a pretty good education and health care system, and although we're pretty full at the moment, once we've had the clear out we'll have room! Want in?

I'm studying marine biology and zoology (although I'm finishing my degree by studying physics - so that I can do Vet Science later), and i have to agree that turtles are awesome! I've always liked them, but the Finding Nemo turtles were soooo gorgeous they've become one of my favourite quotes "duuuuude"

Also, sympathise with the phone issue. I hate being called. My relatives are ok, but telemarketers/classmates/anyone else drives me mad. sms or email is definately the way to go!

xox
Jay

andriarose
Pileated woodpecker

Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 196
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

28 Apr 2008, 4:46 am

delia43 wrote:

I am also new on here. Your story sounds very, very similar to mine, except I study literature mostly. But I too am a good writer and prefer that as a mode of communication, freak out about phone contact of any kind, and have gotten the incredulous, "You really aren't getting this? But you're smart" my entire life. A couple of weeks ago I was officially diagnosed with AS and ADHD.

For me, the traits have been there all along, but didn't really start being a problem until I moved from my tiny and mostly nurturing undergraduate college to an academically rigorous and competitive graduate school. That said, I would encourage you to take heart: with the bigger and "better" school sometimes comes top-notch disability support. For example, with the help of a newly appointed learning specialist, I was able to plan out and write the first essay I've written since high school about which I can truly say I feel proud. So maybe that could be the case for you as well.

I was also very careful to find a flexible program that would let me more or less pursue whatever interests I wanted, and once I got here I asked around to find a few professors whose teaching style "goes" with the way I'm able to learn. (Large papers at the end of the term as opposed to short papers throughout, minimal courses with required exams, etc.) For class discussions, I also sometimes sit down the night before and prepare a few brief notes about what I'm thinking. Looking around some days, I've noticed that even the (presumably) NT grad students do this.

Anyway, I would say that if you're seriously considering grad school, do your homework, but don't chicken out. I love it ten million (okay, maybe not that much, but many) times more than undergrad, to such an extent that I maintain that, managed correctly, some things about AS can make you a dream graduate student. (You get to think and obsess all day! You get to spend all your time on your special interests! And this helps you get ahead in life! Woo!)

Thank you so much. I hadn't considered that higher level education = higher level help. It makes sense now that I think about it. Everyone keeps telling me anyone who goes to grad school must be nuts, so I suppose they must have ways of dealing with all those nutty grad students. =)
I studied literature for a while as well, mostly russian literature and fairytales (because they're creepy, and I'm quite macabre). I started out in engineering and failed out because I couldn't understand the teaching methods, couldn't bear the 400+ person lectures, and the professors wouldn't even talk to me. I ended up moving to London and going to a tiny school in an attempt to get away from everything. It's not exactly a prestigious school, but the classes are small, the teachers are understanding, and they essentially let me create my own program (I've done numerous independent studies and special topics). The fact that I graduate in a few weeks is really freaking me out.
For graduate school, I'm thinking of staying on the technical side (read = anal retentive) and go into either straight audio engineering or sound design. I think I might like to be a Foley artist (google it and you'll understand why this job would be amazing for someone on the spectrum =D )

In any case, thanks for your input. It's given me some new ideas in how to approach this whole grad school thing. I do have a couple questions for you -

Did you find that the disability people / instructors were understanding even without a diagnosis?
Do you think your diagnosis has helped you?

andriarose
Pileated woodpecker

Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 196
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

28 Apr 2008, 4:54 am

DivaD wrote:

andriarose wrote:

DivaD wrote:

*eats all the cupcakes* .... oh, hello by the way :lol:

I always bake them in the evening, then I wake up the next morning and they're all gone!
And it's all your fault!
Guess I'll have to make some more now. Darn.

*eats the small furry creatures of doom* :twisted:

i'm also a lover of soft things, and purple, and soft purple things

and i can't stand travelling on public transport either. which is really frustrating because i have an obsession with trains and buses

and primark should be abolished! :evil:

i know what you mean about gross people who make disgusting mouth noises. there's this one person who chews gum in classes, i hate it, it should be banned :evil:

and i'm sure in the last lecture i went to the people behind were having a picnic or something, horrendous!! :cry:

what would you study at grad school? music technology stuff sounds a lot more fun than law :mrgreen:

I'm in London at the moment, and hopefully will be staying in the UK for grad school. Can I ask how you've gone about finding help? I'm currently trying to get a diagnosis, but no one has been very understanding. For instance, when I went to my GP about it, I was all prepared to tell him but after waiting for over an hour with screaming children in the waiting room I was really upset and nervous. I started telling him about my problems and I started crying.
His response?
"Do you want some antidepressants or a referral?"
...That was it. He then proceeded to ask me if I was a self-harmer. I don't see how that is relevant to anything I went in for.
Ugh.
But hey, at least I did get the referral.

As for grad school, I'm planning on doing either audio engineering or sound design. I like those tedious things that everyone else seems to hate. =)

larsenjw92286
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Posts: 8,062
Location: Seattle, Washington

28 Apr 2008, 8:51 am

Hi, Andy!

Welcome to Wrongplanet!

I hope you enjoy posting here!

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gameshowdude1986@yahoo.com

delia43
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 26 Apr 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 39

03 May 2008, 5:28 pm

Hi again--

Before I answer your questions, I guess I have to put in the caveat that I am American, and my experiences are based in the American higher ed system. (Though I did spend a semester in London through my undergrad and loved it immensely--especially all the free museums!) But maybe some of it will carry over. Anyway...

In America there's only a limited amount the disability people can do before you receive a diagnosis. In my case, the disability coordinator was very helpful, but during the couple of months between when I first met with her and was officially diagnosed, there was a limited amount that she could do for legal reasons. But now that I have a diagnosis, she's able to really advocate for me and my needs, which is wonderful.

With professors, I really found that it varied from prof. to prof. how flexible they were willing to be. Keep in mind, I went through the first year and a half of my program with no idea that I had any legit problems; I'd just been told by teachers my whole life that I was lazy, difficult, tempermental, and undisciplined, and I believed them. So I didn't ask for different treatment because of AS; instead, what I tended to do was this (again, I imagine its different in the UK): every term, normal students have to take four classes. At the beginning of the term, I would suss out which two profs were the most likely to be both flexible and passionate about teaching, and which two would be more rigid in terms of requirements. I would do everything in my power to do the rigid class requirements to the letter, and hand things in on time. Then, two to four weeks before the final assignments/papers were due in the more flexible classes, I would go to the flexible prof and say something like, "I have gotten so caught up in my topic that I'd like some more time to work; can you suggest other sources I might look to to make my study more in-depth?" In every case, the flexible profs have responded very well to this. This approach has allowed me to build a mentoring relationship with those profs, and to at least pass the other classes.

That was long, so I will keep the second point brief: yes, I do think my diagnosis has helped me, though it is still too early to predict long-term outcomes. In my case, it affirmed that I was NOT crazy; that there was a reason that I've felt like there's a glass wall between other people and me my entire life, why I can't use the phone, why my brain periodically shuts down, why I am generally only able to experience emotional reactions to life when I'm alone, etc etc etc.

The Foley artist thing does sound cool. Ditto your description of your music as "crazy dark electronic-y sometimes rockish gregorian chant pseudo-experimental whatnot." Have you heard of a band called Garmarna? They are (I think) Swedish and do this kind of dark progressive-techno-folk thing, and one of their most recent projects was a bunch of settings of chants by Hildegard of Bingen (medieval woman).

But anyway. Nice to hear back from you and good luck with everything!

Thomas1138
Velociraptor

Joined: 5 Apr 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 470

03 May 2008, 8:15 pm

Cute avatar!

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