Any Students with Learning Disabilities?

[htnodeq]

Anyone here have a learning disability? How are you coping?
I am a first year vet student and feel like I won't ever be able to keep up with the workload. I have autism, adhd, and dyslexia. Anatomy is killing me because I can't pronounce or spell any of the structures so its really hard to be able to study. In high school and undergrad I usually had to study at least double what the average person did, but with the intense workload there's not enough hours in the day to do that. I do have some accommodations, but not any that really help this issue. If anyone else is dealing with this or did when they were in vet school I'd greatly appreciate any advice!

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[puppydogtor]

Hey, hope you're doing okay in vet school. I have ADHD too and it's been really hard keeping up with the workload for anatomy so I relate to that- even my friends without learning difficulties struggle too. I am the same as you with always having to study double than the avg person - in undergrad it was doable due to the amount of content, in vet school not so much. You should see if your school has a learning specialist, I visited mine and it was so helpful! I've also been seeing a psychiatrist too which helps a bit.
Here are some things that have helped me:
-Make studying fun. I give "lectures" to my pets or boyfriend. The pets obviously don't listen lol but just speaking out loud helps me hear my thoughts better and clarify any confusion - when I just read things in my head my mind might gloss over things that are important. Pretending I'm giving a lecture to my pets is just goofy and fun and helps me stay engaged.
-Make mind maps instead of bullet-point notes when you can. Connecting things in a web helps you see the greater picture of the material, understand how different things are related, and allows you to recall things better.
-Draw! I love drawing things out on my whiteboard or iPad. Or using my coloring book. It's not the fastest way to learn sometimes but it's more fun and keeps me from getting distracted
-Have a good study environment and know what you need. At the library, I have minimal distractions and get a lot done. In a study room with friends (make sure it's not a distracting group), I have people to work things through with when I get confused. At home, I am way more distracted by my bf and cute animals, but somedays it's nice to have that distraction when I am feeling burnt out or just need some kitten snuggles.

Those are just a few things the learning specialist told me. Everyone learns differently so if you have a learning specialist at your school definitely make an appointment so she can help you specifically with what you need. I hope you find what works for you

 

[Momokeen]

I found out that I have ADHD after already having graduated vet school. I'm now on meds and really wish I had known before vet school so that I could have gotten medicated. It would have made things so much easier. If you have not pursued medication I will definitely say that I've had a very positive experience. If you don't feel like it's helping, definitely try the other options out there. I went through 2 other meds before finding the one that worked for me.

As far as what I did in school for anatomy, it was just a lot of repetition and visual/hands on studying. We had an amazing anatomy professor and he did videos and demonstrations of everything. I studied the videos and prosections extensively and also looked over diagrams given to us and would cover up the names of everything and quiz myself. Also I used the EasyAnatomy 3D canine anatomy app. I feel like all of these helped a lot and I did very well. I don't struggle with dyslexia though so I'm not sure about techniques there, but I hope some of this helps!

 

[EquusObsessed]

Hey! I have ADHD (quite severely) and pre-clinicals were AWFUL. Honestly, I crammed for every single exam and struggled through by pure luck I think.

My main two recommendations are: get whatever accommodations you think you could possibly need through your student disabilities office. I found it reassuring to at least have it formally documented even though I NEVER used mine (my school actually rejected mine... during covid I was denied the ability to use scratch paper on virtual exams, despite it being a very specifically reported accommodation, because it would be "inconvenient" to proctor my exam individually instead of with the automated software, but that's another issue). The other one is investigate medication. I have horrible medication compliance and forget to take mine more often than I take it, (the inconsistent schedule of clinics is a nightmare for my adhd), but I started to take medication during the last year of preclinicals and it was literally life changing to be able to just sit down and study rather than my eyes glazing over paragraphs for hours.

Vet school sucks for everyone, and sucks doubly for neurotypical people, but you can do it. I've actually done much better mentally and emotionally in clinics, even though I was REALLY worried about my ability to "keep up" mentally with patient care. Perhaps my constant anxiety and over-cautious approach to all of my patients is not healthy, but whatever. I can sleep at night (except for my chronic insomnia)

Sorry, just saw you already have accommodations- ignore that!

I did just remember some other advice: I did not attend class, I watched the recorded lectures at 2x speed and used the lectures to identify what "key points" the professor was focusing on, and then used those to direct my studying of the printed notes. I found that I just cannot absorb lecture material, and skimming/highlighting printed notes was FAR more beneficial. There was a marked difference in my grade between the exams where the professors provided notes and those that did not. The notes made it easier for me to "organize" what I was learning, because one of the biggest issues for me was figuring out what to focus on or spend my time studying- I'd get bogged down on one topic that wasn't important. Test taking in vet school is literally a numbers game- study the things that are likely to be most of the exam and then ignore the rest. You CANT learn everything- if there's one particular nerve/ structure/etc. that you just can't remember... give up and move on. Don't waste time on that one thing that never seems to stick- study everything else and come back if you have time. Pre-clinicals are just survival, don't worry about how you won't retain anything, no one else does.

 

[max_wildlife]

I also have ADHD. It's a little late in the game and I'm sorry I'm just responding to this now; I spent a lot of time drawing to get through anatomy. I'm more of a words person, so I feel like some of my advice won't be helpful - but in case anyone is more in my situation, I rewrite everything by hand. It takes forever, but with my memory issues, it's the only way things stick in my brain.

I can't take many typical stimulant-based ADHD medications as I have a mild heart condition that also requires medication, and that one currently takes precedence, so it's been a struggle. I also have dyscalculia, and memorizing numbers is virtually a lost cause for me, but I remember colors pretty well, so when I'm trying to memorize certain values, I assign color to them. I also have problems where I can't feel time passing and a few times it's even impacted mandatory attendance things like exams (🤦‍♀). I've wrestled this by setting numerous alarms on my phone. and if I have a submission with a certain deadline, like say I need to submit an attendance quiz right after a hands-on laboratory, I force myself go to the library right after that lab and submit it, regardless of if I have an exam the next day or if it's not due for a couple days; like I don't allow myself to go home until I fill the thing out, and if I don't need my laptop for the lab I make sure to stick the thing in my car, because otherwise I'm in trouble. I write deadlines all over numerous whiteboards in my house, too.

It's a lot. I wasn't diagnosed until my mid-20s (I'm 30 now) and didn't realize how this all works with school, so I still haven't submitted requests for certain accommodations to my school. I honestly thought that if my school needed to check an accomodation they'd just call my doctor lol. In case anyone else is like me and still learning about these things -- that's not the case, at least at my school. Need to fill out the forms.

 

[CyroCap]

I also have ADHD. If you are able and if you haven't already, finding a therapist that knows cognitive behavioral therapy for treating ADHD might be helpful. If you can, try and find one who specializes in ADHD CBT or has a lot of experience with it. One really important thing that I learned in therapy: if you can't focus and aren't being productive, just stop trying to study and do something else. It's important to relax and take time for you, especially if you have ADHD. This way you aren't stressing yourself out for not being productive. Also work some breaks into studying, and try and go to a place free of distractions. For me, I need to study with other people (if they aren't distracting themselves), regardless if its independent or group study. The other person helps keep me accountable. I also can't study at home, I just get too distracted by my things. It's harder in first year, especially with anatomy, because there is so much to memorize. With anatomy, I think the best thing is to work on the cadaver. For other classes, trying to change the way you study to apply the material and think critically is better and forces you to actively think about the material. I know this is a little late in the year and you posted a while ago, but hopefully some of this works for you!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

-Make studying fun. I give "lectures" to my pets or boyfriend. The pets obviously don't listen lol but just speaking out loud helps me hear my thoughts better and clarify any confusion - when I just read things in my head my mind might gloss over things that are important. Pretending I'm giving a lecture to my pets is just goofy and fun and helps me stay engaged.

I did this all the time. Being able to verbalize/explain something is a great way to test how much you really know it. Plus, it gets you in the habit of explaining things in general, which you will be doing with clients all the time.

I STILL do this as a prof when I am practicing my lectures , lol. I walk around lecturing to myself, in the car, etc.

 

[Musicandhorses]

I’m a bit late replying but I have dyslexia and got through both a DVM then a PhD. Weirdly I do medical publications now which I do fine with but writing up charts can be a challenge now that I practice. But thank goodness for spell check.

Anatomy was killer for me too just because of spelling Ugh. For me I made notes of my triggers ie I do worse in the clinic writing up charts because I don’t have quiet concentration and I can’t study or write when there are turbulence on airplanes. I try to give myself time and I ask if I can do remote charts. These help a lot!

Feel free to pm me.