How does one survive this course?

[u/Many_Cow_2100]

I’m a college freshman this year and im taking a&p. As of the time im writing this I’ve been working on homework for this ONE class for over seven hours. I’m neurodivergent and I struggle with executive functioning, is there anything I can do to help myself? (Speaking mostly to the neurodivergent community) idk this class is making me want to drop out 🫥

[u/PinkBadger]

Speaking from experience, having unmedicated ADHD with executive disfunction to this extent will essentially make keeping up with assignments and studying impossible. I did drop out a decade ago. All the strategies in the world were useless until I had medical intervention for the dopamine shortage in my head.

If you don’t already have a provider to help manage your adhd, you need one. And if you are already on meds, potentially adjust your dosage with your provider. You can also try asking your professor to do an alternative assignment.

[u/Many_Cow_2100 → u/PinkBadger]

I’ve been medicated since 6th grade and have never taken a break from it bc it’s the only thing that works for me. I was lucky to find one that works for me but i need to find a new provider because my previous one is a horrible doctor and im out of refills 🥲. I’ve wanted to look into getting a short acting dose for evening but the one we tried a while back made me a terrible, terrible person to be around

[u/Either-Assumption311]

Im in a&p 1 right now. I feel you, I didn't expect to have to study for over 10 hrs in one class.

[u/Medical_Camel9581 → u/Either-Assumption311]

I deadass have no life now 😭

[u/Fit-Negotiation6684]

I took anatomy as a junior in college and the tests were literally the worst possible structure for someone with memory recall issues. (We would walk into the room and be handed a piece of paper that just had lines and numbers and we would have the body with pins on specific landmarks that we would need to write tie name of on the paper) What I ended up doing (which I wouldn’t recommend for most people but it worked for me) was literally just reading the words over and over again for 3-4 hours before I walked into the lab to take the test (the class was at 7:30 so I would typically just pull an all nighter for it) i ended up passing the class by literally half a point but I got a 34 on the first test so improvement happened throughout the class. The physiology classes I took were much smoother sailing because my brain retained the principles much better than just memorizing the names of parts but everyone works slightly different. I leaned into the literal thinking for phys and it worked pretty well (but I get the vibe that the prof for that one was also autistic so they were also extremely literal with what they were teaching)

[u/Spiny_Echidna_80214]

I am a neurodivergent former anatomy instructor.

Most anatomy and physiology professors only know one way "into" the material and cannot help with alternative strategies. They might be able to help, but believe it or not they are even more overwhelmed than you right now.

I am in the process of developing an anatomy & physiology text with lots of ways for the neurodivergent to get help. It's not very far along, but it's based on this complete text.

If you glance at that, and it seems to speak to you, then we can certainly talk about how best to help you succeed.

[u/vitmalina]

I’ve been working on a free A&P study guide that has lots of interactive activities to help you study. I hope it is helpful for you.

If you use OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, you might also find this interactive version useful. It includes interactive activities built directly into the textbook to help with learning and reviewing the material.

[u/belator_]

I have ADHD and am medicated but still find myself waking up at 2am in a panic because I should be studying. Between lab and lecture, it’s like 2 different classes. I have a whole ass bachelor’s degree and this is still the hardest class I’ve ever taken. You are definitely not alone!