Does the library feel welcoming, do you feel like you’d like to go there to study?
By and by, do people sit together and chat in the cafeteria (or are they on their phone, alone)?
One last admissions update:
Last night he was accepted at Emerson College. Though this was a bit of a reach for him, more importantly, it got a strong reaction. He read “Congratulations!”, handed it to me and jumped out of his seat yelling “I got in!”
Then he immediately called his dad and his bestie. He was shaking. This is the only real reaction I’ve seen from him so far. Perhaps bc with his grades, his film submissions must have been the ticket? Don’t know. But it was a joy to see.
Being in Boston, I’m concerned there is no real campus experience, but then he may not be all about that experience.
Congratulations!
Update: He did not like the film program at New Paltz. Not terribly well funded there, so the equipment is like HS in his mind. And he did not love Ithaca. Says too remote. He goes to see Emerson next Saturday with dad. Last week I spoke to their disability services office when I last in Boston and they seem to have a lot of services.
I’d worry Ithaca might not be as strong on the support services compared to Ursinus and Emerson. Looking forward to seeing where he lands!
Thanks @eandesmom I had a long talk with the support folks at Emerson. It was comforting.
The final choice: Emerson College
Congratulations!!!
Junior year is the hardest year for a lot of students, and its much worse for students with learning disadvantages. My situation was kinda similar. I’m in junior year now and got diagnosed this year because I couldn’t take it anymore. I learned a lot about what i had so i could understand how my brain worked. What I learned is that To keep myself motivated, I set goals to earn rewards I wanted. Also, studying things that are actually interesting to yourself it a lot easier. For study methods, I keep my study material diverse (lots of different online stuff and books) to keep myself focused. I learned that “just trying harder” isn’t gonna cut it when you have a disability, but it’s most effective to step back and completely change the way you approach things.
Congratulations!!
I haven’t read too much of this, just your posting about his reaction to getting in. I hope my reaction wil be somewhat similar. As an adult with Aspergers I just finished my B.S. in Psychology. My parents and others don’t understand why I wasn’t very excited by the fact. I told them yes its a relief thats its over, but ill be excited when if/when i get into grad school. I would liken it to the Hobbit Movie, at the start bilbo is “I am going on an adventure!” very excited, by the time he gets back from his adventure he’s like, ok done that. Glad to be home, but too drained to be excited about it.
@mabissok – a well-intended suggestion, I’m sure, but in our case, yeah, there have been consequences and more consequences. Some children are just different. I have more than one child and my one son is simply different. I get that that’s hard to understand if you haven’t had a “different” child, but if you do have one, you get it. Different means a “different path” child. A path not set out obviously before you. So as my friend at work said, in a way to make me feel better about the many creative paths that we’ve had to figure out: when your child is different, that’s when the real parenting begins.
I think that all parents are real parents, but I also think she was right. The usual tools in the toolbox don’t work or work differently for some children.
To understand that, perhaps, imagine being the fourth-grade teacher of Robin Williams.
That might give you some idea of what you’re dealing with. The genius of that person in school setting might well have been a nightmare. You have to be the person to find the appropriate path for such a child. That’s where the creativity begins.