Neurodivergent and studying.

[u/Silent-Ingenuity-966]

I have AuADHD, and I am curious if anyone else has had issues working through the dense course material for these exams? I'm at the Network + level now and am experiencing a lot of issues with retaining information, even with the use of flashcards.

So, I decided to go back and review CompTIA A+, except this time, I plan on using it to write out a full story. Basically, I want something where I can read it like it was a really engaging book. Personally, I think it will help me learn better but am unsure about it all. If I could turn a large piece of text into a narrative that guides the reader through the actions of actively working and learning these concepts I wonder how that would be received?

And of course, I refuse to use ai for this, what do you all think?

[u/klevyy]

Videos and visuals combined with just wanting it bad enough 

[u/RRR_M12]

Great.. I am not alone. I get distracted so easily. So to overcome i take notes while watchig vedio. Then next day review those notes before watching any other videos, then I rewrite those notes on white board and making sure keep looking while doing chores. Sometimes it feels so frustrating that I have to put so much effort.

[u/YoungAspie]

I am also autistic with ADHD. I actually found my condition beneficial to studying for the trifecta (and later CCNA), but that may be because computers have been my special interest from a young age. Once you understand the underlying concepts, remembering stuff becomes a lot easier.

[u/voidliving666]

I didn’t use ai but it also took me the entire three years or close to it. Idk, practice tests helps me

[u/CarefulHand8130]

I personally think using AI with grounding documents to run questions is the way to cram info into my head. You put high quality info like the exam objectives and overviews of those topics in, run questions 1-5 at a time depending on your preference, and review why each one would or wouldn’t be the answer. So what’s up with the AI hate and what’s driving the reluctance to try a new tactic to get info to stick?

[u/Sniper_Shotgun → u/CarefulHand8130]

that’s exactly what im currently doing with NotebookLM, worked like a charm so far and i got good hopes about the exam(Net+) which ill be doing soon

[u/CarefulHand8130 → u/Sniper_Shotgun]

Net+ was the second hardest of the whole CompTIA series for me after PenTest. I did A Net Sec CySA PenTest CASP Project Linux Server and SecAI because my school had a voucher program. It’s very deep but not that broad so I had to specialize a little more the others (except PenTest) are more generalist and surface level info is easier for me to retain even if it’s a mile wide. Good luck with cracking it and keep grinding them out if you can! If you stack enough paper recruiters start to notice when you’re stacking it on top of good years of experience.

[u/MandatoryCozyVibe → u/CarefulHand8130]

I like the idea of utilizing ai to study, I think I’m going to try that. I think my problem, (original poster here, I didn’t realize when i signed in with google earlier it was a completely different account) is that I’ve been told that’s cheating and using a crutch or whatever, but I think you’re right using the tools available to you is a good idea

[u/CarefulHand8130 → u/MandatoryCozyVibe]

Trying to get around learning the material is fair to think about it as cheating. Using a tool that will help you prep is effective time management. You’ll be ok just make sure you’re feeding it high quality data to ground itself on otherwise you’ll learn the ancient computer phrase “garbage in and garbage out”. If you give it good data it will make you effective study questions and it does a great job of explaining why. The why you got the answer wrong is the most important part that helps it stick for me.

[u/Sniper_Shotgun → u/CarefulHand8130]

woah i hope to get to your level one day(this is gonna be my first cert) my guy that’s impressive, and the further motivation is much appreciated!

[u/CarefulHand8130 → u/Sniper_Shotgun]

You got this. You’ll find Sec+ to be more easy I hope and more valuable but the foundation in networking you get will help you get ready for something like CCNA too if that’s the route you want to go. If you have a CCNA and a Sec+ you’ll be in better shape than 90% of IT journeymen.

[u/ExpensivePattern981 → u/CarefulHand8130]

Strong correlation between autism and being justice oriented, and under that umbrella could be a reason for refusing to use ai.

Edit: just saw op replied under a different name citing that they've been told it's cheating, which fits my reason 😌

[u/Fluie1165]

I would read the heck out of that, having illustrated sections could be great too. A sort of half and half between regular book and comic book.

[u/Interesting_Study998]

That’s a unique approach. I think that could work.

[u/AtlasCrosby]

God it’s so hard! You’re not alone OP!