Group Projects
Toolbox
When2Meet Work out each milestone for the project until the deadline, and schedule buffers in, just in case some sections take longer.
Motion AI-generated schedules inform when to do your task based on the deadlines and urgency you set per task. It also learns when you tend to check off your tasks to make more realistic schedules.
Calendly has less buggy meeting management functions compared to the embedded invites in Motion. It can help you cut down on the energy you use for back-and-forth emails.
Setting Respectful and Accessible Boundaries
The more rules you begin with, the easier it is to tell who is failing to take responsibility. Medically speaking, is important to share enough about your situation to develop a credible sense of risk that you will not do their work if they fall behind.
- Negotiate accommodations and simultaneously offer strengths that you can contribute.
- “I won’t be able to do X, but I could do Y or Z.”
- Giving them a choice between two alternative tasks is a great place to start.
- Plan tasks to accomplish during the group meeting. Some groups get off topic very easily.
- To avoid wasting your precious energy, allow yourself to fade into the background when the conversation goes off topic.
- Instead of doodling, use this time to get your work done. Yes, during the meeting.1
- It is important to be consistent and to repeat the strategy each time you get off topic.
- Those with a regular meditation practice may realize that they are faster at noticing when the group is off-topic.
- Be as respectful with their time as they are with yours.
- It is a privilege to be wasteful with one’s energy that you do not benefit from.
Getting Organized
- Be aware when you are most likely to become dysregulated, and plan around it.
- “I have a medical conflict that week and will not be reachable. How can I support the group in advance?”
- “I do have X condition, which means I will struggle with W and Y, but I am strong and can contribute in Z.”
- “I do have X condition, which means I will struggle with W when I do it Y way, but if I do it by/with Z, I can be successful.”
- Schedule rooms for studying at the beginning of the project so that your work never suffers due to location confusion.
- Block off regular meeting times to get the project done together.
This sets the dynamic up so that individuals who do not have a medical reason for struggling with task initiation do not become overwhelmed with doing the project at the last minute.
The Group Falls Through
Expect the project to navigate accountability challenges, and keep the professor in the loop (1-2 emails will suffice) so that you can still earn a strong recommendation letter even if your bandwidth is limited.
Dear Professor,
How are you?
I am looking forward to our project(s) this semester. I seek to let you know that I have established a concrete plan for getting this project done with my group.
I also hope to let you know in advance that I have some documented health challenges that make it less realistic for me to participate in class projects. Unlike other students my age, it is not physically realistic for me to do complete projects at the last minute.
I have informed my colleagues of my situation and we have adapted our plan with these needs in mind. At the same time, I’d greatly appreciate your support in the case of X, Y, and Z.
Thank you so much for your time and attention. I am optimistic about the project and hope we will be able to complete it without resorting to additional adjustments. I hope to be able to perform well regardless of my medical differences and instead have the opportunity to focus on immersing myself in the subject.
Best,
Your Name
Generally speaking professional environments discourage escalation unless absolutely necessary. Professors are likely accustomed to students learning how to work out conflicts between them. At ND Upgrade we recognize that neurodivergent students often face unrealistic expectations when it comes to bandwidth, putting ourselves at risk for hospitalization, let alone achievement.
We also accept that many neurodivergent students take years of professional experience to learn teamwork strategies which are effective for them in order to navigate these barriers. Students in university do not have this kind of time.
Learning groupwork strategies to navigate nonstandard bandwidth needs often involves in-context personality assessments, none of which are easily learned or transferable in an afternoon.
As a result, ND Upgrade advocates for a more direct and proactive approach that is neurodivergent friendly, respectful, and easy to implement in order to mitigate health impacts, as well as minimize inevitable consequences to relationships with professors and peers, particularly with students on the spectrum.
These solutions are not ideal, but they do allow you to play your best response.
Reply to the first email thread from earlier in the semester.
Dear Professor,
How are you? I am following up to thank you for your understanding earlier in the semester.
I am grateful to say that everything worked out with my team, and I look forward to hearing the feedback on our project.
Best,
[Your Name]
In the worst case you may need to tweak this template below based on how your professor responded to your concerns at the beginning of the semester.
Dear Professor,
How are you? I am following up to thank you for your understanding earlier in the semester and am hoping to discuss some of the terms of the project due on [date] for [class code].
As I mentioned at the beginning of the semester, I do have a health constraint which makes last-minute cramming particularly physically unrealistic. Despite my preference for resolving things privately, this is a barrier inherent to the format and thus seek to enlist your support in problem-solving.
I Have:
- Informed my colleagues of my situation and needs.
- Developed a project plan to maximize access.
- Followed through on my responsibilities.
- X, Y, and Z
Unfortunately despite these efforts we are cutting things close. As a result, I am concerned about being able return with a grade which reflects my contribution and knowledge of the course.
While I am sensitive to the fact that my classmates my not be attuned to the realities of these health effects, I would greatly appreciate any support you could offer to ensure that I too can be assessed on my merits. I would readily welcome any creative solutions you have about how to address my situation (extra credit, reweighing, independent grading, etc.).
Thank you so much for your support and I look forward to hearing from you about what is feasible. Again, I’m flexible and open to possible solutions.
Gratefully,
[Your Name]
Footnotes
You may notice your group may suddenly become more productive, and you may become more relaxed once you start enacting this strategy.↩︎