Older (35+) Autistics and University Study

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Howdy. I was wondering if there were any other people here in my position? I didn't have the best opportunities to study when I was younger, and have been trying to take advantage of having those opportunities now. I have been working through an undergrad degree online for quite some time and am now over halfway through and hoping to get some encouragement here.

My current degree program is a major in Visual Culture with a minor in Fine Arts and Sociology/Cognitive Studies. I am hoping to go on to post graduate school. If I manage to do well enough to qualify for an honours year, I will go on to do a PhD in autistic culture. If I am unable to do well enough for an honours year, I am seriously considering an MSW and then a PhD. I'm quite inspired by Judy Endow, an autistic who achieved an MSW and now works for and with autistic people. http://www.judyendow.com/

I'm hoping to do something along these lines and my main goal with all of this study is to have the paper 'expertise' to support the neurodiversity movement and fight the prevalent ableism that we all tend to experience in our daily lives.

I consider myself an academic late bloomer. By the time I finished high school I couldn't get the hell out of the institutions or my family, and ran as quickly as I could away to a different life. Now that I have that opportunity again I am hoping to make the most of it.

(edited for typo)

I started going to University (known as "college" in the US) when I was 36. I majored in speech pathology and English. It took me eight years, but I got my bachelors, Magna cum laude, at the age of 45.

(It took me eight years to complete the requirements, another six months to actually "graduate.")

It's difficult at first to adjust--but, once you put your mind to it, it's not hard to succeed--especially in this era where just showing up in class almost guarantees you a "C."

That's awesome, kraftie. It's taking me some time to complete due to single parenting and developing lupus, but I am quite determined to complete it. I've just enrolled in three more units (once I'm done with those I will only need six more to be done with my 24 units!) for this year and plan to try and double units (back to full time) as soon as I can.

I'm taking Cog Science units this year and one covers autism, so that will be interesting.

Seems like you're going for your Master's. You should learn lots here about Cognitive Neuroscience!

There was an Aussie youngster here recently who had an affinity for Cognitive Neuroscience; he didn't think those courses were available to him, though, because of his grades. His screen name is Norny.

Have you seen Norny, or read his posts?

He has a piquantly "skeptical" attitude which I believe you could relate to. I don't mean that in a bad way.

I haven't. I will check later on.

I was in university in the mid eighties, didn't go on to do my masters though. I found being around ppl all day very stressful, and there wasn't as many resources as they have now.

I went back to school in september, work related. I was enrolled in a 2 year program , and did badly in 2nd level. I am now taking time off and continuing next december- with the help of the disability office. I expect that I will be successful.

Hey, I'm new here, but I thought that I would chime in.

I'm double majoring in chemistry and biology. If I'm able to get my class schedules to mesh well, I'll hopefully have by double bachelors degree in a few semesters.

I feel your pain, and have recently struggled with the problem of not knowing how to properly study. In highschool, I made A's and B's without trying because the answers were basically spoonfed. In college... well, I think that you understand the difference, especially after having not been in school for a while.

One of the biggest things that helped me was realizing that my brain worked differently than NT brains, and that because of that I needed to find the way that I would understand the concepts... a way to connect the dots to make the same picture in a different way.

Another thing that I struggled with was my willingness to actually study (something that I still struggle with). As far as that goes, you just have to force yourself to do it... as painful and depressing as it sometimes is.

I found out that (at my school at least) there are programs that will help you level the playing field when taking tests and notes and things of that nature. It's called student disability services or DSS for short. They have counselors there that can help you get frustrations off of your chest, and they offer services like test proctoring (giving you extra time in a quiet room to take tests so that you do not need to worry about the time, nor the distractions), and also note taking help devices. I'm not sure if your school has that support service, but it might be worth taking a look.

Anyway, best of luck.

Hi, welcome to wrong planet.

Thanks for replying. My majors, years ago, were geology and physics. Unfortunately I didn't continue on with my pursuits due to my social anxiety.

I managed to push some of that aside and find a job 18 years ago. However for the last 3 years I've had to work in an area that didn't require me to deal with the public (new ppl), I have been okay with the coworkers that I have to deal with on a daily basis (for the most part). Unfortunately (or fortunately - whichever way you want to look at it) my assignment was becoming obsolete, which propelled me to take the opportunity, when my employer offered it, to go back to school for 2-3 years. I took the plunge, I had a tutor lined up (I can't talk in class), but he had to quit in december due to his own studies.

I thought I could handle it (with my age and all), and I didn't want to burden anyone with my troubles. I ended up with a lung infection, missed a few lectures, and had no tutor. I let my teachers know that I was behind, they offered no advice. I went to another department and let them know as well (it is the department of our school that helps native ppl), and ask for help finding a new tutor. Unfortunately they didn't understand that when I was behind and needed help - that I was literally (the irony of it all) behind and really needed help ( I guess because my grades in 1st level were really good- they couldn't quite fathom that I was in academic distress ) . My daughter found me a tutor ( it was difficult to find one) - 2 weeks before the end of 2nd level, but it was too late. I will give the tutor credit though - he did an phenomenal job of trying to teach me 18 chapters in 10 days- I passed my final, but it wasn't enough to pull up my overall grade.

Suffice it to say, I was steered toward the disability office, I was a little nervous, I didn't know what to expect. Everything is pretty much set up for me to resume my studies in december, my employer is okay with me retaking level 2, my grade may be erased from my record, and the tutor my daughter found may be available in december (I hope- it was hard putting myself out there twice in 6 months). The disability office will help with communications between myself and the instructors, they will help with a quiet area for tests, and they will make sure that a tutor is found when needed etc etc- so much like level one (when I had the tutor to ask a million and one questions - and academically all went well), I expect that I will succeed with all this in place.

I hope that you have continued success in your education as well, what you are doing sounds fascinating. I am thinking of continuing my studies as well, after this stint of work related education.

I'm a 42 year-old, second-year sophomore. I'm attending a community college and have almost completed an associates degree for transfer to an engineering program at a 4-year-school as a Junior.

I was supposed to go to college after HS, but ended up doing 20 years in the US Navy instead.

Um, what was the question again?

I rejected academic learning at 13, in patches returning at the ages of 28, 36 and again at 45.

Have a flair for English Lit.

What got me through it all is the fact that my essays were more or less personal letters to the lecturers involved, but written in a way that hid this.

Having to give presentations was difficult, but if you have an official dx you might be excused that.

Being made to work in groups was not a downfall for me, but there was lots of trouble due to my outspoken nature and my ability to get very involved in disagreeing with someone.

At degree level I was psychologically bullied by class mates. The place I studied for my Master's was hyper disciplined and no bullying went on, but it was a very high pressure place.

Degree study piles on the stress, so be prepared for it.

Sounds like you are going to be involved in something fascinating, if I can help at all, feel free to PM me.

@ creepycrawly36:
Thanks for the welcome. I, too had a bad experience with a tutor dropping me. I was struggling in math (I suspect dyscalculia, but I have just learned about it and plan on bringing it up at my next appt.) and went to the school tutoring service. I was given a tutor to work with and she found me both fascinating and frustrating at the same time. I could see the answers, but had no clue how to do the work to solve them. If I tried to do it, I would mess up the basic arithmetic somehow. Two weeks before the final the tutor dropped me, and the school didn't have a quick replacement. I suspect she had personal issues or was struggling with her own classes. It resulted in me having to drop the class because without the help, I was unable to work my way through the steps required to solve the problems. the teacher would not accept the answer without the work, and I didn't know how to give that work. That was before I was diagnosed with anything, and I never even suspected that I might not be NT. (I have now found that I am severely ADHD, have depression and anxiety, and have been unofficially diagnosed as very high functioning aspergers by my psychologist (I haven't taken the tests due to money issues and the fact that nothing can really be done to help me at this stage of my life, but most of the symptoms fit me extremely well. It made my life make sense.))

Anyway, I think that I have gone off topic, so I'll try to steer my way back. The main thing that I am trying to say is that when someone with aspergers is dropped by someone that we trust and depend on, it's hard for us to quickly recover, and hard for us, at least me, to trust that someone else will not also drop us in the same way when we inevitably become frustrating to deal with.

@Alexanderplatz:
I somehow made it through speech class. During the few speeches that I had to give, I ended up looking at the ground with my heart racing and sweat likely pouring out of every pore of my body. If I had known that my social anxiety ran deeper than simple stage-fright, I could have probably gotten out of doing it, but I didn't know. It's extremely hard to function in a world built and run by NT's when you do not know that you are not NT yourself. I'm surprised that I made it as long as I did without the help that I needed.

The same goes for me. If I can help anyone with their studies, just let me know. I have a lot of experience coping with the LD without realizing that I was doing so, and I am always willing to help those that I am able to help.

@Mpz5

Going off topic can be a good thing, I think the subjects broached (when off topic), can help some of us realize that we aren't the only one with the same issues, especially with regards to going back to school later in life. I totally commiserate with you- in respect to the whole math thing, I can be like that also (except when I am tired- then I just can't think). Fortunately for me, the course that I was taking, did not require that I show my work.

At the moment, I am awaiting instruction from my employer- they haven't yet determined where to place me until December (when course restarts). I obtained an phone call, just hours ago, with notification that I will be off for the week while they resolve the matter of placement. This called for a road trip down to the local bookstores, I picked up several books of interest, with the prospect of keeping my mind preoccupied- an effort of distraction. There, I too got side tracked, I don't know where I was going with that.

I hope you find a good tutor, they are difficult to find. The young fellow I had was extraordinarily good, for his young age. My difficulty wasn't with the maths, but rather with the abstract concepts. If I can't visualize it, It's difficult for me to comprehend it- the young fellow was an artist of sorts. The drawings, along with his annotations, made the course material remarkably comprehensible.

@Alexanderplatz- I am fortunate, the type of classes I was (and will be) in , did not require presentations or group work. Our academic progress hinged upon the outcome of 2 tests per week and 4 final examinations - per level. I am saddened to hear about the bullying, however it sounds as though you may have moved on from that situation, by way of a different school. My hope is that it doesn't continu

Hey!

I'm going to start my fieldwork year this fall to finish my BSW. Then, if all goes well, I plan to work as I pursue my MSW.

Your idea of studying autistic culture is pretty cool, and interesting. I haven't seen much research in that area. You should have fun breaking new ground.

Personally, I'm much more oriented toward economics and public policy (I'm a conflict theorist). I'm starting a lit review of shelter first housing programs right now... Unfortunately, that ground isn't nearly as fresh (lots and lots to read!), but it is interesting.

good luck!

It's nice to see that someone started a thread on this subject...I've often wondered how many Autistic people have completed higher education at a later age.

I am presently finishing my BSSW (will graduate in May), at age 43. If all goes according to plan, I will complete my MSW a year from now, thanks to an accelerated program offered by my university. I attempted college twice previously: the first time, at age 18, only lasted a year before I was forced to drop out due to failing grades. (Not surprisingly, given the fact that the college I attended was a fundie Bible school chosen for me by my parents, in which I had little interest). The second attempt was better, as I successfully completed two years as a theatre major at a school of my choosing, before leaving due to a combination of insufficient financial aid, Autistic burnout, social difficulties, and an eating disorder.

Best of luck to everyone currently working on completing your degrees!