candidlyautistic:

Routines, routines, routines.

TBH, I’m still working on this. I suck at it. Still, there are a few things that I have found that make some aspects easier.

Digital calendars. I put all my classes with their room number on google calendar. And and every appointment I have goes on Google calendar as well. Doctor’s visits, meetings with advisers, therapy, vacations, etc. Basically, any time I have to leave the house on a set schedule, or someone comes to the house on a set schedule, it goes on the calendar.

I have tried to integrate my homework schedule into this, but so far it hasn’t worked for me personally. For some people it works really well, however.

Write your notes by hand. There are so many studies on this, I can’t even begin to describe how important it is. We use different parts of our brains when write by hand and when we type. This changes how recall works. Simply put, we remember things better when we write them by hand, even when it doesn’t seem like it.

Ah, but what if your hand cramps, or you have shitty handwriting? Then stop using pencils and stop using ballpoint or gel pens. Use a fountain pen. In the US especially, this is important. Ballpoint pens and gel pen inks are very thick. In the case of ballpoints, it is a paste. This means you have to push hard into the paper to get it to write, which in turn means you have to hold the pen much more firmly.

Fountain pens do not have this issue. The pens use ink that is hardly more viscous than water in most cases. This means the ink will absorb into the paper just by touching it. This allows you to barely hold the pen, and to simply let it glide over the paper. No cramping. It also makes it a lot easier to make your handwriting easy to read. Sometimes you need a little practice, but there are ways to learn that are specific to autistics that also works well for other neurodivergences.

The disadvantage is that paper for fountain pens is a little more expensive. You can’t just use the normal Meade notebooks or they will soak up alllll your ink really fast. It’s not an issue for tests and things because those aren’t every day uses. No big deal. But notes? You’re looking at three or four bucks for a Clairfontaine notebook instead of the ninety-nine cents, or up to $10 a pad if you want something like a dot grid (they’re not cheap in the US, unfortunately, and oh gosh do I love my dot pads…).

There are ways around that, like getting the HP 24lb laser printer paper, and printing your lines or dot grid on it, and then putting them in a binder – this is the cheapest method (and you can print the lines in a ink jet printer). It has the advantage that your aren’t buying a $3 notebook and only using half of it.

Color code your notes. Even if all you do is have a different color for the headings and the bullet points and the notes themselves, it helps. It especially helps for diagrams.

Don’t be afraid to doodle on your notes. Don’t be afraid to make your notes all doodles. Draw lines between things, draw circles around things, draw stars around things. Draw a doodle of a word that you particularly need to remember.

For managing your homework and the like, I recommend a journal. Specifically, I’m fond of bullet journals. They don’t work well for me personally, but I know others that swear by them. I think @baby-gloom uses them a lot and could probably tell you more about how to maximize them for school (I think she uses hers for school?).

I really, really, really, recommend a bullet journal to see if it works for you, because when they work, they are brilliant. It isn’t a set brand so much as it is a method. You can buy stencils or free hand everything. They are 100% customizable because they are a method, not a brand per se. You can just buy a completely blank a journal or notebook and make it to specifications designed by others or make it completely to your needs.

Routines, routines, routines.

Do your homework every day at the same time. Make it part of a routine. On days you don’t have homework, study instead, in addition to whatever time you set aside to study. Speaking of which… set aside the time to study. Every day. At the same time. Study. If you have more homework to do beyond what you scheduled for, use this time to do homework instead.

The idea here is to make it ingrained to do school stuff. Ideally, you will feel a little off if you don’t stick to your schedule.

All of this will help with both ASD and ADHD.

Reward yourself for doing well. Seriously. Buy yourself ice cream. Get a bag of candy. Cheat on your diet. It doesn’t matter what. But seriously, celebrate your successes for meeting your goals, not exceeding them.

I got a C in algebra. That’s my hardest class, and all I needed was a D. You can bet your backside that I rewarded myself for finishing that class beyond the minimum. If I passed with a D, I still would have celebrated.

Recognizing even the “small” achievements matters so, so, much.

Spread your classes out. Don’t take them all on the same day. An even week will go a lot further to helping your routine than trying to load it on specific days and saving other days for study.

TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS. Even if you do not participate in class because you don’t like to talk, communicate with your professors. Let them know if you will be out of class. Send them an e-mail if you don’t know the answer to a question on your homework. Some professors will have their TA answer questions or even teach the class. Utilize that person.

Form a study group with other autistic or neurodivergent people. Get permission from school to put up fliers and advertise for a study group of ADHD or ASD people for X subjects. You might not have the same work as others, but you will be learning the same principals. So it doesn’t matter if they are in your class specifically.

Many colleges have a learning center for writing or maths or sciences. Use these. My school, for example, has a writing center that will help you figure out how to best write your essays – they won’t do it for you, but they can give you general advice. Ditto the other classes.

If you get offered extra credit, do it. All of it. Every little bit matters, and then more so if they curve.

Of there are power points, print them out two to a page. Take notes on them in class. I have found this to be a really, really, useful way to take notes. Obviously it doesn’t work if there are no power points.

Accommodations, accommodations, accommodations. If you have a formal diagnosis, get accommodations. Even if you never use them, having them provides you a buffer that you can use in an emergency.

For example, I just took a test today that was an hour long. I could have taken two hours to take it. I didn’t use that extra time – I finished it in ten minutes – but I have that time just in case I am having a bad day.

Uhm. This is already really long. If you would like more suggests, or have specific issues you would like to address, I can address those specifically.