I suggest you skip the pre-college and just don’t talk about college at all until the end of summer. For some kids it’s completely overwhelming and their way of dealing with it, and getting you to stop taking about it, is saying they don’t want to go. I am speaking from experience here. My senior son is on complete overload and I’ve promised not to talk to him about schools at all until all his decisions are in next month. It’s made our household a lot less tense.
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My third of four is class of 2023. Junior year is kicking his ass too. His sleep pattern is awful, but he is keeping great grades and class rank with the most grueling schedule. We have to pick our battles. My son is a bit apathetic about the college search, but is looking forward to tours, so I’ll take it. He wants prestige, but can’t articulate anything else 
I figure we have two college graduates so far, so, we’re doing ok and this will work out too. Looking forward to senior year!
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My 11th-grade son was diagnosed with psychosis this year. I had no idea that he had been hearing voices until he told me out of the blue. He was also paranoid that people were going to break into our home. Thankfully, he told me all of this and we have been able to get him help (psychiatrist/therapist/psychological evaluation). Amen for anti-psychotic medication because he has really turned a corner. This put everything into perspective for me!
Now I think it will be a huge accomplishment if he graduates from high school and goes to college anywhere. We are planning to tour a few colleges within a few hours of home. He is interested in the co-op program at Drexel. He’s doing the best he can academically but he definitely sleeps more than I would like.
Also, this time of year is the worst for my/his mood. I drive to work in the dark and come home in the dark. I think he is tired because of the same bleh feeling I have. I’m counting the days until we change the clocks.
He is going to apply to work at the same summer job location he had last year. He wants to move up to a higher position this year. I’m glad he is looking forward to something. He definitely liked making his own money last summer.
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PM’ing you
I hope where you live you have access to a formal “first episode psychosis program.” They have a ton of experience helping kids with a history of psychosis navigate the transition to college and/or employment. They provide parent groups to trade tips (things like how to keep a kid on his meds, what to look out for etc.) These programs can make all the difference in long term success. Wishing your family the best of luck, I know a number of young people with history of psychosis who have ended up doing quite well.
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Thank you so much for this information. I was not aware of this program but I will look it up. It would be nice to talk to other parents about this. It’s not exactly something I can talk to about with my own friends. My son would absolutely hate that.
Here is the link to the program closest to my home, so the one I am most familiar with, so you can check it out and get an idea of what it is. You could probably even call them and ask questions. They provide a TON of help with school, employment, transitioning to your own apartment etc. Also educating the person and their family members. Basically to provide support in every way possible to help a kid with history of psychosis succeed. I think this is especially important for boys, because for males first episode psychosis typically occurs age 17-20, and that is the exact time a kid is “launching” anyway. So it is all the regular stressors of that age -which are hard enough- with a medical challenge on top. (For women it can be a little easier, because first episode is more likely to occur at ~30 for females, so often they are already somewhat set with education, job experience, maybe a marriage and kids, all of which help provide structure and motivation.) Best of luck! You are your child’s best advocate! (even when they try to push you away which is expected, don’t let it stop you)
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OK, LOL, forgot to include the actual link, here it is:
https://www.mhealthfairview.org/conditions/Psychosis-First-Episode
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Thanks so much!
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It is always good to make sure there aren’t medical or even medication reasons for the psychosis, especially when it appears suddenly and there is no family history. Autoimmune conditions, PANDAS from strep, Lyme disease, and certain medications can all be possible factors. Probably others.
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Junior year is really tough and all the high school kids are dealing with and recovering from the pandemic is some way.
Even though it would have college applications easier, we didn’t ask my daughter (current senior) to do anything last summer. We visited a few colleges that she ended up not applying to when we were doing required family travel to provide needed help to grandparents.
She still got her applications in and has a bunch of acceptances in hand while waiting for the last regular decisions. Even so, she has moments of doubting her readiness for college. Through all this, my daughter chatted with my older neighbor who we became friends with during the pandemic. Having this other nonjudgmental and supportive adult seemed to help.
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It wasn’t sudden. My son said he had been hearing voices since he was a kid but they didn’t bother him until recently.
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Please take care of yourself as well. As parents we do not realize all we take on as we care for others.
We have had some major hurdles this past year. I am beyond grateful my kid is now thriving and is out tonight having fun at a campus event, but I think I have aged 10 years in the past 6 months.
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