Hearing Lectures

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I was wondering how other autistic people cope with hearing what the lecturer says in a large lecture theatre... I was offered a recording device by the disabilty services, but reluctant to take it for two reasons:

1. I think it would record the background noise too, so it is a bit pointless because I would have the same difficulty making out what the lecturer says

2. Even if the quality is good enough to make out what they say, I would have to then spend another 2 - 2.5 hours listening to it and taking notes at home, so what is the point of going to the lecture. Plus already struggle with time managment.

I was dissappointed that their sound system doesn't allow me to connect to it with my earphones, it is only possible with hearing aids but I don't have one and they are expensive. It is only this one lecture theatre I really struggle in, but most of my lectures were there in the last trimester.

Any advice?

You're probably right that the recording machine wouldn't give you a clear recording. If you can put the machine near the front of a loudspeaker then it might help the clarity, as long as you set the recording level low enough to stop it overloading.

It does take time to play it all back of course. I see no good reason to go to lectures at all if a student can get the same result from a recording, but I guess the lecturers don't want to lose their jobs. I guess NTs get something from the talking head and the collective nature of the lecture, but it doesn't work for me.

Is just sitting up front an option, if you explain the problem? You might try a directional microphone plugged into a headset. The commercial stuff is all pro-priced, but you can probably hack together a simple shotgun system. The cheapest experiment would be to hack off the front panel area on a pair of ear cans. I've tried a finger-size hole and tube without good results, but it is potentially better than cupping your ears with your hands.

The uni I went to used to record every lecture so that they could be listened to by people at home. Sometimes there was a bit of a delay between the lecture itself and the recording being made available but if the lecturer was on the ball, it would become available almost straight away.

9BillionNamesofGod, I'm wondering if your uni records lectures. It would make it a lot easier for you. Perhaps not?

Perhaps ask the disability office for the slides or notes for the lecture, and if that doesn't work, talk to the lecturer after class or during office hours, explain your situation in a friendly way, and ask them, and maybe also ask classmates if you can photocopy notes?