I just realized that I forgot to write a post about the meeting I had with disability resources about a week ago. Since I live so close, the assistant director of disability resources suggested I come in for a meeting since I knew I would be requesting accommodations. So we set up the meeting, and I just drove on over . The drive over was just fine, but as soon as I got out of the car it started pouring rain! Luckily I had brought my raincoat and I tucked the documentation (a letter from my neurologist and some paperwork from my learning specialist) that I brought under the rain coat and ran to the underpass. My pants were soaked by the time I got to the underpass and the fact that my hands were wet was driving me nuts and making me tic even more! I hate it when one part of my body is wet but the rest of my body is try. It's part of my sensory processing disorder.
There was another girl standing under the underpass getting out her umbrella and I said "it sure is raining out there". It's a new goal of mine to talk to a new person every time I go on campus. If I was in France I would have said "It's raining like a pissing cow!". Haha, that's the French phrase for "its raining cats and dogs". Il pleut comme vache qui pisse!
So anyway the girl asked me if I was a student and I told her that I wasn't but I was a senior in high school and I would be coming to my college ext year. We talked a bit more and when she found out I was looking for Cornerstone (the advanced learning center that houses disability resources, tutoring, and a lot of other learning based things) she said she would be happy to take me there because it was on her way. That was so nice! So the girl walked me to Cornerstone, and shared her umbrella with me, thank goodness! Everyone here is so nice and willing to help out which I absolutely love. I thanked her and then went into the building to wait for my appointment.
The assistant director of disability resources was so nice to me during our meeting! After a while of talking she told me that I seemed like the kind of person who really is good at advocating for myself and that a lot of students have a lot of trouble with that. She told me a lot of students could use my help with self advocacy when I got to college and I told her that maybe when I got to the college I could help them in some way. I really would love this. I love helping others advocate for themselves or feel more supported and less alone. That's a big part of what this blog is all about!
Also the point of the meeting: I'm going to get some great accommodations. None of it is for sure yet, but I will probably have extra time on all tests, quizzes, and exams, a private room for larger exam/test taking when I request one, a smart pen or a note taker, and a calculator for anything that requires math calculation. I have had all of these accommodations before except for the smart pen or note taker. The smart pen is basically a pen that records the lecture while you take notes and when you tap on a word it goes back to re-play that part of the lecture. And a note taker is a student who is the same year in college as I am who sits in my classes and takes notes which they later send to me. Both are accommodations for my disorder of written expression/dysgraphia and for the way my tics can inter-fear with successful note taking. I think both could really help me in terms of my note taking, but we will have to wait and see how it all plays out next year. I find myself using that phrase a lot...that I will have to "wait and see".
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