<p>What was interesting to me was that apparently the sole focus of the with the head of AAPD was the physical accessibility issue. There was no discussion of “reasonable” accommodations. And no discussion of invisible disabilities, which is what most of us are familiar with because of our kids’ Asperger’s diagnosis. I was curious as to why the student interviewed was not granted any LSAT accommodations, since she stated she’s had accommodations throughout her educational career. I assume that means that she was granted accommodations on the SAT (or ACT…could that be the issue, since the LSAT is administered by a different company?). </p>
<p>My state is part of a consortium, and a student in my state who wants to pursue a program that is not offered in one of my state’s public universities can get in-state tuition at a state school that is part of one of the other states in the consortium. So that got me to thinking…wouldn’t it be a good idea if this exchange not only involved academic majors, but also support programs like apparently exists at U of Alabama? Just some food for thought…</p>
<p>I have a 24 y/o son with AS. There were definitely bumps in his academic career. There were issues in college (nearby state university – because of something that happened to him in high school, we were not willing to support his going to the state’s tech university 5-6 hours away). But he managed to graduate with a Computer Science degree (in four years, thanks to AP credits and summer courses!), and is now in the second half of his probationary period of a great-paying job with the federal government as a Computer Scientist. We will breathe a sigh of relief when his probationary period is over and he should be secure for the future in his job. </p>
<p>He moved into his own apartment in a neighboring city this spring, which is closer to his job. So far, so good…</p>
<p>The LSAT is notorious for being really reluctant to give any accommodations. I didn’t even bother to apply for any, I was sure I wouldn’t get them. </p>
<p>I think your consortium idea is a brilliant one. Due to financial constraints I was restricted to only in-state colleges, it would have been nice to broaden my options. My state doesn’t have much to offer in this regard.</p>
<p>I emailed a guy who chairs some state commission on education and autism. He recommended a small school that yes, is in state, but is private and costs $$$$$.</p>
<p>This thread has been inactive for about a year–will anyone notice a new post? My dd is in 11th grade, ADHD and new diagnosis mild AS. Many questions. Anyone listening?</p>
<p>Hi Sudsie. Your daughter is just finishing up her junior year, is that right? So you are thinking about where she might go to college?</p>
<p>Does she have executive function challenges? That is, does she need a lot of help organizing her life, including her academics? Do you (or her teachers) frequently have to remind her and prod her to do her homework?</p>
<p>All kinds of EF challenges, biggest being motivation and initiation of tasks. Sometimes can handle it all herself, sometimes can’t motivate herself to even start. Once she starts she’s pretty good at following through although doesn’t always push herself to do her best. She spent 9/10th at our large intense public school, and after much misery transferrred to a small private school for nontraditional students. She’s had much less HW than public school students and I am very concerned that she will not have the skills she needs for college.</p>
<p>My son has ADHD and AS. We live in Ga. He went to Andrew College a small 2 year college in South Ga he graduated a few weeks age with his AS in History. The have a great program called Focus. It is for students with adhd and LD.They gave him the support he needed to make it thru!!! It was a struggle but he made it!! He will be going to the U of Alabama in the Fall YEA!!! They have a AS support program called UA-ACTS.It is a great program I belive that will take him to the next level!! I really feel like that me son would REALLY stuggle if he did not have the support he needed. I have seen real growth in him the last two years. We also went to look at the AS program at Marshall U in WV…it was great too, but Alabama is closer and they work on Anxiety and Depression management.</p>
<p>That’s great that your son has found such a good fit in programs and has been so successful. </p>
<p>We are looking in the northeast only and she wants to study art, ideally animation and concept art for video games, which limits the programs we can apply to. She also wants schools that have a significant “geek” population as she’s a pretty unconventional person.</p>
<p>Sudsie, it sounds to me like your daughter is not ready (and won’t be ready in a year) for a standard college experience. Have you thought of looking at Landmark College (in Vermont) and College Living Experience (in Denver, Monterey CA, Austin, Florida and Washington DC)? They offer a more supportive program that might work better for someone with your daughter’s challenges. I don’t know anything about it, but the program ixrayyou’s son just graduated from also sounds like it would be appropriate for your daughter.</p>
<p>Edited to add: if your child has executive function issues, she has specific needs and needs specific support that a lot of colleges won’t provide (even when they say they will). You may have to compromise on some of your/her college requirements in order to find a college where your daughter will succeed.</p>
<p>Have considered Landmark but have heard mixed reviews (including on forums here). Current plan is to apply to colleges but also consider gap year programs (eg Dynamy in Worcester). Also have spoken with the school about increasing HW load for next year and see how much she matures. I think the jury is out on whether she’ll be ready in a year, but I think having her apply while in school is her best option. And with all her EF stuff she still has good GPA and SAT scores.</p>
<p>I posted a message on a similar thread, so please forgive me for repeating myself. My son, who will be 22 next month, was diagnosed with AS and dyslexia when he was 5. He couldn’t read at all until he was 7, then something clicked and he began to read voraciously. He has just finished his final exams for a BA in History from University College London and has been accepted for post-graduate work at Cambridge. We had concerns about sending him to London for college but it seemed a good fit because he never learned to drive and knew what he wanted to study. He can’t keep his shoes tied, he packs a suitcase by stuffing things in randomly, and his dysgraphia is severe. Fortunately, the university has let him take his exams on a computer. In spite of his aversion to the tactile stimulation of water he has learned to stay clean and neat, and he has even acquired a certain fashion sense in a tweedy sort of way. He has only lost his mobile phone once (as far as we know) and he finds his way around London and back and forth across the Atlantic with minimal difficulty. He has made friends from all around the world and found more at the Anglican parish where he serves as acolyte (without setting the place on fire in spite of a couple of close calls). It helps that what we think of as symptoms the British often consider eccentricities, but the main point I wish to make is that ‘high functioning’ Asperger kids can learn to deal with and to a certain extent overcome their handicaps.</p>
<p>Irishdoctor, thanks for the inspiring story. As far as WVa, ixrayyou, we really want her to stay within driving distance of home, and SHE wants to stay within driving distance of her beloved friends from camp.</p>
<p>Please keep an open mind. The college crash and burn rate for Aspies who have significant executive function issues is horrifyingly high. We thought small LAC, in driving distance from home would be best. Looking back, a program like Alabama’s or Marshalls might have been my son’s only hope. After one year at the LAC and one year at community college, my [extremely bright] son has earned all of 38 credits, has a GPA of around 2.7 and is not returning to school in the fall. The kind of support he needs is not available very many places.</p>
<p>I can’t remember where I’ve posted the article, but if I haven’t posted it here, google Mitch Nagler College Aspergers and you’ll find a spot on article.</p>
<p>I don’t want to be discouraging but two years down the line, my son’s self esteem has been destroyed, his psychological problems are mounting, and all those HS A’s and high SAT scores mean nothing.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you. If your gut tells you your child is not ready to go away, trust your gut. When you read posts like mine, please don’t discount them, engage in magical thinking and just hope for the best.</p>
<p>I am fairly new to CC but am glad someone bumped up this post. I have been focusing on my older D, who will start at college in the fall. Now that she is settled with her school, I am thinking more and more about my younger D. She is finishing up her sophomore year. She has been diagnosed with ADHD and depression. I believe the depression is a result of the challenges she has faced with her ADHD. Her symptoms manifest primarily as executive function deficits–homework regularly late/not done or even if done, not handed in on time; difficulty studying for tests, keeping to deadlines, etc. More to the point of this thread, she is young for her grade (August birthday) and socially and emotionally immature on top of that. She has great difficulty in social situations, especially keeping friends (she tends to sabotage her relationships). On the other hand, she an extremely talented singer and actress and derives a great deal of self esteem from performing.<br>
She will still be 17 when she graduates high school, and barely 18 at the beginning of college if she goes straight through. We have been encouraging her already to take a gap year, and she seems interested. But I don’t know what she would do with that year. Ideally, she would like to try to get paying jobs in performing–heading down to Florida to some of the theme parks, cruise ships, etc, but I don’t think she could manage without a support system. So maybe college is the best option, but only if there is a support system.
She has NOT been diagnosed with AS, but my H and I feel that she is somewhere on the spectrum, even if it has not been formally recognized, because of her social difficulties. She definitely has trouble picking up social cues, so she says and does inappropriate things which put people off. She has a 504 related to her ADHD/Depression, but they are mostly related to seating location and emotional and social supports. Academically she is fine–As and Bs in CP-level classes.
I know we have a year and a half or so to figure this out, and kids do change, but what to do? Any suggestions?</p>
<p>"Ah, but there’s the rub. Kids who can’t self-advocate are required to self-advocate. I’ve used this example before, but it’s like telling the quadriplegic come get this state of the art wheelchair, it’s right at the top of the stairs. </p>
<p>The person in a wheelchair will need a wheelchair at 16 or 18 or 20; the person with executive function issues will need help at 16 or 18 or 20."</p>
<p>This is so, so true. My eldest has NVLD and simply will not self-advocate. He’s barely scraping by even though he goes to a college that offers lots of support, but I feel that they just don’t get it. I have to remind/tell him everything, and no one does that for him at school - even though he has a tutor once a week and weekly counseling - I think his academic struggles have contributed to his depression, and the fact that his sibling and cousins are all overachievers doesn’t help.</p>
<p>In hindsight maybe college wasn’t the right path but with only a year to go, he’s come too far to quit so is catching up with summer classes at a CC and will likely not graduate on time.</p>
<p>I often wonder what he’ll do for a job, it’s pretty bleak as he seems to have no interest in anything other than reading for pleasure (sometimes the same book 4 times) and one particular video game. At times I feel like I’ll be caring for him forever as I’m really not sure that he can function independantly. It’s a scary thing to contemplate.</p>
<p>I’d be interested in learning about what kinds of careers people with NVLD can succeed at…any suggestions?</p>
<p>Okay, your son can have the first job that fits that description, but please please can my son have the second one?! (Or my son can get the job where he reads the same book a dozen times.)</p>
<p>I know that many of us who have kids with disablities have fought with the schools to get our kids the services to which they are legally entitled, but looking back, grades K-12 seem like such a peaceful cocoon. After high school, there is so much less support and the stakes are so high.(What will they do for the rest of their lives???) </p>
<p>The other day I was talking to the mom of a graduating senior who has spina bifida. The student is of above average intelligence and has every reason to expect to do well in college…but her mom knows how much day to day physical care she needs. The expectation that every bright young person will go to college and become independent and self supporting is not so easily fullfilled for many families.</p>
<p>Missypie and Cardinal offer very good advice. Much of what they said long ago sat in the crevices of my mind and came in very useful with one of my own kids. Many thanks to both of these posters for offering such great advice and sharing their knowledge. </p>
<p>As for my two cents: When in doubt keep the kid close to home. Being away at college is nothing like navigating highschool. The challeges are both social and academic and a kid with any type of challeging situation can easily crash and burn. You really have to know how your kid reacts in many situations before they head off to a campus far from home. By far I mean anything that means you will not see them at least once a week. Nothing is worth risking the type of crash and burn that could happen.</p>
<p>“What will they do for the rest of their lives???”</p>
<p>That would be an excellent title for a book that might help answer that question - My husband and I must have asked the question a thousand times, but we still haven’t a clue.</p>
<p>Missypie, I take your advice very seriously. The part about geography partly has to do with what momma-three is saying about being close enough to home that we can monitor things more closely. Also, my daughter has been lucky enough to find a caring community of rampantly creative but largely neurotypical kids through her summer camp, with most of them living a couple hours north of us. It has been such a gift for my daughter to find this circle of accepting friends and it is a major support system for her. </p>
<p>That said, I am aware of the risks and it doesn’t mean I will take for granted that any school she can get into will have the supports she needs. The trick will be to find programs with adequate supoort that match her level of functioning. Anyone with actual experience or knowledge of the Gersh Experience at Daemen College?</p>