So, today was a very fun and educational day. I went back to the university where I spoke a couple of weeks ago, to sit in on one of the classes' final presentations. (Yes, they only had a little over two weeks to design and build their final light fixture.) I was blown away by how creative and well produced the luminaires were, when the students had such a short time to develop them. I hope to be able to see the final designs for the other class later this year.
Prior to seeing the students' final presentations, the professor and I had a lovely chat over lunch. One thing I should mention before going on any further is that the website host I use here shows me statistics for what search terms people use when search engines relay them here. One phrase that caught my attention was, "How to tell professor about misophonia." As I've mentioned in previous posts, I want to help others that are affected by misophonia (whether directly, or indirectly), so I was very glad to have an opportunity to ask someone in academia her thoughts.
From our discussion, it seemed like one of the best ways is to just be honest and tell the professor. I know it's hard to do, but if it's any help... I've written similar situations where I've told my coworkers about my misophonia and a lot has to do with how a person conveys what misophonia is and how it affects one's situation. Yes, work environments are somewhat different than a classroom, but it's still a matter of communication - and doing so in a calm, intelligent manner.
Another thing she mentioned is that many higher-ed schools have an office that handles issues to accommodate a student's needs. If the student with misophonia doesn't feel comfortable speaking directly with the professor, perhaps finding out what office handles accommodation issues would be another way to go. I can understand that course of addressing the situation since, nearly a decade ago, I was an adjunct professor and the week before one of my classes began, the head of my department informed me that one of my students had ADD as well as Tourrette syndrome. Now mind you, it was the first time I had ever been an adjunct professor, so needless to say I was a little bit nervous because I didn't know much about accommodating someone with one, let alone both, conditions. It worked out well though. The student was able to give me some information to help me better understand his needs, and his classmates were also aware of his conditions, so they were very accommodating to him (and helpful to me) too. I was able to adjust some of my lessons to work with him and in the end, he was one of my top students.
I know many of us struggle with sharing our struggles with misophonia to others, but I would hope that most educators and academic institutions would be willing to accommodate a misophonia students' needs, especially if the instructors have an awareness of how they can facilitate the students'learning. They just need to understand what those needs are...
Prior to seeing the students' final presentations, the professor and I had a lovely chat over lunch. One thing I should mention before going on any further is that the website host I use here shows me statistics for what search terms people use when search engines relay them here. One phrase that caught my attention was, "How to tell professor about misophonia." As I've mentioned in previous posts, I want to help others that are affected by misophonia (whether directly, or indirectly), so I was very glad to have an opportunity to ask someone in academia her thoughts.
From our discussion, it seemed like one of the best ways is to just be honest and tell the professor. I know it's hard to do, but if it's any help... I've written similar situations where I've told my coworkers about my misophonia and a lot has to do with how a person conveys what misophonia is and how it affects one's situation. Yes, work environments are somewhat different than a classroom, but it's still a matter of communication - and doing so in a calm, intelligent manner.
Another thing she mentioned is that many higher-ed schools have an office that handles issues to accommodate a student's needs. If the student with misophonia doesn't feel comfortable speaking directly with the professor, perhaps finding out what office handles accommodation issues would be another way to go. I can understand that course of addressing the situation since, nearly a decade ago, I was an adjunct professor and the week before one of my classes began, the head of my department informed me that one of my students had ADD as well as Tourrette syndrome. Now mind you, it was the first time I had ever been an adjunct professor, so needless to say I was a little bit nervous because I didn't know much about accommodating someone with one, let alone both, conditions. It worked out well though. The student was able to give me some information to help me better understand his needs, and his classmates were also aware of his conditions, so they were very accommodating to him (and helpful to me) too. I was able to adjust some of my lessons to work with him and in the end, he was one of my top students.
I know many of us struggle with sharing our struggles with misophonia to others, but I would hope that most educators and academic institutions would be willing to accommodate a misophonia students' needs, especially if the instructors have an awareness of how they can facilitate the students'learning. They just need to understand what those needs are...
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