looking for help at school.

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well, long story short recently diagnosed with aspergers (family suspected for a long time) but now im a 31 year old military vet whos drowning in her college homework and struggling to keep up... how the heck am i suppose to keep up with the anxiety and workload of school?

im working with my universities DSS office, but they are the kind that does nothing unless you ask so i have to go and find all my own solutions, so far i have a quiet study room... in the library (next to the elevators, yay noise!) and a tutor for my german class that i get to meet with twice a week on the schools dime...

i dont really know how common this is but i really never learned how to study, and basically other then rereading the text over and over i have no clue so if anyone has any good suggestions on that part too id appreciate it.

Hi there. Maybe you could try writing things down on flash cards and have a friend or family member ask you questions. Question on one side, answers on the other. Also, perhaps you could highlight key points in a text. I always found it easier to recall things later on in class if I highlighted in my books. That's all I can think of lol. Hope I helped some.

mostly im freaking out because im about to lose my financial aid because my grades suck so bad atm (really really wish i had been diagnosed earlier)

It does really help to talk about what you're studying with someone and write it down rather than just read it and try and hold it in your head. When you have to rephrase things in your own way of understanding, it makes a lot more sense.

Also, give yourself breaks. A solid study session where you constantly read read read all night ends up with diminishing returns when you get tired. Treat your brain like a muscle and do 'sets' of studying, otherwise it's like holding a barbell over your head for an hour and thinking that's the best kind of exercise.

I don't know what your classes are, so it's hard to give specific study suggestions.

If you have a smartphone or an iTouch, you can download some apps that will help you. My son regularly uses a flashcard app that is attached to Quizlet.com, a website that helps you makes flashcards, but also HAS flashcards others have made. This may be helpful for you, depending upon the subject.

If any of your subjects have to do with learning a foreign language, "Byki" apps are helpful with foreign languages.

I don't know where you are going to college, but I just have discovered a group called AHHEAD (http://www.aheadd.org/pittsburgh.html) that provides help and structure through peers and mentoring for people on the spectrum at college. There is a rather large cost associated -- but, having read about them, I wonder if it might help you figure out the type of help that you need, and maybe you can find more help when you have the specifics of what you need -- and then can ask at your college's disability office. You may be able to get some services through this office, or another, for free.

It's great that you are in college at 31! I'm just starting up again at college at 52, so you're a young whipper-snapper!

Hi - there is a really good list of study tip suggestions at the Gettysburg College website. It's a really long link (and I'm not allowed to link yet , but it's called "Learning Strategies for Students with Disabilities." I also replied to your tweet with a link to my website that has the direct link. HTH.