How Autistic College Students Stay Motivated
It feels like I am constantly pushing my daughter to get her homework done, particularly when it is a subject she doesn't enjoy. In high school that is okay, after all I am the mother right? But what happens in college. How is she going to motivate herself?
I asked over 50 autistic college students that question recently.
It is clear that motivating oneself is a common issue.
One student summed it up very well,
"My motivation was my enjoyment of my subject. I did very poorly in classes that I had little interest in or where I didn't like the instructor."
Other motivations seemed to be financial,
" I have a government loan. If I drop out, I have to start to pay. I remind myself of that,"
Other students have a more emotional motivation,
"Reminding myself my peers said I couldn't do it, so I will prove them wrong."
Still others are motivated to make others happy,
"By knowing what will happen if I'm not motivated and because I am a people pleaser who is afraid of failure."
Finding a way to consistently motivate ourselves is a skill that many adults still struggle with, both autistic adults and those that are not on the spectrum.
Do you want to see all of the responses? Click here.
Ideas for Getting Motivated
There were some common themes in the responses. Common motivators were food, favorite activities and incorporating strong interests as often as possible,
"Ration Internet time."
"With presents and pizza."
"I motivate myself by rewarding myself with something I like to do if I get a certain amount of work done,"
"Sometimes I give myself rewards when I'm productive, like having a special food I really like if I get most of the things done I wanted to do that day,"
Students who want to use this method of reward to motivate themselves may want to follow this plan:
1. List a variety of treats or fun activities that you enjoy
2. Group them into 2 categories
- Short - quick easy treat, probably a food or an activity that doesn't take any preparation
- Moderate - Treat may take some preparation (ingredients, travel to a location etc)
- Long - Takes preparation and/or can be enjoyed for a long period of time.
3. Match the short category treats with activities that don't take long to complete - less than 1 hour or so. (Put dishes away, schedule an appointment, read an assignment.)
4. Match the moderate category treats with activities that will take multiple steps, will take more than a couple of hours to complete or are less 'fun.' (Longer assignments, difficult projects, homework from a class that is disliked)
5. Match the long treats to the most difficult tasks, regardless of how long it takes to perform the task. These are the tasks you like to do least.
The idea is to match the most rewarding item to the most difficult task. Another strategy is to plan specific times to perform the most difficult or disliked task.
"I think it's best to just get my assignments done and over with as early as I can, so I'll have time for major projects, my job and relaxation later on."
"Scheduling everything (Including food, exercise and sleep) in my Google Calendar with reminders helps."
"It is easier to set things up so that it will be easy for me to get things done than to try to make myself do things I know I can't."
Studies have shown that motivation can decrease over the course of the day, so scheduling the most difficult or least wanted task first thing in the morning or early in the week is another strategy to help get work done.
Recommendations
It is clear that finding a way to get motivated for specific tasks is a very individualized process. The most effective motivation seems to be summarized best in this quote,
"By using strong interests when possible in assignments and class choice, or setting aside time for them when necessary tasks are completed. I motivate myself by controlling my environment (lighting, scents, visuals that calm me or motivate me, strategic use of coffee and mint), and planning daily time for intense exercise and nature."
Another response goes on to say,
"I take classes that interest me and I talk about the subjects with people who are just as interested, which keeps me on top of the work."
Clearly students are far more motivated when they are interested in the subject than when they are not. For those subjects that are required, but not interesting to the student a combination of scheduling specific study times to complete the work and rewarding effective use of those times seems to work well.
As with any skill self-motivation takes practice.
Do you want to see all of the responses? Click below.
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