accessibility – Astro Autistic

Accommodations, and Putting A Magnifying Glass to Your Flaws

“You have the traits of a great astrophysicist.”

“Oh, thank you!” Don’t let it get to your head.

Continue reading Accommodations, and Putting A Magnifying Glass to Your Flaws

Reduced Course Loads: Cons

In my previous post I discussed some of the advantages of taking a reduced course load in university. Now, it’s time to delve into the disadvantages.

I’ve found that there are a variety of drawbacks to taking a reduced course load.

Reduced Course Loads: Pros

Most of the time, I take two courses per semester. Sometimes I only end up finishing one, and once I managed to finish three. But on average, I have two classes on my schedule at a time.

Why do I take two classes? It’s not because I have a full-time (or even part-time) job. I have no dependents. I’m not taking it easy. I take two classes because it’s generally the maximum amount of work I can handle as a disabled student. So, what are the consequences of this?

Text-to-Speech as an Accommodation

Text-to-speech software can be a lifesaver. I’m not sure if I have dyslexia, but text-to-speech still makes getting through assigned readings a lot more painless. I have a lot of trouble staying focused at the best of times, and partway through a semester is never the best of times. So software like Kurzweil 3000 that highlights words as they’re read to me is immensely helpful.

When it works and when I have access to it, text-to-speech lets me complete my readings within a reasonable amount of time. Maybe not as quickly as an abled student, but much faster than if I was reading it on my own. Three hours of reading can become one hour. A passage I have to reread six or seven times to absorb can be understood after being read two to three times. It’s amazingly helpful— when it works.

Unfortunately, those two qualifiers of “When it works” and “When I have access to it” are seldom satisfied at the same time.

Navigating Disability Services: Formal Diagnosis Required

So… Student disability services. I wouldn’t have passed a single class without them, but that doesn’t make them perfect. Not by a long shot. Let’s just jump right in, shall we? Note: I do not have any physical disabilities, so I can’t speak for how well they accommodate physically disabled students.

An Autistic Love of Physics

It’s hard to describe the relationship I have with physics.

One one hand, it’s a captivating glimpse into the inner workings of the universe. Within the lines of mathematical equations, there is no room for social subtlety or faux-pas. It doesn’t matter if you chew on your eraser while deriving expressions to approximate the densities of celestial objects. Deep understanding of concepts is required in order to use them, so spending your days fixated on newly-learnt ideas and theories puts you at an advantage. Have you ever asked how something worked, and the answer was beyond what you’d ever dreamed was possible? That’s physics.