Should I tell my professor about my AS?

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I honestly and seriously think I'm on the verge of a burnout. I'm very overloaded, I'm in a lot of "mental pain" (l suspect I'm in some sort of existential crisis plus I'm depressed etc.) and I've got so much to do at university that I feel like I'm about to break.

There are three things I find incredibly difficult at university:

1. Speaking in front of people. Oral presentations are terribly difficult for me. Social situations in general are tricky.

2. I get overwhelmed by everything I have to do on a daily basis. My brain just "freezes" and I shut down instead of being able to figure out what to do or how to plan things properly. (My psychologist says that's normal for people with AS. Is it?)

3. I often get overloaded by noise and people.

About a year and a half before I was diagnosed with AS, I was diagnosed with depression, social anxiety disorder and a couple of other anxiety disorders. The psychologist told me she's not sure which of those disorders I actually have (that I'm depressed is for sure though) and that we'll have to figure that out eventually (once I've gotten more help for my AS we'll be able to see which anxiety issues remain). Anyway, the point is that I'm not sure my social anxiety is caused by social anxiety disorder or AS or both but my psychologist seems to think it's the AS.

My professors don't know about my AS but I'm considering telling the professor I have in my current course/class. He knows I have social anxiety disorder and he tries to be supportive when it comes to my problems speaking in front of people. However, he doesn't get that it can't be fixed by just planning and practicing. Sure, planning and practicing helps but a) that really doesn't fix the problem and I still panic when I'm supposed to give presentations and b) with the amount of work we have to do at university right now (lab reports to write, seminars to prepare, articles to read and summarize etc. etc.) there's no way my group and I (it's a group project) will be able to plan the presentation until earliest next weekend, which is just a few days before the actual presentation. That's not good because in order to even have a chance of making it I need to know exactly what to say, exactly what all the pictures in the presentation show, exactly which gestures and facial expressions I need to make etc., but right now I don't even really understand the subject we're supposed to talk about.

I'm so overwhelmed. I have no idea how to do this and all of this (AS, fear, depression and existential crisis) has resulted in zero motivation, daily "brain 'freezes'" and a whole lot of other negative things. I feel incapacitated and nothing in my life works right now.

Should I tell someone about my AS? I don't want to say these things are happening because of AS if they aren't and a certainly don't want to make any excuses. I want to do the work, I just don't know how and I think I need some more help. I'm not sure there's more help to get, but still. What do you think?

If your professor, during your meetings with him/her, mentions relatives who have AS, I would inform him that you have AS as well.

In most instances, however, I wouldn't disclose to a professor that I have AS. There's too much prejudice against it in the "real world."

Do you have a professional will help write out/file paperwork that you need accommodations through student disability services (or whatever they call it at your school)?

I have university professor friends. They hate when students do I have
xyz..ADHD, ASD, bipolar, cancer with no documentation from student services. Why? Because people lie. My friends have been burned in the past, so now they tell the student, I can't  do anything until I hear from student services. Otherwise it's just your word, and in this day and age, it isn't enough anymore. (unfortunately)

You therapist (doctor, someone who made the diagnosis) will fill out the forms for accommodations. Extra testing time, whatever.

About the group thing. Everyone has issues with group work. I have done many group projects, and it is always a cluster f**k to the end. You will never feel you are ready. If you did a survey of your class, there will two groups that are "done", and the rest are scrambling.

It's just better time management, being more assertive with the group slackers to get their part done, and experience. The more you do it, you do get better at it. And the world LOVES group projects and there will always be one slacker in the group. Learn how to handle it now, without a pay check on the line.

What is your therapist helping you deal with the executive functioning issues and social anxiety? That is his/her job to help you with those things.

So...check out disability services and get the paper work going. Figure out if your therapist is really helping or just stealing your money by only listening to you. And realized university is more about stomping out brush fires than perfection. I know very few people who felt they weren't always behind. The ones who didn't, were in their 30's and had more life experiences.

Good luck!

PS..are you in grad school, slightly different answer if you are...

Tawaki, it's documented. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "executive functioning issues" in this case and no, I'm not in grad school (took a few gap years between high school and university).

http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disa ... e-function

http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disa ... -checklist

http://www.aane.org/asperger_resources/ ... order.html

I'm tired, but this should be a good start for you.

My husband has Aspergers, and EF is his biggest down fall next to social skills.

Poor EF skills can make university a living hell.

Hope this helps..
Tawaki

I think that certain things need to be modified but others you may have to adapt to, like the speaking in front of a class, (unless your nonverbal and cannot stand still and keep focus)

in my situations i do have meltdowns when i cannot communicate or my schedule changes, my meltdowns tend to be violent and destructive, so the school board needs to know about this, my autism has caused a bit of a learning disability, i have difficulty with Verbal and fast lessons and have had I.Q tests and learning disability assessments to prove so.

so, if you have Psychologist, Psychiatrist or whatever ask THEM to get in contact with the school to tell them about your needs, usually the school will automatically apply to your needs and your Psych will tell the school everything they need to know.

People in university tend to be knowledgeable about autism spectrum disorders, but it does depend on the subject you are studying so sometimes you have to be careful. I openly disclosed my diagnosis to almost all of my professors in my third and fourth years and they were very understanding and accommodating. I am a Psychology student, but I have also disclosed in my electives (linguistics, American Sign Language) and that was received positively.

I think we all have different experiences with disclosure. I always disclosed during the first or second class, stating my challenges and the necessary accommodations very clearly.

My university also has a disability office that acts as a backup in case professors are not receptive to the disclosure. The disability counsellors have also helped me figure out which accommodations are appropriate for me and which ones aren't.