Hi,

I'm curently taking Broadcasting-TV, Lately however i've been experiencing some problems for example one my profesors was reading my report i handed into him and he said i can't make any sense what your saying in your report.

The next thing to happen to me is three of my professors, and the program cordinator called me in to meet with them since there conerned about

a)my group participation and what my group members said in there peer evaluations.

b)the fact that nobody wants to be in the studio when i'm around.

It was at that moment i reveled to them that i has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

The problem is they where saying this is just the begining and there will be more group work to come, as 80% of the program is group or teamwork related.

when it comes to productions my profesors are conerned that when its my turn to take the role of director nobody is going to work with me and everybody will leave.

An its up to me whether or not i should countinue in this program.

They where sugesting that karren, my special support teacher make the class more awer of this conditon, in the hope of the class

will better understand, but like i was saying "its up to me" and the class has already gained the reputaion of being the noiseist class among the three classes.

and its sorta a hard program to get into as sugested by the cordinator, they only accept 72 applicants a year.

should i countinue or should i change programs??? I like the program, but as for team work i'm not to sure if it will work or not.

Do scriptwriting instead. It gives you complete creative control over what you do and if you do it right you can add the camera directions into it too.

I visit a forum called the Aspie Hangout. It's restricted to adults with the syndrome and you may be able to find some suggestions there.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/aspies/start

You have to request access to the whole forum and special access even after that, to certain folders (I'd wait a bit before visiting them, controversial stuff, I chose not to access them). You don't even have to have a formal diagnosis; I'm self-diagnosed. Good luck.

Hi,
As a student with an autism spectrum disorder, I feel your frustration. What if you did a write-up about how AS impacts you and share it with your teachers? They need to understand, regardless of whether you remain in the program. I'm upset they were so condesending. That makes me sick. I had a teacher ask me why I was in the class if participation wasn't my strong point. This still makes me mad. Maybe you'd like broadcast journalism or a more writing-intensive program? Hang in there. You have a good approach.

One trait that will make you absolutely successful in broadcasting is the likelihood that as an aspie your vocabulary is probably FAR more advanced than the average DJ or TV reporter, my dad did reporting for a long long time. People like that. Congratulations for reaching for high end goals in your career. I've often run into painful moments in life esp in HS when teachers were rude and condescending when I bring up my concerns on this issue. Ive also taken up previous successfull runs with scary jobs like Waiting Tables at busy restaurants and Modeling. With Asperger's one of the forefront symptoms is that social fear and "stumbling" when it comes to interacting. I personally feel most SSRIs do not work well for this particular symptom. For me personally, myself a borderline Aspie, Mild doses of Adderall combined with 150mg of Wellbutrin has really seemed to restore my social "flow" especially when it comes to speech and interaction so this is something youd want to discuss with your Doc. I dont know if Ritalin would be as effective as some may find its social side effects to be contra to Adderall. Just to throw this in on the side, dunno if this applies but I believe Marijuana is probably the worst thing one can take as an aspie... unlike most people who find calmness in smoking ganga, Aspies tend to be sent into a state of magnified panic and social fear especially after smoking sessions that occur within hours of their work or school. I've had a legal weed card for a long time and really have cut back on my smoking of pot for this reason (I was a big stoner in early college)

So the ultimate goal you really want to attain is to be able to, as comfortably and smoothly as possible, merge into a work scenario or school function without anyone readily detecting that you have aspergers. Over time (at least in my case) it shows, but by then you're ensconsed and considered a lively character in the family!!!. You can disclose ur condition but wait for a few months once u got the hang of it down. Though many employers encourage this in policy, Announcing up front at the start that you have a particular disability often raises a red flag among the group as humans naturally on first impression would worry "will this guy be an expensive employee"?

So all the wonderful things involved in aspergers like the dopamine release from repetitive movements to music (my headbanging ) and the enjoyment of random little things in life that normal people miss out on are great. Its just that pesky social thing YOU KNOW YOU CAN WORK THROUGH!!!

If this is what you really want to do, don't give up. You'll get it figured out.

I wanted to be a lawyer. I had many people tell me I would never make it. I made it. And I've been practicing for 10 years. Successfully, I might add.

Oh, forgot to say: I have ADHD and Asperger's.

Don't let them make you feel like you should give up. As amhealy said, if it's your dream to work in this area then don't let it go. And when you succeed, because you will, your success will be the sweeter because you got there 'despite' everything. Your course is highly selective (I did my undergrad degree in Film Production on a course that only selected 25 out of 1000 applicants), so you have already shown that you have the ability and talent to do the course. Don't let go of that fact - you're good!

I'm going through something similar with my uni at them moment so I know how you feel. I know that giving up would make life a lot easier. But then how will I feel knowing that I gave up on an important ambition? I am willing to admit that for me a very strong motivator is "I'll show them! I'll let them see that I am much better than they ever gave me credit for!" Some people might say that's childish. I don't care. We have a far more difficult path than 'they' have and so anything that we can utilise to push us to that end goal should be grabbed onto with both hands.

You don't say where you're from, I'll guess USA as you mentioned professors (in the UK lecturers are only profs when they are promoted, after application and interview process, that's why they like going to the USA to lecture as they get to be called profs without the nightmare process!). I should think that the law is very similar to here - they can not refuse you a place at uni or a job because of a disability (I know that there are exceptions, severe vertigo and cleaning the windows of a skyscraper would not be a good mix), and if they do you have a case for discrimination. You have disclosed your Asperger's, they should now go about supporting your studies so that you there is a level playing field between you and the rest of the course members.

On a practical note, scriptwriting is a good suggestion - without the words, whether fact or fiction, there is no product. Or perhaps editing? Another critical role!

Good luck!!