Again, my counseling professor counseled me multiple times to spend the extensive time and money to get tested for Autism even though I kept saying there wouldn't be any obvious benefit.
Everyone at the VA thinks I need to focus on Autism (which they don't cover) instead of ADHD.
I had an appointment yesterday with some nice lady at the VA.
She only told me her name, Dr. Something, but not Doctor of What.
The VA didn't give me additional information.
She listened to me complain for more than our allotted time, made sympathetic faces, and said "I'm sorry, that's hard," which was nice, but she sent me off with an 8-page packet I wish she had e-mailed me so I could have Snoop Dogg read.
I skimmed it, though, and they pretty much only treat anxiety, depression, and anger.
I passed all of my classes despite my ADHD and perhaps having Autism, but I don't know why I keep having difficulties with my clinical supervisors.
Yes yes yes, everyone blames me, but nobody says what I am supposed to do differently--except:
The next part is relevant to my school: "While I enjoy your parents' enormous fortune."
My coordinator insisted the professional thing to do was to stay, do everything my supervisor said, be miserable, and fail.
My supervisor would be miserable, too!
Doesn't he care about her?!
In her 30-minute rant, she never said "I told you to do X and you didn't!" just "You never planned!"
I absolutely did.
"You never discussed your plans with me!"
We never had much time to talk and she never said "Let's discuss your plans" except for immediately before sessions--right after the previous one--before I had a chance to refer to my notes.
Apparently, I needed to carry around an up-to-date binder, which I didn't find out until I failed the midterm.
She also complained that I didn't complete lesson plan forms, which she had not told me to do, nor had I ever seen them.
The problem wasn't that I didn't follow directions, the problem was that she didn't tell me what she wanted me to do, and then said "I didn't know I needed to tell you! I'm not a mind reader!"
The SLP before her was great and wonderful--and complained how poorly speech therapists communicate.
The SLP before her was the one who wasted over a month of my life and wrote "Please let me know if this isn't the best site for you."
My coordinator agreed she didn't seem to want to work with me.
He blamed me for that, but it wasn't like she initially acted cooperative, she gave me the runaround from the beginning.
Before her was the clinic that said "We haven't finalized that decision" for months and then said the SLP they picked out to supervise me didn't see clients with them.
Before was an SLP who was great and wonderful, but had difficulty getting along with everyone but me.
Before that SLP was the one who fired me after two days and said she didn't like how I replied to feedback.
I said "Yes, Ma'am."
What else was I supposed to say?
She claimed that I picked up kids, but I didn't pick up kids, she did.
I asked "We're allowed to pick up kids? I have never picked up kids."
When I was growing up, my family regularly said that I tried to be annoying.
"What?! No! I'm not trying to be annoying!"
"So, you're naturally annoying!"
I didn't come from a nurturing home...
If I see something that annoyed potential supervisors before we even started, it is actively following up.
It would have been preferable if that were a slower failure?
I always wonder if that first SLP got rid of me because we had 10-hour shifts, lots of cancelations and no-shows, and I passed the time by trying to chat with her.
Class hadn't started yet.
I didn't have far too many things to do yet.
At the same time, my supervisor in Page said "You're a boy! You're weird!"
I was a 38-year-old 6'2" man with facial hair, so calling me a boy was strange.
Was I inherently weird to her for being male?
I am still working on my research project and at least several participants report being excluded for being men.
Women have complaints like "Other women are jealous of my beauty" and "Other women tell me to make more of an effort with my appearance."
I forget what one participant shared, but it was something like being told "You are surprisingly competent for a man."
When I applied to Show Low Public Schools, they didn't want a good SLPA who would fight for their students, they wanted a new friend, and they didn't want to be friends with me.
When I met the new students, I talked about trying to work with my classmates, and one of the students said "They are just being petty girls."