Pitfalls of academia.

Can you get a note-taker to take notes for you?
Or take a recorder/dictaphone(?) to record the lecture?

The answer, Steve, is most certainly 'yes'. I do'nt know what else to ay. Is that the only thing you wanted to know or...?

Does having a note-taker or recording of lectures depend on a diagnosis though?

Yeah, i've started using a recorder for all my lectures, and even try to sync up my notes with the lecture by writing in the time on the recorder next to each part of the notes that the instructor is talking about; i've only just started trying this. I've always found it hard finding value in these lectures, although I really try to get everything out of it.

Are they aware that you are doing this, Steve? It would be best to let them know, as they might then try to accomodate you better. There was a girl in my college course who had a problem with her joints, and she was unable to write notes. So, the lectures would copy their own notes and give them to her before class, while the rest of us had to write them out by hand. I had to write them out twice because I couldn't take notes properly in class.

LoL, there's no reason I could ask for an accomodation of any sorts; I am not officially diagnosed with asperger syndrome, nor do I have the income to get an official diagnosis. The Professors are badly unorganized and unprepared in general, and with huge class sizes adding to it all it doesn't seem like they are prepared to offer any sort of accomodation. So what is the point in me venting about all this? I don't know, because this is an open forum and I can I guess.

I declared 10 weeks ago and I don't have the paper work yet either. Even though the law is supposed to safeguard people like us in education I have had a running battle to stay on the course. The last two emails I've had have been about my droping out for a while until the paper work arrives. So in other words I'm going to lose all my online friends which are the only one's I have now. I'm so upset and been in tears on and off for over a week now. I can't concentrate like this and they've made me feel that I'm a mental cripple again. It's so unfair. No one has even asked me what adaptions I need - you'd think I was asking for a new wing to be built or something

Guys - Kit and Steve - I know that official documents have to be passed for administration purposes to say that you both have Asperger's and need help, but simply informing one of your lecturers that you are having some difficulty would be a good idea (i.e. informally telling them). In an ideal setting, you should'nt even have tio go through official means to get this done. Just tell your lecturer that you are having a tough time in your personal life and are finding the work a bit hard right now.

Communication is vital, and it's sad that we are so poor at it.

Kevin

Once I picked up the courage I told everyone who needed to know - they didn't do anything. However today I got a back tracking telephone call and I can now do no wrong it seems! My attitude has changed immediately - I can't hold grudges against poor systems but the waste of all this time to get someone to act - even though they knew they'd eventually have to, always baffles me

I'm not sure it's the system, I think it's just the way people are - and by this, I am not entirely excluding myself - that in general people are very good at being ignorant at an amazing amount of things - it's how they function. I know my ability to stay sane relies on me stopping taking notice of everything - something those on the spectrum are good at - ignoring and focusing on the important tasks of the day - eg work college whatever. If someone complains of having difficulty it's far too easy to just say "oh yes I'll deal with that tomorrow" and then forget about it in life's endless chores and challenges. Unless that problem comes back it is likely to be disregarded. You don't have to be aggressive when reminding people, just a simple restatement will do.