Bad feeling about university start.

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So I got accepted into university, the initial size of the program was 30 but instead 56 got accepted. This massive increase makes it difficult for me to cope with.

I have AS and mild social phobia, this will simply make my life a damn nightmare.

It takes a lot of time for me to adapt in different social environments and I'm very prone to burn out.

What should I do?

I am always tense in the classroom, more so when there are more people. When I'm constantly tense my energy goes to oblivion and I start feeling tired, getting headaches and so on. Any help?

I don't want to drop out of university like last year because of the same reason, the social environment being too large, indifferent and impersonal. I want a smaller one where everyone knows eachothers names instead of meeting strangers every day.

Would doing just a few subjects, rather than a full time course load work?

Are you comfortable talking with your instructors ahead of time to talk about your situation?

If you are comfortable that the instructor will not misinterpret or judge your relative lack of social interaction, you can concentrate on the work.

That sounds really tough.

My first advice would be to find the contact for the university student support. You're in a tough situation but I'm sure they have had other students who have felt the same before and would welcome you being so proactive.

I wonder if they could do something like a phased introduction, like attending half time for the first few weeks. They are likely to have ideas

I also wonder if trying to sit with the same people each day would be helpful at the start, so you don't feel like you have to start from scratch every day?

Do you know anyone else who is going to the same university?

Jules

The university are obligated to provide for your learning needs.I had a similar experience, I was on a photography course with 40 students, it was a course that rewarded energy and group interaction. I found it incredibly intimidating as I have a social phobia too, also I dont like having my photo taken. I prefer being behind the lens, I'm an observer.

Every single lecture I was tense, completely withdrawn, and I'm one of these people who when I'm like that, everybody around me is too. Eventually I had enough of the tension I told the lecturer about the issues I was having, and he let me go off and do my own thing, as long as the course work was done.

If you pay them money then they surely should adapt their program to accommodate you?

unfortunately in my case I was only able to attend a fortnightly 1-1 appointment with a mental health adviser despite having a much more qualified team, the first course was something up my alley, games design but obviously to create a game you need to be able to gel with your team, get along, go have drinks together, meet outside lectures doing extra-curricular activities or hanging out in general - I was and never have been an outgoing person.

Near the end of that year my performance was being monitored and they could see I was falling behind due to anxiety and staying in my room and not going out to avoid people, so was asked to see the head of faculty as to why I wasn't attending lectures or workshops, they asked me to straight up disclose [disability] to my team which I refused and said I could no longer continue the course because 90% of the requirements is to work as part of a team plus I wouldn't want to do a games presentation on my own in front of 100 people. At this point I was arrogant as to go to another course because I had funding for it, but to my disappointment my social issues flared up again, stayed in my room, couldn't attend lectures as I couldn't face it alone. I used to have helpers back at school, helped take notes, ask questions for me, invite me to their quiet room to calm down, have regular 1-1 meetings and understand my needs, at university it's all taken away from you, you have to use common sense and natural social ability to get through it.

Yeah its not easy. My course was only a college diploma course, I found they were very accommodating there, but I suppose they have fewer students to manage. I'd find the idea of a university with hundreds of not thousands of people really daunting.

If you have not already then you should contact student services. Specialist mentors for autistic people are available at most universities and some colleges. Any teacher worthy of the name should differentiate between students, this is not the same as singling people out, its a sign that the tutor/lecturer/teacher (all the same thing) take their job seriously. I am autistic and used to be a teacher at a local college so I have some insight here. My anxiety slowly ground me down, I don't teach anymore despite the college being amazing to work for I am afraid to say.

I am going back to University myself in September to finish my MA, however I will be attending at the weekends and evenings so overload is less of an issue for me. I try to look after myself before things get too bad (I even succeed sometimes) My strategy is to remove myself from any stimulation, this means the bedroom with the lights out and limited background noise of any kind and attempt to reduce my over stimulation, and avoid the earthlings at all costs.

Maybe try treatment like CBT for social anxiety? Worked a lot for me. CBT works for panic too.

CBT is the go to treatment for pretty much anything like anxiety, depression etc, at least in the UK. It used to be medication, but they don't like giving that, not like they used to.

It does work, I was lucky enough to do a really good course when I was 18 or so and saw excellent results. Then, I got lazy and went to my default coping strategy of withdrawal and avoidance.

There's a great book titled "Succeeding in College with Asperger Syndrome : A Student Guide" that is just what is called for here. Amazon has it and there is just enough time to get it and digest it before you depart. It has chapters on all the different areas an Aspie needs help navigating when faced with and trying to succeed at university. I'm sure it will give you more confidence having read it and having it on your shelf for reference as questions arise.