How to Be a Good Autistic or Special Needs Student

Do you want to be the best student in class, in school, in the country, or in the entire universe while being disabled? It can definitely happen. Build upon your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and show the world how incredible you are.

Steps

Every single most successful student paid attention in class. You won't learn anything if you're zoning out while your teacher is talking about the Revolutionary War, even if it is boring.
Remember it is important to ask for help whenever you need it, especially when you're struggling to understand an assignment. Remember when you're having trouble with an assignment. Be sure to ask your teacher about accommodations if needed.
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The teacher won't think less of you. Teachers want to hear questions. Look at it this way: those who ask questions demonstrate an engagement with the material and a desire to understand it better. If you're nonverbal, you can ask questions via email, written notes, sign language, etc.
Befriending other disabled people can be really helpful, since you can exchange coping tips and sympathize with each other. However, don't limit your social circles either: consider making friends from other walks of life! Their perspective may teach you a lot about the world, just as you may have much to teach them. Girls and boys, blacks and whites, special and non-specials should all be friends.
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Remember that there's no shame in having a disability! Being different is hard sometimes, but it also means that you have a lot to offer. Neurodiversity is a blessing to the world.
- There is no shame in things that come along with disabilities, either: therapy, IEPs, asking for accommodations, etc. You face challenges that most of your peers don't, and these are tools that help you overcome and minimize them. You are okay the way you are.
For example, the Autism Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women's Network, both of which are run by autistic people, teach self-advocacy skills and ways to adjust to a neurotypical world. The autism community also has a large network of bloggers and social network users. These people can teach you.
Reading can give you more things to learn and talk about. Reading can also help you become more well-rounded as well.
For example, if you have trouble making friends, it may be good to recognize that you will never have an enormous social circle like your dad's. This frees you from constantly spending energy on pointless tasks. Pick your priorities, and realize that sometimes it's okay to quit. This will give you more energy to focus on school and things that make you happy. You don't have to match other people's expectations.
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Try to get along with your teachers and therapists. They are here to help you.
- However, if you are being abused, speak out. You do not deserve abusive therapy, and the fact that you're disabled doesn't make it okay. Therapists should never hold you down, coerce you, hit you, pinch you, yell at you, withhold food, lock you in empty rooms, use electric shocks, or ignore you if you tell them that their tactics are distressing you.^{[1]XResearch source}^{[2]XResearch source} Tell someone if you're being hurt or mistreated. You don't deserve this, and you have every right to speak out.
This is a way to know other students better, and learn more about your favorite interests. Following a career path related to your special interests is a way to become happy (and successful) for the rest of your life.
Stimming helps many autistic people focus.^{[3]XResearch source} However, make sure that any stimming or other activity you're doing is enhancing your learning, not distracting you from it. Pick something discrete and effective. If you're worried about disrupting other students' concentration, try stimming underneath your desk (e.g. holding a tangle in one hand on your lap or silently jiggling your feet).
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Talk to your teachers or professors about your special needs. There's nothing wrong with asking for accommodations to help you do well in class. Doctors and therapists can offer suggestions of things that would help you. Things such as clear written instructions, extra time on tests, bringing your laptop to take notes, and a classroom aide are all examples of reasonable accommodations.
- If you are denied necessary accommodations, talk to the school about it. You always have the right to be educated.
With things like therapy, meltdowns, sensory overload, and the regular trials of family life, life can be hectic at times. Completing your homework right away can help take some load off your chest. And if it turns out that your day is open, then that means you have free time for the rest of the afternoon!
Explain that while you are disabled, you aren't any younger than your peers, and they can treat you like the young adult that you are. A lot of disability rhetoric focuses on parents, which means that sometimes people forget that autism and other disabilities don't vanish when the person reaches age 18. If you have trouble with difficult face-to-face conversations, try scripting what you want to say, or writing a letter or email.
Sometimes, being disabled will bring you down. Dealing with non-disabled people can be rough. They may make you feel useless or inferior. Remember that disability stereotypes say nothing about you, only about the people who create them.
You are a strong and intelligent student, special needs and all.
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Tips

Find role models with special needs. For example, American actress Daryl Hannah,^{[4]XResearch source} Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby,^{[5]XResearch source} English actor and filmmaker Paddy Considine,^{[6]XResearch source} Mexican animator and filmmaker Jorge Gutierrez,^{[7]XResearch source} Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins^{[8]XResearch source} and many others^{[9]XResearch source}^{[10]XResearch source} are autistic.
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Building in extra time to your schedule can help reduce stress and make sure you have the time to face any unexpected difficulties. Try to wake up and leave for school early.
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Special needs don't mean that you can't be successful. While it's true that some disabled people can't hold down jobs, everyone has something to offer—whether it's as simple as love or as nuanced as the theory of relativity.
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