<p>^^^^All valid possibilities. But to me, she needs to put the whole thing in perspective. If she goes back to school before she is truly ready, the consequences could be horrible. If she stays home one semester too long, nothing huge is lost in the big picture. She can still go to school and just get stronger and stronger. And there is nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone else. The terminology you quoted did not make it sound as if you are REALLY ready to go back right away. Another semester cannot hurt: you want to be at your strongest when you resume your college career. The difficulty of fitting in another student for fall term may also play into their decision. Or perhaps they feel that entering at the same time as a horde of freshmen making their own transition would not be best for you, or enable them to give you the attention you may need.</p>
<p>I really do not think that taking the adversarial legal approach is wise, for a number of reasons.</p>
<p>Congratulations, BTW, for working on your issues and making such good progress. Depression is not easy to deal with, as many of us can attest.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone that the language of the letter would give me pause. If you are at home and your parents are supportive why not continue the therapy and work you are doing. Remember it is absolutely not a race to the finish. Colleges often do not have the therapeutic resources for students to fall back on…especially LACs which tend to be small. I can understand why a college might be extra cautious about a readmit after a medical leave of any kind.</p>
<p>While I am not a psychiatrist, I am a physician and can tell you that in both medical school and residency we are trained to constantly be aware of patient safety. If there is any question about patient safety, and given the wording of the letter, there is such a concern in this case, there are protocols that have to be followed and measures that have to be taken. I doubt that the sudent health center at a college or university has the resources to take responsibilty for a student whose caregivers say that special arrangements such as a contract are needed to insure safety.</p>
<p>Being a college student has many positive aspects but it can also be very stressful. As long as someone can not handle that kind of pressure without having ideations about hurting themselves they need more time to recover.</p>
<p>I think that you have to ask your doctor if he thinks you can function independently NOT semi-independently. I would not focus on the school. If you own doctor does not think you are ready to function independently then you need to work on that. A student who needs extensive support to function on campus does not belong on a campus where that support is not present.</p>
<p>JHS, I am not certain about the difference between living semi-independently versus living independently. Yes, college dorm living likely means the person has food and other necessities provided to him or her. But IMHO, social skills are likely MORE important. Privacy is at a premium. The behaivor contract aspect of this makes me very nervous. I think that rather than looking for a lawyer, OP should go back to the doctor, and ask what do you think I need to do to succeed?</p>
<p>OP, are you maybe engaging in a little bit of denial and wishful thinking right now? The fact that you want to get back to normal life as a college kid is a very positive sign, but the careful wording of your doctors’ letters makes me think that they are sending the school a message between the lines, and that the school has picked up on that.</p>
<p>A person who is only mildly depressed doesn’t have thoughts of self harm or suicide–at that point, the depression is not mild.</p>
<p>If you are not yet strong enough to live life without entering into a contract that you won’t hurt yourself, give yourself the gift of time to regain the strength to when such a contract is not necessary.</p>
<p>This is one of the issues that has me between two minds. I want the OP to go forward living his own life and going from strength to strength. People with mental health disabilities shouldn’t be treated and differently than those with physical disabilities, or no disabilities at all.</p>
<p>And yet…</p>
<p>It worries me that any school could be put in the position of being responsible for someone’s mental health…and could be held liable if they are not able to keep the student from harming himself. Are student RAs really capable of this kind of care and supervision? If a professor did something that distressed the student? Or a roommate, or another student in the dining hall or communal bathroom? Or a romantic interest that spurns you? How can a school protect someone who is so potentially fragile?</p>
<p>Why are we granting doctors and administrators so much credibility. Perhaps they are responding to future possible law school threats.</p>
<p>I agree that the OP should ask doctors, “tell me what you think. Be straight.”</p>
<p>If the doctors say she is ready to go back she can ask them to write their report in a more straight forward manner. If this happens and the college still resists I would contact a lawyer but not take any immediate action. The OP has no guarantee of read mission after another semester as I read the post. I might mention lawyer and lawsuit as possibilities in a face-to-face interview with a dean. This idea would be floated very casually. I would want a guarantee if read mission at least and an explanation for the reasons to wait another semester when docs had cleared me.</p>
<p>If the doctors are not sure she is ready, that’s another story.</p>
<p>The conversation of whether or not the OP should return is a separate discussion.</p>
<p>In dealing with my grad department I have to resort to this fantasy lawsuit ploy. Administrators were more willing to listen to me then. The circumstances, though interesting, are not Germaine to this discussion.</p>
<p>Most schools have policies re: criteria for readmission after a medical leave. Is this available on line for you to read, OP, or would you need to call the school? Before asking your treating doctors/therapist to re-write a letter, its best to know in advance what the school needs rather than for the providers to write something that may or may not be what the school needs. If you can get a clear answer as to what the school needs, then you can inquire from your treating providers if they feel you meet that criteria and if they are willing to write an updated letter. </p>
<p>But as many have said, it might be an appropriate goal as you continue your treatment to work towards the criteria the school sets forth, and apply for spring semester. Personally, I would NOT mention contacting an attorney, either directly or indirectly. That is premature and sets up a potentially adversarial situation you do not want. Right now, try to work cooperatively with them. Dont threaten legal action, even if its a vague threat.</p>
<p>I agree regarding seeking the policies. I review many of these petitions and provide recommendation for medical withdrawal and readmittance. Where I am, we review the diagnosis and rating of functioning plus recommendation to determine withdrawal and the equivalent to get back in. Functioning for readmittance should be better than the functioning at withdrawal (even if diagnosis hasn’t changed). We are unable to accept a conditional recommendation (e.g. “Can return if remains in counseling” “Can return only for part-time study” etc. ). It’s up to the student (family, etc) to follow the conditions; the university can’t take on the monitoring of the conditions.</p>
<p>To the original poster, I sympathize with your situation, but I can see some good in waiting until the spring semester to return.</p>
<p>Maybe the school is thinking that the stress of 2 back-to-back semesters might be too risky right now. Many college students have tons of papers to write and grueling finals in December, and only a short break in January and the whole ordeal quickly starts all over again. College work is demanding, stressful, and oftentimes students are not given enough time as they juggle multiple classes, responsibilities, jobs, and friends. There is usually a pretty short recovery/R&R time between Fall & Spring semesters, and if the school is on quarters that can make the stress even worse.</p>
<p>Maybe the college thinks that if you come back in the Spring. You might have one stressful semester, but after that you would have the 3 months of summer to relax, return home, and recuperate. Then, come back in the Fall to handle the stress of two back-to-back semesters again. Maybe they feel you will have an easier time on the lengthy road to graduation, if you baby-step back in by starting with only one semester the first year back. </p>
<p>Maybe it doesn’t get you there as QUICKLY as you want, but maybe it allows you to phase back in a little more gradually, so that you can ultimately finish & complete the degree you are seeking. Remember a college degree is not a “sprint”, it’s a marathon. You want to pace yourself so that you can successfully make it to the end.</p>
<p>Just my thoughts, but actually starting in the Spring sounds like a good idea to me!</p>
<p>“They both said that I was able to function semi-independently and that perhaps a behavioral contract would be a good idea, in order to ensure my own safety. But really, otherwise, I was fine.”</p>
<p>^These words do not sound as though you are fine. To me, these words imply that you need supervision or your personal safety may be in jeopardy. The words do not send off a vibe of confidence in your current ability to live and function independently while living on a college campus. </p>
<p>Continue with your therapy and try again for re-admission in the Spring.</p>
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<p>The OP does not have a disability. The OP has an illness. A person does not recover from a disability. They can recover from an illness.</p>
<p>Colleges do not generally allow students who are very ill to live on campus regardless of whether they have a physical illness or a mental illness. When I was a student I was sick and my school required me to move out of the dorm when I was sick. I was not permitted to return until I was recovered, which took around 2 weeks. </p>
<p>In this case the OP appears to be recovering. However, based on the wording in the doctor’s letter the OP may not be sufficiently recovered to be successful at school. The school is not really treating the OP differently than I would expect any student to be treated when they have an illness.</p>
<p>I certainly hope that the OP’s recovery continues. However, based on the wording of the doctor’s letter I am not surprised that the school is not allowing his/her return. Colleges are not able to sufficiently monitor the behavior of students who are ill.</p>
<p>All colleges, by law, have an Office of Disabilities Services, which deals with mental illness, as well as other disabilities. Mental illness is considererd a disability under the Americans with Disabilites Act and under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Depression, anxiety, phobias – all provided for and accomodated as a disability.</p>
<p>My daughter had a 504 in high school for depression and anxiety. There wasn’t an issue of whether or not she would recover – only that it impeded her school work. For that reason, it was treated as a disability and accomodated.</p>
<p>What school what school what school???</p>
<p>Marshallmyer, if that question is directed at me, feel free to PM me!</p>
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<p>Yeah, federal law is going to disagree with you on that. Depression and anxiety are considered disabilities and thus afford the OP and other students rights as a protected class. This is especially true considering that the OP has been diagnosed with the disability for almost a year–in other words, this couldn’t be considered a “temporary” disability under law. Also, things like cancer qualify someone for federal disability protection despite being (often) curable illnesses.</p>
<p>Psych_, I find your previous post about schools not being able to kick people out really really interesting. I do know somebody that that has happened to (actually more than once at the same school) and it was a pretty horrible experience that was about the school trying to avoid lawsuits and not helpful to her mental health.</p>
<p>To the OP, I’d definitely try to talk to a contact at the school to see what exactly they are looking for and if appealing is possible or if you just need to wait for spring admission and talk to your therapist to see what exactly was meant by the “semi-independently” langage (I happen to believe that all college students are living semi-independently) and if they are comfortable changing it if the school is reading it differently from how it was meant.</p>
<p>In terms of the behavioral contract, I’m assuming that’s in the context of continuing therapy? Does the school even need to know that (it seems like it’s veering pretty close to providing details of therapy). I think what the school would need to know is that you have a treatment plan and a support system, and not what that plan is unless it involves them.</p>
<p>eireann, it’s relatively new directive from the OCR–I think from 2011 or 2012. I can PM you info on it if you want.</p>
<p>Thanks, this was a while ago for my friend and she has since happily graduated from elsewhere. I’m just really happy to hear that schools might have a harder time doing the same thing in the future.</p>