IB Program & Accommodations

Post Reply New Topic

Hi everyone!

So, this year I started the IB Program officially as a junior in high school in the US. And...it's kind of been miserable. While I'm not exactly struggling with understanding any of the stuff being taught, the amount of work that is constantly due is very overwhelming and I have felt burnt out, stressed, and miserable since September. I've talked to my teachers to let them know (not specifically about being autistic, since I technically haven't gotten diagnosed yet [hopefully next month!]) but they don't seem to get how much I really, really hate school at the moment or they've just been like, "You're so smart!" (which is very kind of them, just not very helpful at the moment). I don't want to drop the program, because I still enjoy all of my teachers and classes, but if nothing changes that's all I can feel like I can do. It's just been very overwhelming, and I wanted to know if anyone had any advice.

Also: since I am going to get an actual diagnosis next month, we've discussed getting a 504/what accommodations I could possibly get to help me make it through the program. IB doesn't seem to have a specific inclusivity program, either, which makes it sort of tricky. So the second thing is if anyone has any suggestions for accommodations that may help me feel less overwhelmed, since I'm not sure what could really help besides "this is too much work for me and I need there to be less of it".

Thanks in advance!!

Is IB=International Baccalaureate? I don't know much about it, and I bet a lot of other readers here don't, either.

Could you specify what it is?

Yes, sorry! IB is International Baccalaureate.

I'm going to suggest something you might not want to hear. It might be the case the program at full pace is too demanding for you, not that any part of the work is too hard, but taken altogether, it may be too exhausting and demanding. You might need one extra year to complete it. If so, you shouldn't feel bad about that. If you read these forums, especially the one about work and career, you will see that employable autistics sometimes do need a slight reduction in hours to function well.

I would discuss it with whoever assesses you. Good luck with your studies!