Asperger’s should not be crutch for students

Students with minor mental disabilities such as Asperger’s should not receive special treatment in school. Although it is a mild form of Autism, I don’t find it severe enough to set students behind in their school work. A lot of students with Asperger’s depend on others to help them do their work and use it as a crutch to not have to try as hard. My brother, a freshman at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, is the perfect example of this case. I’m not saying that having Asperger’s doesn’t make life and school a little more difficult, because it does. I know exactly how it feels to be a student with Asperger’s because I am a student with Asperger’s.
Sometimes being around so many people can feel a little scary and having to force oneself into one-on-one conversations with classmates can feel a little awkward—especially when the instructor assigns group work. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to expect so much from others, such as notes written for you and unnecessary explanations for something you could have figured out yourself by going online or paying attention, or that other students who don’t have Asperger’s oftentimes feel the very same way. Sometimes questions you may want to ask seem impossible to mutter, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t force yourself to say the things you’re scared to say. It’s not all that difficult to overcome the symptoms that come along with Asperger’s.
Asperger’s may make one feel socially awkward but that doesn’t keep you from being able to pay attention and take notes in class. Some students expect so much from others that they don’t learn much along the way. My brother expects his advisor to arrange students in all of his classes to write notes for him so he doesn’t have to. By not having to take his own notes, he loses all motivation to pay attention in class. Thus, in his first semester in college, he has already failed half of his classes. I don’t feel bad for him, because he has no excuse other than his own laziness for failing. Other people shouldn’t have to support you just because you feel uneasy around others.
I like to think of Asperger’s as severe shyness and nothing more than that. I will not allow myself to be held back by such a silly state of mind. Everyone gets shy, which makes it ridiculous to demand special help for something everyone feels. Although these individuals don’t feel this silly shyness all the time like one with Asperger’s, it’s still not a good enough excuse to not make friends, do well in school and live a fairly normal life.
I’ve found that making a game out of talking to others makes the process seem much easier and more comfortable. There’s no reason for someone to be able to tell that a person they know has Asperger’s.
Don’t make your life hard by making Asperger’s such a burden, just relax. Pretend that you don’t have it and you will (essentially) forget that you do.