Published on 12, July, 2020
i’m constanatly overwhelmed. strategies are in place to help me cope, for example; optional time out of class, a different room for exams.
but the “normal” classroom environment is a very overwhelming experience for me. i’m constantly tired and cry most of the day, especially if someone talks to me. i don’t really know why.
i miss out on a lot of learning because my sensory issues cause me to leave or not attend certain classes. i struggle to catch up in my free time and school feels unbearable. my grades are always high but it has a negative impact on my mental health.
i have noise cancelling headphones but i never wear them at school because i get weird looks and i don’t like attention or people looking at me. walking through the corridors is so horribly loud and visually overwhelming that i feel separated from my body, like i’m floating.
does anyone have advice on what i can do to make things easier? it feels hopeless at this point.
It suited me reasonably well. I went from comprehensive schools of 1500+ pupils to a school with about 300. Plus the school I went to was a bit "quirky" anyway by the nature of it, so I stood out a lot less like a sore thumb there. Plus it meant I spent a lot of the year away from home which was quite a good stress reliever for me as well.
i think the video call idea is brilliant! i’ll talk to my guidance teacher about it soon and see if we can set something up.
in planning on taking an online psychology class next year, which hoping will help break up my day and help me cope.
thankfully i’m not being bullied any more!! i’m sorry that happened to you. i’ve also missed a lot of school, although i’ve been going more since the asd diagnosis - it’s helped me in a lot of ways.
private boarding school certainly sounds like an experience!!
As I think someone suggested on the other thread, I think using some sort of video conferencing tech would be the way to go so that you can see the lessons and interact remotely but be in a quieter area. I don't know how feasible that would be though?
Some gentle and discrete ear plugs might help with deadening the general noise outside of the classroom.
I suspect I had very similar difficulties to you, plus was constantly bullied etc. In the end I refused to go to school. That worked out quite well for me in the end though - my local authority paid for me to go to a very small private boarding school for 4 and a half years. That was in the 1980s though and I suspect that sort of thing wouldn't be an option anymore. Plus I missed a lot of school time whilst being assessed and the PTBs worked out what they were going to do. Probably these days I would've also been spotted as being AS then, if not before, rather than finally working it out in my late 40s.
I'll have a ponder and see if I can think of any more suggestions.
Happy to help you.
thank you so much for replying!! it made me feel less alone knowing that there are people that experience the same thing! and thank you for the advice, i’ll definitely be trying it out :)
in an ideal world, i’d have a teacher and quiet space to work - either by my self or with a few other people who had a similar situation to me or at least aren’t disruptive and want to learn. i wouldn’t have to move between classes, therefore avoiding busy corridors.
at the moment, if i take time out from a class and am feeling well enough to do some work, i don’t have a teacher to help me which means i miss out on a lot of the work.
my school has a learning support base which offers similar things to what i need, except it is exceptionally loud and busy!! this obviously not help my situation.
do you have any suggestions?
Hello invisible. Do you have any idea what sort of environment you would need and can you think of some feasible / realistic ways of achieving that?
I suffer from the exact same problem. Try to avoid certain sound frequencies and the sounds within a classroom. Go to somewhere else and take a good breath, ask if you can do the work outside. Maybe take a quick rest at break time, or they could possibly allow you to take a short rest in class time (in or out of the class room). Maybe think of something funny to try and cheer you up and stop you from crying, but if you start crying mid sentence (like I do), try taking a breath then start speaking again.
If that doesn't help your crying, tell someone you feel able to tell, as they may try to help.
If you still can't stop crying, just accept the fact and understand that many other people like you, (including me) suffer from exactly the same thing as you do.