Good Evening Everyone. Do any of you have experience in trying to handle college-level coursework - post-TBI? Most schools have "disability services" to deal with longer times to complete tests, and extensions for turning in papers…but, how did you deal with the pace of the class itself? How do you keep up with complex and fast-paced activities during the class period?

Hi and welcome. I have taken college courses after my TBI but it was after a NPA came back showing I had recovered from deficits in working memory and executive function.

I think the question to ask is are you ready? If your symptoms include deficits in working memory, mental flexibility, or retrieval of learned information, you may wish to hold off, or just take one class and see how that goes. Accommodations such as extra time for exams won't really help if you aren't ready to process the course content.

Have you had an neuropsychological assessment from a clinical neuropsychologist? You may want to consider that before investing in a full semester of college work.

If you can tell us a little more about when your injury was and what symptoms are currently presenting we can give you a more complete response.

Best to you.

This is perhaps my first TBI post so hi everybody. I was in a massive wreck a few years ago...

The one thing I can add right off the top of my head is... do you have a smartphone to help you stay organized..?
and ,
I found it helpful to turn on a voice recorder to pick up what I couldn't follow. I asked fore permission and put it on the instructors desk. When I went home I listened to it and added what I missed to the notes I took. The biggest benefit was that it reinforced the info... also something I can "lose" easily.
I hope it helps if you raen't doing it already!

Best to you in your studies!

Hana

I got my first concussion during my second semester of college and I made the decision to stay. One semester at a time I faced the challenge and I always knew that if I could not make it I could just move back home with my parents. I took between 18 and 21 credit hours per semester and though my GPA dropped by .7, I made it.
My friends were very accommodating, they would help me by proofreading my papers and helping me by summarizing the readings for me before class. I took as many days as I was permitted off of class to just have mental health days. I would order in and just sit in my completely dark room and sleep or watch a movie or listen to a book for class on tape. I would have a classmate summarize the main points of the class I had missed. Another tip is find a person who takes amazing notes (notes that are helpful for you) and ask to photo-copy them (Or even better if they take notes on their computer ask them to email you a copy so you can add to the notes if you want.) Another important thing is highlight everything that could possibly be important in your readings, it helps with re-reading later for review or will help you with studying for finals.
If you have any other questions, please just PM me.
Good Luck!
In Christ,
~Mary

I had to withdraw from my courses.

My understanding is that pushing it to the point of causing symptoms will cause brain damage, so... sigh.

Wish my luck getting my tuition money back and being ready for re-doing them next year.

Hope your semester goes/went well!

Thanks for this post!

I am currently in grad school. I am supposed to have finals next week and I have assignments due this weekend. I am taking it day by day, and seeing if I'll be able to take them as planned. I also emailed my advisor at school and asked her what's best to do at this point.

Prior to my injury I was taking graduate classes full time and working full time. My accident happened in the middle of a Spring semester. At that point, I took an incomplete in my two classes from that semester and took a medical leave from my university.

The following late spring, I worked to complete my coursework from that incomplete semester. With a lot of help and understanding from my professors, I was able to pass both courses.

I then met with my university's disability resources department. That fall I started taking 3 credits at a time. I meet with my disability advisor prior to the beginning of the semester with the syllabus for the course I'll be taking. Then we come up with a list of accommodations to help me be successful throughout the semester. Some of these have included:
1) Ear plugs to drown out background noise
2) Sunglasses to deal with fluorescent lighting
3) Taking tests in the Disability Office to lessen distractions & extended time for test taking
4) Being able to use a word processor to organize my thoughts for written exams.
5) Tape recording lectures so I can review them later if I had trouble keeping up
6) Being able to miss class, leave class early etc if my symptoms were flaring up, without penalty to my grade.
7) Being able to take breaks from class without penalty, (such as going to the bathroom and sitting in the quiet for a few minutes)
8) Extended completion time on assignments.

I've found most of my professors to be really understanding. (I am however getting a Masters in Special Ed.) Any time I would have a flare in symptoms, (this led to days of migraines, seizures, need for bedrest), all I had to do was email my professors and they were wonderful about letting me get my assignment to them whenever I was feeling better.

I've found that if you reach out to your professors before classes begin, explain your situation and your symptoms, many see this as you taking responsibility and therefore are accommodating if you start to run into trouble.

Hope that helps. You won't know until you try it. I will say, I was shocked by how the environment of my university, (urban campus, large classes sizes, fluorescent lighting really wore me down at first). Think about this as well, before you decide if you are ready.

I'm glad your professors are understanding.

Mine... well, one said I could have a 3 day extension on an assignment while I got better, and that's it, and the other refused any accommodation even after doctors notes came in.

Engineering ^^

I am with SmilinEyes I get ADA help when I am able to go to school. I have had to take breaks because of antidepressant failure and medication changes (which is not a nice thing to go threw). Now that my body has cleared antidepressants in it I feel better! My psychiatrist put me on a new regimen for ADD.

So I am trying school again to finish my Master's after a break since December 2013. So far I have had the energy, motivation but the concentration is on it's own schedule of mid day hours. The Instructors are very understanding so that takes off that pressure. I am thankful for my tape recorder because it's my best friend lol. I can only take one class at a time.

I get feeling sometimes overwhelmed with just one class. I still get headaches when I do get to concentrate. I look at it as a brain workout, cognitive therapy!No pain No gain. I sometimes get work and it will seem so familiar and I can talk it out but I cannot put in words on paper. My mind goes blank. I use the tape recorder for this reason as well.

It seems like I can make it threw writing a paper and get a good grade! BUT AFTER I CANNOT REMEMBER what the paper consisted of. Eeeek

Does anyone else have this problem?

SOAK- You need to contact your University's Disability Resources Office. You don't need to have a "disabled" label but rather they usually just ask for some basic documentation from your doctor.

They help you come up with accommodations and work arounds. They also then write your professors to make them aware of what you need, why you need it and will help out of if your professors are resistant.

Your academic advisor should be able to help you contact the right people.

I had a really hard time accepting that I needed this kind of help, but once I contacted them, I realized I couldn't be successful without it.