Gifted underachiever with Asperger's needing a better outlook on school & life

Parents Forum Learning Differences and Challenges - LD, ADHD
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<p>Currently, I am a senior at a local (Fort Worth, TX area) high school. For the last couple of years, I began to lose interest in school, and obviously, my grades suffered. (I used to make As and Bs in 9th and 10th grades) This loss in interest stemmed from many factors, originally because people teased me (somewhat) and touched me in an inappropriate manner at school. As I began to miss school, I lost interest in performing well academically, and I also got retained a year due to my low attendance.</p>

<p>Since I will graduate high school soon, it is too late to fix most aspects of my high school career. As a result, I do not plan to try to gain admission into a 4-year university at the moment; rather, I will start out at the local community college, and then transfer to a university later. I will only take one class at first, due to expert advice I received recently.</p>

<p>Regardless of how many classes I take, I have noticed that I need better organization skills, not to mention the ability to get on task when it comes to classwork. (I get distracted by things I want to do; some of which are actually productive, but distracting nonetheless) I want to buy Cal Newport's book "How to Become a Straight-A Student," since it covers study skills used by successful college students. But I tend to resist change, especially when it keeps me from doing what I want to do. </p>

<p>Some of my target goals for the next few years include (but are not limited to): getting a good GPA in college, participating in more extracurricular / volunteer activities, and trying to find original ideas for autism therapy research. (I will elaborate on the last one)</p>

<p>Seeing as I hear so many things about how participating in research activities will positively affect university admissions, I realized that I need to find a way to get involved with research. I think autism therapy research (especially as it pertains to language acquisition in people with autism) would make a good research field for me to enter; seeing as I have Asperger's Syndrome myself, I can relate to some of the problems that people with autism face, and I know a little about some of the underlying issues. However, I would need an original idea to present to a university professor. (or other researcher) To meet that goal, I probably should learn an inventive / creative problem solving method, such as TRIZ or USIT, as those techniques have been known to generate original ideas; not to mention read more autism therapy-related research material. Other than what I already stated, does someone know where (and how) to start on such an endeavor?</p>

<p>P.S.: does anyone have any techniques for dealing with classwork-associated stress and deep procrastination?</p>

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<p>Bmix, sounds like a mature attitude you’ve acquired and I congratulate you. It’s never too late in life: we all move on our on trajectory, sometimes slow, sometimes faster but it’s uniquely ours. </p>

<p>While you’re still in high school, is there any way you can take advantage of their staff who work with LD/Asperger’s so you don’t go it so alone? Then too, many community colleges have staff for helping new students. Also, there are online sites which may guide you wrt the research you’ve proposed. I hope you can work with a professional, be they city public health or private to address the stress and procrastination issues. Sometimes when you’re not functioning as well as you’d like to be, depression feeds the procrastination and stress, so it’s important to talk with a professional, learned on LD. Often the circle can be broken between their guidance, fellow LD support, new tools and medication.</p>

<p>Good luck to you. And thanks for the tip on the book title!</p>