Earning the MFA in Film and Digital Technology proved a challenge, in many ways. We had medical emergencies (including surgeries for both my wife and me), family emergencies, and the general financial stress of a graduate degree. There were long nights and weekends spent working on projects and papers, trying…
Category: Education
Posts on teaching, studying, educational systems, and institutions.
Thirty years ago, I was preparing to move to Los Angeles to attend USC. If I could tell myself what I know now… 1) Do not drop the physical sciences degree four units short! The English and journalism degrees won’t get you far. 2) Do not drop the computer science…
When I was an undergraduate, my goal was to teach high school photography, yearbook, and newspaper. If I could undo the last 27 years of my career… I would. In a heartbeat. Accepting a job that seemed right changed my life and took me away from that path. The right…
Since January 2016, I have been working towards my MFA in Film and Digital Technology. During these 18 months, I have had a number of medical issues, yet I did complete my coursework on time despite hospital visits, surgeries, and other minor disasters, including a car accident that totaled our…
One of the common myths I constantly correct in social media and in online forums is that Comic Sans is somehow the “best” typeface for children and adults with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other disabilities. A blog post caused a small wave of arguments on social media in February (2017):…
My MFA in Film and Digital Technology was supposed to be finished in December, 2016. A spinal nerve with its anterior and posterior roots. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) It wasn’t. The degree will be a semester late, at least. I had one infection after another, anemia, emergency room visits, blood and…
Some books and noted speakers make the case that academia is one of the better career paths for autistic adults capable of completing the required education. I’m unconvinced this is good advice for anyone, much less autistic individuals. Let me begin with the academic job market. Even within STEM fields,…
In a few ways, 2016 has been (with a nod to a great children’s book) a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year for my wife and me. We have had medical issues, I have not had a full-time job, and a pair of accidents took our Jeep out of…
I realize my blogs (not only The Autistic Me) have been slow throughout 2016. Life has a way of consuming more hours than exist in the day. My to-do list exceeds any realistic amount of time I might have each day, week, or month. If all goes well, in December…
It is again that season, the time of year many of us will always consider the “new year” instead of some date in Winter. Yes, back-to-school. For me, this is the end of a busy five-class summer as an MFA student in Film and Digital Technology. I promise (sort of)…