Education, as we know, is a lifelong journey. As to whether it is an enjoyable journey or not is dependent on the person - I know some that hated it and couldn't wait to get into work, and I know some who love it and have made a career out of it, such as research or teaching. It isn't just the academia that makes up our education; there is the behavioural and social learning that accompanies the academics and moulds us into who were will ultimately become.
I have enjoyed my education at every stage as I view it as the building blocks for a prosperous career and a fulfilled life. We never stop learning so it helps to enjoy the process. That's not to say that it will be smooth sailing all the time, believe me!
At every stage there will be those of us who find the process easier than others. I can speak from experience that my difficulty made that process that much harder. Asperger Syndrome is classed as a behavioural and developmental difficulty - 'developmental' meaning learning, both from an academic and a social point of view. It means that it is pervasive across all aspects of my life.
Academic
At school, I certainly found myself gravitating towards subjects such as maths and sciences more than subjects such as English or Literature. This was because my mind and my way of thinking and learning suited subjects that were logical in their processes and where there was a clear answer; almost binary, thinking about it. Right or wrong, yes or no, black or white, 1 or 0.
Subjects like English I struggled with because of the interpretation and exploration of the language, semantics and intention that was required. Same with art and creative subjects because back then I really wasn't the creative kind at all. Logic, yes. Arts, no thank you! Honestly, my best piece of art was a complete and total accident where I wasn't paying attention!
Being able to excel and thrive at school at a young age is helped massively by support measures and reasonable adjustments that can be put in place. My family were brilliant in this regard as they could see that there were some subjects that I would struggle so much with, not for lack of effort but that they just didn't 'compute' with me or how my mind worked. After meetings with school brass, I was granted was 25% extra time in written examinations which helped immensely (and still does to this day). Though in the classroom, perhaps because I was seen as highly intelligent at the time, support measures were either overlooked or thought to be not necessary due to my in-class performance (....... wow, didn't mean for that to turn into a humble brag!)
At University, it was much easier to have support measures and reasonable adjustments in place because of dedicated Learning Support teams and the conversations that were had with them that included me, my family, and supporting docs from my schools. Through this, I was gifted a voice recorder to record lectures and seminars, tasks in advance of the classes so that I could try and make notes or read ahead of the sessions, and regular catch up meetings with academic and pastoral mentors arranged by the Learning Support team. Teams at NTU and DMU were fantastic in their patience and understanding of what helped me and what might help me going forward. Tutors were very helpful in their understanding that I learned differently to my classmates and they did their best to make sure I didn't fall behind too much and that I was able to take part in class discussions and tasks.
Conversations are there to be had with academic tutors, any Learning Support rep, personal tutors, faculty staff regarding any support measures for you. Tutors at every level want to see everyone succeed. They want to know that their students will be able to succeed at the next stage in their life, and the next and the next after that. So don't be afraid to use them, and don't be afraid to ask for support when getting the support too! I can appreciate from experience that it can be nervewracking, due to either personal pride or that you don't know what's there that will work for you. But you don't know unless you try.
Social
At school age, you're not only learning academically, but you're also learning how to behave and conduct yourself and grow to be a respectable member of society. I as an autistic child and pupil struggled in this regard because my behaviour, interests, aspirations and priorities were at odds with the rest of my peers, and my difficulties in communication meant barriers to forming meaningful friendships and relations with my peers.
Other pupils in my year each year were more interested in acting up and playing the "big man" whereas I was content to keep my own company because I couldn't relate to that or to many of my peers at the time, which likely isn't too dissimilar to the experiences of a number of autistic children.
Other pupils' interests included football, rugby and bragging to their mates about which girls they hang around with whereas my interests were in music (I'd take my clarinet or bass guitar and jam with my music teacher on Thursday evenings), cookery (Wednesday evening activity) and badminton (I coached the U15 team for a couple of years). Whilst this list isn't exhaustive, the gulf between me and my peers meant they saw me as strange and aloof and, because I wasn't "one of them", a target for ridicule and bullying and harassment. They didn't understand autism at that age, and its easy (though not forgivable) to mock or ridicule that which you don't understand.
Its easy to look back on it and say "we were all immature at that age" and its true, but its no excuse. It can have a real impact on later life including anxiety, depression, self-confidence and self-esteem issues, trust issues, you name it. For me, that continued to University where I experienced even more bullying and harassment. I honestly thought I had escaped it, but the university staff took a "grit your teeth and bear it" stance, until it slipped out that [TRIGGER WARNING] I didn't see a way out and wanted to end my life. I thought we were all more mature than that - evidently in those individuals, I was wrong.
I do believe that, from the perspective of autism spectrum disorders, educational institutions still have a long way to go in terms of social support. Perhaps a lot of it could be remedied somewhat by further education, maybe in PSHE lessons at an appropriate age. Or maybe more schools can actually practice what they preach when they preach a "zero-tolerance to bullying of any kind". Whatever it is, more needs to be done, and it starts with education. Education on the difficulty, the different ways it can impact individuals, the support that can help, and then raising awareness in the rest of the school/university community.
I received my diagnosis when I was very young, which meant my educational journey was that little bit more niche in comparison to my neurotypical peers. As you can see, it was a bit of a mixed bag - great in terms of support available on the academic side, but not so great on the social side.
Now, I can certainly speak from the perspective of one individual with autism, but I'm disqualified from speaking about experiences with other invisible difficulties such as dyslexia.
So I reached out to Emma Bush, a solicitor and fellow member of the neurodiverse community, who very kindly spoke about her experiences studying at university with dyslexia.
Hi Emma, thank you very much for sharing your story. When did you receive your diagnosis?
I was diagnosed in late 2010 after starting uni with the support of the learning support team.
When you received it, how did it feel? What were your thoughts?
On receipt, I was very relieved actually - there was a reason I'd been struggling and actually it felt good to know that it wasn't my lack of understanding or effort
How did your difficulty affect you in your studies?
In relation to studies post-diagnosis, I actually improved as I was supported by assistive technology and given mechanisms to help my learning processes. It took time to re-learn how to study in a different way but it was effective. Further, I was granted extra teaching support as required and extra time in exams which was a huge benefit for me and really reduced my stress levels.
What were the challenges that you faced, academically and socially (if relevant)?
I think I am ok socially (although I probably am too opinionated, but I think that is personality more than dyslexia!). Academically my A level grades were lower than predicted which effected my university admission, but post-diagnosis I achieved grades as good as I expected and even excelled on my LPC which was great as I'd had 3 years by that point to master new study techniques.
What support was available and that you took advantage of? How helpful was the support that you received?
Assistive tech was and is a huge support to me (dictation software and mind mapping software). Extra time in exams and extra study support helped too. It's more an understanding from tutors that made a difference. Also having work printed on pink/purple paper was a massive benefit, which my LPC provider accommodated really well. Colour and scotopic sensitivity are closely linked to dyslexia and reading.
From a personal standpoint, it was insightful and an education to hear this from Emma and it reaffirms the point of the story. Support is there for anyone at any stage of education; all we have to do is ask. On another level, I'm hoping that this gives an impression about what those of us with different invisible difficulties have had to work with to be successful at every stage of our educational journey.
Be kind! Be safe!
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