I’m Baaaaacccck!

Guess who’s back! Back again. Matt is back! Tell a friend. Hello everyone! It has been such a long time since I last updated this blog. There has been an incredible amount that has taken place in my life since I last posted on here. I would like to apologize in advance for going so long without updating this marvelous blog. It is going to take me some time to think of everything that has taken place in my life since I last posted.

I have had many epic adventures and blessings that have taken place in the last three years. At the same time, I have gone through my fair share of trials and tribulations. I have learned that you can never take anything for granted in life. I have learned many important lessons in the last couple of years that have ultimately shaped my character and resilience.

The best news I can tell you all about right now is that I just completed my Associates Degree. This is such an improbable and amazing accomplishment for me in my life. I have had to literally fight for this degree. Working hard to overcome my deficiencies in math and working to manage my learning disability was certainly quite a challenge. I went through years of stress and anxiety trying to get through this portion of my college career.

I will now will be transferring to Florida Atlantic University where I will be majoring in Special Education. I am extremely excited about entering this new chapter in my life! It is going to be a fantastic educational journey for me. I have so much hope and optimism for the future. The future is going to be so bright that I will need sunglasses!!

Anyways I will be posting on a regular basis with the goal of inspiring young adults who have autism related disorders. I also want to provide hope for parents, teachers, mental health advocates and professionals along with others who want to help someone they know who has been diagnosed with autism.

Talk to you all later

Matt Blue

Study Strategies for College Students with Learning Disabilities

I came up with a list of study strategies that i think are very effective. These strategies will help you to remember the information that you study and I  guarantee you will get a good grade on any test or quiz. Studying is so vital and imperative if you want to achieve successs in any college level class.

The Following is a list of 2o preparation strategies that can help any college student with any kind of learning disability. I know they have worked very well for me. Hopefully you will find these steps to be helpful and beneficial.

 
1. Study ahead of time and give yourself plenty of time to study please dont cram or procrastinate. It is a good idea to study the material days ahead of time. If you put it off until the last minute, you will suffer the consequences.
2. Study one hour in the morning, one hour during the day and one hour at night. Spread the amount of time you spend studying. If you try to study for hours at a time, you will only tire yourself out mentally. If you have multiple classes to study for spend an hour each on one class at a time. Make sure you take plenty of breaks in between because when you return to studyng you will have more mental energy.
3. Rewrite your notes- Rewriting your notes will help you to memorize the information. Mentally you are able to remember facts terms and definitions that you write on paper. Studies have been done to support the writing memorization theory. Also my secret weapon for memorization is to repeat what i am trying to memorize out loud to myself. Believe me, this works extremely well.
4. Read the chapter. Reading the chapter will help you to truly understand the material.
5. Work in a study group and have your friends or classmates quiz you.
6. Have a positive attitude and make studying a positive experience.
7. Relax and have fun- This happens to be very important because if you are too stressed out or nervous, i gurantee that you wont do well. All you have to do is visualize yourself getting a good grade and you must believe in yourself.
8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – I encourage you to ask for help. Go to your Professor’s office hours, ask a classmate or someone who has taken the course, and you can go to the resources center for help.
9. Create Powerpoints and Excel Spreadsheets- This is an excellent way to document the information you need to study. If you are a visual learner this is can be a helpful way to study.
10. Get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast
11. Watch tutorials and videos on the particular subject matter.
12 Make sure you take good notes in class
13. Simplify the information and think of tricks and hints which will help you to retain the information you are studying. For example, try to make some type of connection which will help you to easily remember something.
14. Take advantage of the study guide if a Professor gives you one. Let me let you in on a little secret. Most of the time all of the information that is on the study guide covers everything that you will see on the test. As a result a study guide is a cause for celebration. If you get a study guide, then that means you have a very nice Professor.
15. Find a quiet place to study- Therefore, you will be able to reach your peak concentration.
16.Prioritize your assignments- When studying, get yourself in the habit of studying for your most difficult subject first. Therefore, you will have plenty of energy to spend time and concentrate on your strong and enjoyable subjects.
17. Create a to do list and keep a planner
18. Organize your notes
19. test yourself

 
20.Repeat the term and definition back to yourself- This is an excellent study strategy that can really help you memorizes the information your studying. Repeating the term and the definition to yourself again and again may seem a little tedious and tiring. However I can guarantee you that it is extremely effective. It will increase your memorization and understanding for the material.

Seven Tips to Help You Get a Good Grade on Your College English Paper

I’d like to share with you some writing strategies to increase your chances of getting a good grade on your college English paper. They worked for me!

– Start working on your paper as early as possible.

– If you have the choice of choosing your own topic, select a topic you are passionate about and also make sure you have a significant amount of knowledge on that topic.

– Spend time on prewriting.  It is important to invest a good amount of time brainstorming or free writing, which includes just getting your thoughts and ideas down on paper. Also, it is important to spend time creating a web or a concept map. Think everything through and don’t be intimidated by the length, the elaborate topic, the requirements, or even the professor.

– Focus on organization. Make sure you have a strong thesis statement; make sure you use transitions frequently; make sure your hook and your intro is strong; make sure your body paragraphs introduce and discuss the ideas in your thesis. Lastly, make sure your conclusion is strong and developed.

– Dont bore the reader or the professor to death. Make your paper as interesting as possible by using strong verbs and adjectives.

– Spend a good amount of time proofreading your paper!

– Most importantly, have fun, relax and enjoy the writing process! Your thoughts will come together more clearly and you will be able to be more creative if you are not worried about the outcome.

photo by English106

Life as a College Student with Autism – Some Regrettable News About My Grades

Unfortunately, I have some very regrettable news to share with you all. My final grades were recorded over the winter break and I finished with two grades of a D in both my English 1101 class and my Computer Literacy class. I was very heartbroken and devastated when the moment of truth arrived.

My first semester turned into a complete disaster because of my procrastination and laziness. I have no one else to blame but myself. I did not put in the necessary amount of hard work that is required to succeed in college. I had a tremendous amount of difficulty keeping up with the assignments.

As far as my English class went, I wrote a quality research paper and a quality final term paper; however, I ended up turning both papers in late. I just wasn’t diligent enough with my work. I feel extremely bad about the way I behaved, and when I reflect back to last semester I am astonished about my overall nonchalant attitude.

From my Freshman to Junior Year of High School I was a very hard-working and dedicated student. I was committed to excellence. Then all of a sudden during my Senior year, I became a procrastinator and I developed bad habits.   However, in High School I always managed to get A’s and B’s  on a consistent basis, excluding math, of course, which has always been my downfall and major weak point.  The biggest difference was that I was able to compensate for the senioritis!

In college the most important measure of success is based on  the amount of work the student puts in. During the beginning of the first semester, which is documented in my previous posts, I had a very positive attitude and I was also extremely motivated. Then all of a sudden something changed on the inside and it started showing on the outside. I started thinking it was okay to miss classes and I stopped working hard. I turned into the senioritis student all over again! 

I am on academic probation with my Vocational Rehab and if this trend continues, I could be in major trouble with Broward College. Right now I need to look at myself in the mirror, and I need a serious reality check. I am going to make some significant changes and I am going to make sure that I become the student that I have been and that I still want to be.

I will never give up on myself, and I know for a fact that I am very intelligent, and I know I have what it takes to be successful. I have disappointed and let everyone down in my life. This is a very emotional blog for me to write, due to how melancholy I feel. It’s all about asserting myself and becoming the college student I know I can become.  I have finally awakened from a terrible nightmare and I am ready to accomplish my goals and dreams!

Photo by kundl

Navigating College With Autism – Working Hard On My Research Paper!

I am currently working on a research paper which is on a comparison/contrast movie review. The movie I decided to do it on is Slumdog Millionaire, since it won the Academy Award for best picture of the year in 2008. I have done an extensive amount of research for this paper. You are required to document your sources through parenthetical documentation. It is imperative to use direct quotes, paraphrases and block quotes in the research paper. I have completed my Works Cited page, a detailed outline showing evidence, and I wrote the first two paragraphs for my rough draft.

When I was younger, I never imagined myself in a million years, writing a research paper in college! It is truly amazing when I think about it! As a parent, by getting your child the neccessary early help and intervention, you can have hope that maybe one day your child will be writing a research paper in college. As a college freshman, I have gone through my fair share of trials and tribulations, but I am committed to never giving up and I am maintaining a positive attitude.

Photo from masterorz

Autism: The Importance of Early Diagnosis and Intervention

Autism is defined as a severe developmental disorder that begins at birth. Autistic children look perfectly normal in appearance; however, they typically engage in disturbing and confusing behaviors. For many years autism was considered to be very rare. Now 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with autism. Boys also outnumber girls four to one.

I was diagnosed with PDD (within the autism spectrum) at the age of 4 in 1994. My mom got me all the help she could, including speech therapy, play therapy, and occupational therapy. It was like a full-time job for her! But she says that she wishes she would have known even earlier, that I could have been getting help from the time I was 2 years old.  Today there is so much more awareness, information and help out there for parents of autistic children. Early intervention is extremely important. Don’t wait. Get your child all the help you can as early as possible.

Photo by ali edwards

Tutoring Help From TRIO Grant Program

I feel very privileged to have such an outstanding math tutor. She has a tremendous amount of knowledge about all of the different algebraic concepts. The Trio tutoring program is a great program for students with disabilities. It is so nice to have such a knowledgeable one-on-one tutor free of charge. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for students with disabilities to have the opportunity to get the necessary tutoring help they need. My tutor has been very patient so far and she is very caring and understanding as well. She is in the Nova Southeastern University Medical Program and has a passion for math. Currently, I am doing some extra pre-algebra practice, which will help prepare me for the class I will be taking next semester. My tutor is very dedicated towards helping me achieve my goals.

The TRIO Grant Program

I have some great news! I have been selected to participate in the Office of Disability Services TRIO Grant Program. The Trio Grant program is a federally funded program designed to assist students with disabilities in being successful at Broward College. This program can help you get you’re A.A degree within two years. The goal of the program is to get you into a four-year college or university. I am honored to be one of fifty students selected for this program. The TRIO Grant offers one-on-one specialized tutoring, technology support, mentoring, tracking services that support your academic success, Specialized Career Awareness Assessments and Financial Aid assistance.

This program should help me out tremendously in my pursuit towards my academic goals. I am looking forward to the tutoring help that I will be receiving. This appears to be a very good program.

Navigating College with Autism: The Importance of Advocating for Yourself

I cannot even begin to tell you how imperative it is to advocate for yourself in college, especially for students with disabilities. College is not like High School where teachers and support facilitators are constantly checking up on how you’re doing. In college you are completely on your own. Basically I saved myself just very recently by advocating for myself.

I was academically misplaced into the wrong math class. I knew something was up because the material was extremely difficult for me, right from the get-go. I was placed into Elementary Algebra when really I was supposed to be in a class called MAT002, which is a prerequisite to Elementary Algebra. I went directly to my disability services specialist and I told her that I was really struggling and falling behind in that class. She promptly looked up my test scores and realized that they placed me into a higher level class. If I had not scheduled an appointment to talk with her about my struggles in this course, the consequences could have been big. By speaking up for myself, I got switched into the correct class for next semester. In conclusion, people are always willing to help you in college as long as you are willing to speak up for yourself.

 

College as an Autistic Student – My First Month

I have some very good news to share with you all:  My first month of college has gone extremely well overall.  I have officially transitioned into a college student psychologically and emotionally.

The first couple weeks is all about getting used to your classes and becoming familiar with what the campus has to offer. It’s the feeling-out stage. For example, you should use this time to get familiar with your classes and your professors’ teaching styles and philosophies, make sure you are organized, make sure you’re spending enough time outside of class studying, find out about clubs and organizations you can join, and manage your time wisely.

I cannot emphasize enough how important managing your time wisely is. There is no way you can get good grades in college without studying and putting the necessary time and effort into your work. The strategy I have implemented is to get all of my work and studying completed in the school library.  This works well for me because, once I get home,  I tend to get totally distracted by television, Facebook, you tube, fantasy football, music, desiring a good nap, etc. All of the energy is drained out of me as soon as I get home after a long day of classes.

Yes, I have a confession to make! I can be the ultimate procrastinator! I consider myself to be a highly motivated person, meaning of course I want to get good grades and do well; however, it is my nature to get very lackadaisical at home. I am so much more focused when I am at school! I highly recommend this strategy of getting as much done in the library as you can possibly get done. I guarantee you that you will feel better about yourself once you accomplish everything you need to get done, instead of procrastinating or putting your homework off till later.

photo by wohnai