Greetings Earthlings! 😀

Leading on from my previous posts about autism and memory, IQ, and studying, this week I’d like to talk about the topic of autism and academic learning.

First things first, autism is NOT a learning disability. It’s a neurodevelopmental disorder which impacts how our brain develops and the rate at which it develops having an impact on motor learning, social learning, language learning etc. That being said, ASD‘s can be co-morbid with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADHD and dysgraphia.

Everyone’s academic learning journey is unique, especially among autists. Autists can have problems concentrating in classrooms due to sensory sensitivities, issues with social skills can make it harder to interpret teaching cues, and difficulties with executive functioning and information processing can make it hard to process new information.

I’ve always had a passion for academic learning, but even I’ve had my struggles. I struggled hugely with maths in my teenage years. Once letters came into equations I regularly had meltdowns and got overwhelmed when I couldn’t immediately make sense of the topic. One of my most enduring memories of school is throwing my maths book at the wall mid meltdown while doing my homework 🙈

Buuuuuttttt I would usually be able to make sense of the exercises once the meltdown had passed. My teachers unfortunately didn’t understand this (the joys of being undiagnosed) which often made my learning journey challenging. Had I been given the opportunity to work slowly 1:1 with maths, I would have picked topics up a lot quicker.

Everyone’s learning style is different, especially when considering the challenges of autism. There are several different learning styles:

• Visual learning– where learners take in information better visually through pictures, graphs and mind maps to help make connections
• Auditory learning– where learners listen to information for optimal processing
• Verbal learning– using verbal approaches like reading out loud and mnemonic devices
• Reading/writing learning– classical learning approach by reading and writing
• Kinesthetic learning– physical learning by doing tasks or needing to move while learning
• Logical learning– where logic and pattern recognition skills are used to connect concepts
• Social/Interpersonal learning– where you learn best by observing others, and talking and communicating with a social group
• Solitary/Intrapersonal learning– where you just need to be by yourself to learn on your own with no distractions

Sometimes a mix of learning styles can be the best approach- I have employed all of these styles at different points in my life, but I would largely fall into the visual and kinesthetic learner categories. Seeing things drawn out and or doing tasks is often the best way for me to process information. For example, I tend to take notes using coloured pens as the visual stimulation from the colours makes it easier to process and retain the information.

There are so many different ways to learn, it’s just a matter of sitting down and figuring out what kind of learning style works for you, or working out a plan to limit classroom issues like sensory challenges that can derail your learning process. Lot’s of apps and supports are available for autists these days that can help make learning a lot easier.

The key thing is to not get discouraged. No two autists are the same and it can take a while to find what learning style works for you. When I took maths and biostatistics in college, the lectures were overwhelming, but once I sat down to a tutorial session where we worked hands on with the sums in an intimate environment, I flew through the work and got excellent marks in my exams. It takes time, but once you find the right approach, learning can be a breeze 😊

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 🙂

Have a lovely weekend!

Aoife