transitions between classes - coping with crowds?

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Hey there all,

I'm starting at a new school.. it's exciting .. it's week 3.

Seems I'm finding the most difficult part having to walk through these gigantic crowds between classes.

I've just moved from a small town to a city as well, so .. going to a school with 30,000 students is big for me & (among other things) I do have sensitivities (ie sensory).

I have got sunglasses & mp3 player which I often use - they help but haven't eliminated the problem ..


anyone got any other useful suggestions for transitions ?

Can you wear earplugs temporarily between classes -- taking them in and out in some unnoticeable way?

yeh .. I did think of that early on .. the ones I have, besides flourescent ones, have a neck-string kind of thing. They're an obtrusive kind of white colour though.
I felt self-conscious about it so I gave it a miss, but .. I'm willing to give it a go now. I might get them out & suss out how well they work.
As someone pointed out in a (non AS related) discussion the other day - most people don't actually have very good eyesight. They probably wouldn't notice!

Perhaps, flesh coloured ear plugs would be good.

well, yes, but they seem to be hard to come by

Does it help if you are with someone else? Let them negotiate the crowds and you walk beside them?

I have trouble too, especially since I have to space out (just enough concentration to get to the class) to cope with the 1300+ students in a school built only for around 800, but my friends always say hi and I often miss it because I'm spacing out.

I don't have much of a problem with passing periods pretty much because I'm used to it. I've learned to avoid the hallways that tend to get pretty crowded. It does annoy me though whenever I'm stuck behind a group of people who are walking slowly as they're socializing and I can't get through. I'm probably one of the few people at my school who cares about getting to class on time.

Thanks for your replies.

I've realised how important it is for me to have a routine there - I changed one subject around & changed my timetable this week - it's actually put me into burnout I think! a bit overwhelmed.

I need my timetable to be the same so I can work out the best, quietest ways to get from one class to the next.
Also I know I can't cope very well with free time between classes - I need a focus, task to do or purpose, even if it's an hour of reading notes or something in that time.

I'm so keen on staying on track that it's disappointing I've 'mucked up' this week - if I change my timetable back to the old timetable I will have missed some classes this week & last week. I know how idealistic it is, but i wanted a perfect attendance record as I dislike the feeling of 'having to catch up' ..

(couldn't find my own earplugs, but ..)

I found some flesh coloured ones at the chemist.

AH, silence. I could hear the birds crossing the park between classes, rather than all the chatter. Excellent.

Noise-canceling headphones are great. And if you have trouble getting through large crowds, you could do what my small female friends did: they became friends with me so they could follow behind me in the wake I make in large crowds (I'm 6'3" and pretty much plow through anyone that doesn't get out of my way).