View Single Post
 
Old Aug 07, 2016, 01:52 AM
Miswimmy1's Avatar
Miswimmy1 Miswimmy1 is offline
~ wingin' it ~
 
Member Since: Aug 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 3,791
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJace2u View Post
Well, I start back to school in about 3 weeks and I'm already dreading it. I usually take a class during the summer, but with everything that's been happening with my mental status I decided it was best to take a break. Now that it's almost time for fall semester to start I'm beginning to freak out a little. Part of me knows that I should inquire about getting special accommodations for things like test taking, but I'm embarrassed at the same time. All my life I went through school just coasting by, never seeking accommodations for anything (even though I have a legit disability that I was born with). I guess my pride and ego got in the way, hence my grades suffered drastically in high school and I barely graduated. Up until about a year and a half ago I was doing pretty well and then all of a sudden the s*** hit the fan as it were and my grades drastically dropped and I even failed a few classes. I just don't know what to do.
I feel ya with not wanting to go back to school. I'm starting to anticipate it a little bit as well.

I definitely urge you to seek out accommodations. Don't be embarrassed. Mental health and/or learning disabilities is a legit reason. If you had a physical disability, and needed accommodations to help you get to and from class, you wouldn't have any hesitation to get the modifications that you need. Think of your mental health in the same way.

I am a college student who recently received a bipolar II diagnosis. Prior to that, I was receiving accommodations already for ADHD. I wasn't sure if I was going to want or need accommodations but thought it would be best to get established with the disabilities center in the case that I needed them. You can always opt not to use them - in most colleges, you disclose to your professors what you want them to know. If you don't say anything, the center isn't going to tell them so no will ever know. But having accommodations approved and in place if you need them might give you a little bit of room to breathe.

Also - if you are in a decent sized school, no one is going to even recognize that you have accommodations. Most of my classes last year had hundreds of people in those lectures. When I would take my exams separately, no one would even notice I wasn't present, except friends that I had in the class. And I felt comfortable telling those friends about where I was. On the whole, professors were more than willing to arrange the necessary accommodations. I was granted extra time on exams and tests and a private testing space. As for in class accommodations, I was allowed to use/was provided with note-taking aids such as a Smart Pen that allowed me to record lectures and sync the audio to my handwritten notes, a transcript of which could be uploaded as a typed copy that could then be annotated/printed/rearranged/etc. I was also allowed priority class registration (meaning that I had first dibs of signing up for my classes). And in one instance last year, was able to get a waiver that allowed me to take a class on a pass/no pass basis. Little things like this were helpful in cases that I was having an "off" day, or especially when I was changing my medication regimen and was feeling very out of sorts.

I really urge you to seek out whatever help you need. I think you will be happy that you did - even if you don't end up needing/using whatever you are given permission for.
__________________
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.
Hugs from:
Wild Coyote
Thanks for this!
Wild Coyote