Students across the country are making the trek back to campus within the next few weeks, as winter break comes to an end. As students pack their belongings and plan their travel back to college, each is thinking about the new semester: “What will the new professors be like?” “Can I handle the workload?” “What should I pack for campus, and what should I leave at home?” Several years ago, at the Penn State National Autism Conference, I met and befriended Caitlin Baran. Caitlin earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree in psychology from Shippensburg. Caitlin also was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 1997. Considering her extensive experience in the area of “transition to college,” I once asked her to provide some tips on the topic of returning to school after an extended break. Caitlin’s advice follows.

Advice From a College Student with Aspergers:

As an individual with Asperger’s Syndrome and a graduate of both graduate and undergraduate school, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to share tips on how to make the transition back to school a successful one.

My first tip deals with packing for school. It was always difficult to decide what to pack for school and what to leave behind at home. I found that packing was easier (a lot less stressful) when I made a list of what to pack.

When I packed something, I packed it with other like items. For example my cd’s and dvd’s together. That made it easier to know what I had packed not only during packing, but also when moving back to school. I would unpack all like items at once, placing them in the same location in my room. Also making a list helped me to check items off the list once I got and packed the item so I knew that particular item was taken care of.

Remember to start packing early. The items you don’t use on a daily basis should be packed before the items you use daily. Also it helps to designate a place in your house to collect the belongings you will be taking to school with you.

Another tip is to email the professors you will be having in the upcoming semester before the semester starts to ask what textbook will be used for the class.

This way if you need books on tape you can make sure to order it ahead of time and have the book on tape before the start of the semester. Even if you don’t use books on tape, emailing professors before the start of the semester is still a good idea. By knowing what textbook will be used for class ahead of time you can purchase the textbook on half.com and save money. In addition to saving money this also saves you from standing in lines in an overcrowded bookstore.

Best wishes for an excellent semester!

By Marc Ellison