<p>I would love to hear from parents of kids with low energy who were able to be successful in college.</p>
<p>Thank-you!</p>
<p>What do you mean by low energy?</p>
<p>Why do you think a low energy person would have trouble being successful in college?</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP means a kid that requires a lot of “down” time and/or lots of sleep? College dorms have so much energy and with everyone on different schedules, those type of kids may have a hard time finding quiet time away from all the constant noise, etc. </p>
<p>My younger son did find that to be a bit of an issue his first year - he was always “tired” and would comment on how everyone else appeared to be so “up”, busy and involved ALL the time. I think it made him feel like a slacker at times because he does require sleep and down time. It got better as the year went on - he even managed to get through the fraternity pledge process with isn’t exactly conducive to much sleep or “down” time!</p>
<p>Of course, this is just a guess as to what the OP meant by this post…</p>
<p>Yes, dwhite, that’s what I mean. My son has always needed more sleep than many other kids (10-12 hours a day). He also has type 1 diabetes and that can greatly affect his energy level and a vision disability that can make him tired after reading for a long time. He also loses energy easily (he’s more of an introvert and needs refueling). If he exerts a lot of energy (say, he’s played a long concert or worked really hard on homework), he needs breaks and down time to create, veg, and rest.</p>
<p>Are there no other kids like that out there?</p>
<p>He’ll do part time dual enrollment for his last two years of high school (we’re homeschoolers) as a way to see if he can handle a more rigorous work load without totally overwhelming him. </p>
<p>I would love to connect with other parents who’ve dealt with this issue.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I’d describe my d as low energy, but she’s definitely an introvert and it’s also important for her to eat and sleep pretty much on a schedule. She found downtime for recharging in her room when her roommate was gone, or elsewhere on campus, often with a book while sitting in a tree while the weather was nice. She was involved in a number of activities, but she doesn’t party, drink or stay out (really) late. She typically was in bed at midnight or a bit later on weekends, and was awake at 7 or 8 each day. Her roommate was on a completely different schedule, so it allowed d to have alone time in their room. She also made sure to get some exercise, usually a small martial arts class they held on campus. </p>
<p>Honestly, that was not something that really concerned me when she first went away, and it wasn’t an issue for her. She found her own type of people, and did what she was comfortable doing.</p>
<p>My kids are introverts in that they get energy from being alone ( or with a best bf) and expend energy by being around others.
One had a single all through college, the other moved off campus after freshman year.
They also found ways to improve their health so they had more energy.
Exercise helps a lot, to slowly build stamina & strenght.</p>
<p>sbjdorlo - sounds like your son and mine are the same including diabetes. My son does not have a documented vision disability, but does tire (eyes and mind) from reading as well. DS will be a senior this year, and I have similar concerns as you. He is taking a more challenging course load this year so I’m hoping that will help us gauge what he will be able to handle in college 2014! Wish I had some suggestions for you!</p>
<p>You might want to ask for a medical single for him wherever he goes to make sure he can get the appropriate amount of sleep and rest that he needs.</p>
<p>My son also needs 10-12 hours of sleep and is often tired even after a few hours of being awake! He is not diabetic but is also an introvert. He is on meds for OCD so looking to see perhaps this can be the cause and his doc also suggested blood work to rule out hypothyroidism.</p>
<p>I am worried though as he will be heading to college next year.</p>
<p>ognopgod - DS also has had some low thyroid lab results (doc says not Hashimoto’s) so we are watching thyroid. Through my reading I have found that along with hypothyroidism there may also be an adrenal gland problem so you may want to ask for adrenal gland evaluation as well. This is something I will be asking of the endocrinologist.</p>
<p>Our kids have medically documented stamina issues. The doc offered to request singles for them but they really wanted room mates, which worked out fairly well (even tho both are light sleepers). </p>
<p>I did have both register with the disabilities office because thrust HS, both had frequent and prolonged absences. I wanted them to work with their instructors on this and having them registered with the disabilities office helped. </p>
<p>S was able to get his BEE in 4 years, but D took 3 semesters of CC and 4.5 years to get her BA in cinema, largely affected by her low stamina. </p>
<p>It really helped both that they attended a U with a compact campus rather than a hilly and/or sprawling one. It really was largely up to each kid to learn to pace. Taking summer school helped D satisfy her language requirement. Earplugs, blackout curtains and noise canceling earphones were very helpful.</p>
<p>HImom,</p>
<p>Thank-you for sharing your experience. I never thought about getting medically documented stamina issues but the pediatrician certainly could document the fact that my son has always been on the high end of sleep need and as well as his other medical issues mentioned (and he’s on anti-depressants), he tends to get dehydrated when wears him down. He’s faced a lot of challenges but he has a lot of abilities and I don’t want his health issues to keep him out of college and away from a degree; we do need to be proactive and plan ahead.</p>
<p>Did your kids go locally or far from home? I’m waffling about that.</p>
<p>We are already working with the disability office at the CC and he has priority registration. If he got the same at the 4 year uni., that would totally help with never scheduling an early class. He has to drag himself out of bed at noon many days. OTOH, he is slowly getting better at getting up when he has to (like taking the SAT) on occasion.</p>
<p>Yes, exercise is key and something he’s not regular about. 
He’s super skinny but exercise is so good for mental and physical health. This semester, he’ll be dancing and bowling; it’s a start, but I hope he does baseball in the spring, which would be even more regular exercise with the workouts.</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas, HImom-appreciate it! And congratulations to your two children for completing their degrees! That is no small thing, I am sure.</p>
<p>student4ever, we’ve checked and rechecked thyroid but all is normal. I’ve been trying supplements like lots of vitamin B and magnesium.</p>
<p>Keep me posted, ok?</p>
<p>Yea, the accommodations our kids were approved for was quiet dorm near most of their courses and working with their instructors to deal with any prolonged absences. They were expected to speak with each instructor at the beginning of each term and present disabilities letter. The disabilities office would only intervene if needed. Disabilities helped each kid get housing centrally located in campus. </p>
<p>My kids tried to have classes begin no earlier than noon whenever possible, even if they ended up with night courses. S always was allowed to register early as he entered with 60 AP credits. Both kids generally were able to get courses they wanted and needed at decent times. </p>
<p>Both went to a private U 2500 miles from home 5-6 hour plane ride). It made us mildly apprehensive but we trusted them to make choices that worked for them. It was reassuring to us that I had good friends living 30 minute car drive from their campus. D joined S at campus and they overlapped for 1.5 years, which was good for them and us. </p>
<p>Us and docs are pretty good at working with students and families. Once S received acceptances, I called each U and asked them whether and how they would work with S and his limited stamina and sometimes prolonged absences, even with his solid academic record. The one U that told us they’d ask S to withdraw and lose his merit award and space in dorm, regardless of whether he was keeping up with coursework was told, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and discarded with an explanation as to why to their admissions and disabilities folks. </p>
<p>Extensive discussions followed with the other Us which were under consideration. It was heartening to us that the U settled upon said that they had other students with stamina issues and were able to work well with them for them to succeed. All Us did caution that profs have a lot of latitude in handling their classes, but they were confident things could be worked out. </p>
<p>Oh yes, they were also granted the accommodation of not having multiple finals on the same day. They never used that, even tho it would have been helpful; it was good to know it was available as needed.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you need to. Good luck!</p>
<p>We have dealt with these issues (including type 1 and several other health issues) and though it has taken my child 5 1/2 years to graduate, she will be done in a few months. Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>Just want to reiterate that registering with the disabilities office is important. Accommodations such as single room, reduced course load, extensions on papers, postponements of exams, excused absences, notetakers etc. etc. are all handled a little differently at each school. HiMom’s description of the student’s responsibility to take a letter from the disabilities office to professors, seems to be true everywhere, and those letters won’t have details of the disability: it is up to the student how much to say.</p>
<p>Often another administrator, such as a dean, is involved. There is also a lot of discretion at this level of education (unlike high school) on the part of professors, so things seem to get a little easier once the student has declared a major and is known by the department.</p>
<p>We did not limit college choices for health reasons. If anything I overcompensated. However, I thank my stars every day that she chose one close to home. Pump malfunctions or running out of insulin could be handled by the student while far away, but I am glad I could help.</p>
<p>One little piece of wisdom from my daughter, which she articulated in a support group for chronic illness that she only attended for part of senior year, but it was helpful: she said that once she accepted her limitations, she found freedom. She is a bit hard driving and was clinging to her struggle to function at a very high level, and was very ill at times.</p>
<p>For her, “acceptance” had finally meant a reduced course load (she already goes to bed early and sleeps well due to a neuro condition, so social limitations were accepted a long time ago). Once she reduced her classes to 3/4, she has thrived and done all the interning, extracurriculars and academic work that she was so driven to do, but struggled with when taking 4.</p>
<p>The college likes this arrangement because it is much better for them than the medical leaves she was forced to take previously. No need whatsoever for leaves or even for many accommodations with the reduced course load.</p>
<p>At the college level, accommodations cannot cause undue financial or administrative burden on the school, and cannot alter the curriculum. The level of legal rights is lower than in high school. Be aware that some disabilities offices are actually guard dogs for the curriculum so to speak, meaning part of the purpose is to make sure that accommodations are legally adequate but don’t change the college’s program or stress staff.</p>
<p>It is very possible to have a good experience at college with type 1 and “low energy.” I do wonder what else might be going on. Type 1, as an autoimmune disorder, does bring with it the possibility of many other problems. One good thing about our daughter’s choice of college is an amazing health center with a team approach, and some mysteries have been solved as a result.</p>
<p>Thank-you so much, compmom and HImom! Your posts certainly have been encouraging. I know I already get a little weary of working with various entities and professionals to help advocate for my son but you’ve encouraged me to help him continue that battle into college. It sounds like the effort is very much worth it.</p>
<p>compmom, my son’s been doing better about managing his diabetes lately. That has given me a little hope about college. Of course, I’m still the one managing the supplies orders, phone calls, etc. You never really realize all that goes into caring for medically challenged kids until you begin to think about handing that off to them… </p>
<p>I don’t want to limit his college choices but yes, I am aware that having him closer to home might be the best thing initially. I’m even thinking about suggesting a gap year to him. We’ll see how this first year of part time college goes.</p>
<p>I am already encouraging him to email colleges and ask about how they would support a type 1 diabetic. Haven’t gone there yet with the low energy/other stuff. I think it would be unwise to mention anything before he applies (in a year).</p>
<p>You’ve gotten great advice here! Definitely advocate for your child. We have finally accepted the fact that it’s going to take our son much longer than four years to get his degree. Because of his mental illness, he is definitely low-energy. It’s been hard for his dad and me to adjust to that, because he used to be on the other end of the spectrum - very high-energy.</p>
<p>He has asked me to go with him when he meets with his academic advisor next week. He thinks it will help if I describe some of his challenges to the professor. I have also convinced him to take letters of accommodation to all his teachers this fall. I think they will give him extra time to complete assignments and take tests.</p>
<p>Just remember that it’s not a race to finish college. If he needs to take a light course load, that’s OK!</p>
<p>Maine – that’s a good point. I think as we get close to full time college, if it appears my son would benefit from taking his time, we’ll probably need to opt for community college to state univ because of cost. As it is, unless he is a NMF, I don’t know how we’ll afford it. We do sit at an income level where he could qualify for a lot of need-based aid, but my dh may be retiring at the end of the year, so that might change things as far as paying for college. But yes, I have definitely thought about his going part time to college in order to get a degree.</p>
<p>At any rate, I would love to hear how it goes with the advisor next week. </p>
<p>We’ve gone once to the disability office at the CC and they were friendly and helpful, but we’ve not been back and it does seem that we will need to stay on top of things. He’s only taking two classes and I think both of them will be very low homework (more in class work); this was intentional. Next semester will be the first big challenge.</p>
<p>One thing the U recommended that we did with each kid was have them make appointments and be seen by docs at the U’s med school, so they could turn to them if there was a problem beyond the meager services offered by the health center. They even referred D to a specialist, but unfortunately she insisted she didn’t need him for the first 4 years. He did help her thru the last term, so she was well enough to complete her degree. It was a struggle!</p>
<p>I strongly recommend this, especially when kiddo attends a U far from home, as our kids did. It is good for the docs to have the kids med records and have met so its not as tough for the kid to call and make any needed appointment.</p>
<p>sbjdorlo, I will let you know how it goes! Our local school’s disability office has been FANTASTIC. They told me they are our “one-stop shopping” place. When our son had to drop out very late in the semester, they refunded the tuition and fees in total!! And now they are available if he needs help re-enrolling at this late date.</p>