So I started classes yesterday...

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Beware this is a long post...

I go to my comunity college to do sign language classes, go through the drc(disability resource center), meet with the professor talk to her about my autism, and so on... Now everytime I start classes I don't get the usual bullying or the "shes weird, whats wrong with her?" I get the teacher who automatically thinks autism = person is slow at learning/talking/pretty much anything.

So first day the professor is nice, i talk to her after class give her my autism card, I don't usually tell any of the other students. Just leave it alone, I always think in the back of my mind I can pass for NT any day. Okay so I'm wrong, immediantely I notice students talk to me differently and act around me differently. Students usually talk slower to me also, talk in a soft tone voice, basically treat me like I'm 3 years old, and that I have a very noticable handicap. The professor usually always ends up treating me like I have Mental Retardation, and speaks to me the same way and after every lesson she makes to look at me then say "understand?" in a slow way to make sure I'm getting it all.

Today we did an exercise on eye contact, so I know how to force eye contact for a time being, its part of being a sign language interpreter. It was like duck duck goose without the touching, one person walks around gives everybody eye contact as everybody is standing in a circle and that person does a facial expression to let the person whos next to do it, to start walking...First everybody went around, the girl next to me scared me alittle because i didnt know she was up that it was her turn, so i jumped, so she began telling everybody in the class how i jumped and how tiny i was, second the girl after me was picked to go, well she also picked me by winking, i didn't catch the cue at first because i'm not really thinking about that, all I'm thinking of is "dang it why does eye contact hurt so much!" so she stops right afterwards in front of everybody and does a huge wink both eyes, so i go like It was the biggest thing that I didn't catch that cue, as im walking around, all i hear is aww shes soo cute, and people usually don't make any movements around me, and try to be very suddle. Afterwards I couldn't help but stim, talk about a migraine, my head was killing, so thats when I get the "Oh sweety A R E Y O U O K?" from the student next to me. As I'm covering my face with my hood because of the light also, so I just reply "allergies" she proceeds to smile and say "Oh O K, just making sure" as I look around the room everybody is smiling and acting very slow and calm around me.

Now I notice all my life I'm some how known as the "slow/mentally ret*d/little baby girl". Its starting to bother me in some ways though, when the professor makes a joke everybodys laughing except for me, one classmate usually tickles me to get me laughing to join in, or i get the pat on the head, with a wink afterwards, all the while as people are talking to me very sllowwly like i can only process one letter a t a t i m e...

I know I stim a lot, I know I mess up my words a lot, my signing isn't always the best first thing the professor says as she walks in, in order to do sign you need to have excellant expressive and receptive skills, ugh first thing the doctor tells me my family when I got diagnosed with autism is my expressive and receptive skills are very poor, go figure right? Sorry last part was a rant my bad ...

I'm just wondering does anybody else get this? The noticable "treat the person like that person is ret*d" act

That was hilarious in a cringe making way! Oh my god, what a horrible nightmare for you! I blame the autism card. In fact i blame the autism label full stop. To me it has just too many associations that it conjures in the minds of most people. I think if i ever need to explain my behaviors id be prone to reducing my AS down to its core features rather than use the term AS or autism.

Still, at least they are on your side and given a little time they will all relax and so will you and they will learn to accept you as you are and realize that you arent ret*d or stupid.

Talk to your professor again. Tell her you appreciate the effort and understanding, but she's going a bit overboard. Let her know that you were a little embarrassed and would like to be treated like an adult.

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Precisely, i totally agree.

I hate to admit it, but you seem nice, etc... so...

At times I have stumbled or said something that SEEMED stupid. Sometimes people have misheard, etc... Heck, sometimes I have slipped or said something that WAS stupid.

Some people, hearing such things, seem quick to underestimate. So YEAH, I have seen some things like that. HECK, as a young kid I got some condescension simply because people couldn't believe a kid could do so much. If you show some great ability in some meaningful and related way, they may shut up. DON'T expect apologies though.

As for your choice? I have had a number of friends that have become sign language translators. I could never see MYSELF doing it though I almost envy the deaf people that can communicate across a noisy room. I wish you the BEST of luck.

BTW if they are half way intelligent, they WILL realize you are smarter than they thought, and treat you better. If they AREN'T that smart, they aren't worth worrying about.

I've noticed that people feed off of each other a lot, like they tend to match energy waves or something. One person is happy the other person is happy. One person is sad the other person is sad, generally speaking. I think that it may still apply in this kind of situation. I know that I am slow and I tend to slow down when I talk and take stuff in and people in return do the same thing. Yes, it gets annoying after awhile but maybe it just comes naturally to them. I could also use a reference to someone I know who speaks English as a second language and one of his friends always speaks to him differently too. It is a fascinating phenomenon. Try not to take it too personally.

Age1600 i agree with the 2unkerl you do seem a nice person and i wish you luck on your course!

Update please!

Haha update, I'm going to see my autism specialist tonight, so I'm going to talk to him more about it. My professor was much more understanding today, and the students seem to stay the same haha, they all notice i rarely smile or talk, or how i stim like crazy for example I rock, I bite my hand, I spin, I pace when we stand like in circles, I rub my phone, bite my pen, flicker on the corner of my eye, open and close my hands over and over, make weird noises lol, i'll stare at the ceiling forever look from the corner of my eye lol, and today i did some tics like a wierd head tic, eye brow raises, lip twitch haha I'm such a mess hah. We had an exercise on expressive and receptive language, which yet i failed and people did point out how i messed up, but oh well haha. I wanted to tell at least one student in the past 3 days that I have autism, but I kept delaying, the professor knows me for many years and knows i'm autistic, and I even sent her an email the other day saying that i cant usually help my autistic tendencies and i apologize for that. So I'm going to go from there.

So thats the update, thank you guys for saying im very nice heheh, all of you that replied, thanks heh!

I think they like you anyway age1600 and when you relax a bit you will twitch less. Im sure you will notice a much more normal response from them before the end of the first week.