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.

Navigating College with Autism: Great News! An “A” On My Process Analysis Essay

I have some great news to announce! On my Process Analysis Essay for English class, I recieved an A! That grade shows that I do have the ability to get an A on a college paper. At the end of the day, it just comes down to me really applying myself. My mom helped out by proofreading my paper after I proofread it. She does a great job catching mistakes that I don’t even see, which also  helps me to improve my writing even more. My mom always has excellent suggestions and advice. During last semester’s English class, the highest grade I recieved was a B. So far I am off to a great start! On my Process Analysis essay I wrote about what it takes to be a successful blogger. I went into many details about how to start a blog and how to promote your blog effectively. I knew I was headed in the right direction with this paper, when I got an A on the outline and thesis portion of the assignment. Right now I feel like I am on fire! In the near future, I just need to continue to follow the directions and the format. Also, most importantly, I need to continue to work hard.

Photo by laurenatclemson

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.

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

Growing Up With Autism – My Story

Preschool Puppet Show (That's me on the left with the white shirt)

I was diagnosed with PDD (within the Autism spectrum disorder) at the age of 4. I am very thankful that my mom got me the help I needed at an early age. I remember having trouble socializing and struggling with my hand eye coordination at this age, which was during the time I was enrolled in a wonderful preschool. I say “wonderful” because the teachers were very caring and tried give me the help I needed. More about that in a future  blog…

 

I had trouble writing, drawing, and doing things with my hands. Socially and emotionally I didn’t know how to relate to other children. I had issues understanding other children’s feelings and emotions. Throughout preschool and early elementary school I struggled to find common ground with other students. Making friends did not come naturally to me and I was unsuccessful in developing connections. I felt completely apart from my peers. I felt like I was on another stratosphere or from another planet.

Academically and socially I was very far behind the “regular” students. But compared to many kids with autism I was higher functioning. I was actually the role model in my kindergarten class. Unlike many autistic children, I felt  compassion and showed many emotions such as happiness, gratitude, humor, concern and of course sadness. I gave eye contact and smiled at people. At first glance, I appeared to be a normal, happy little boy. However, deep down I was constantly struggling with all kinds of emotions. I felt very sad, depressed and lonely. I did not understand why kids didn’t like me. I did not understand myself by any stretch of the imagination. I had no idea what my strengths and weaknesses were.

As a young boy with autism, I was discovering myself. I was trying to figure out who I truly was. I had many obstacles in my way and many challenges. I had tremendous difficulty doing ordinary tasks such as tying my shoelaces, writing with a pencil, coloring, cutting with scissors, using glue. Any task that involved using my hands ended up being very troublesome. I had dramatic behavior problems. I used to have many temper tantrums, which resulted from my anger and frustration at not being able to do all of the things that other kids were doing effortlessly. Fortunately, I had a tremendous amount of help and support from my mom, teachers, therapists, etc.

More to come…

Introduction – A College Student with Autism

My name is Matt. I’m 18 years old and just starting college, which is wildly exciting considering my early childhood diagnosis of PDD (pervasive developmental delay within the autism spectrum).

This is the first of what I hope will be many interesting and insightful blog posts. My intention is to be as honest and forthcoming as I can in order to hopefully shed some light on what it is like to be an autistic college freshman. I’ll also be reminiscing about my preschool, elementary, middle and high school years in order to share what I went through,  how I got here and hopefully inspire other kids diagnosed with autism and encourage them to never give up.